2018 NIO ES6 100 KWh (544 HP)

Vehicle Overview

NIO introduced the ES6 as a family SUV with up to five seats and a regular shape as the Chinese carmaker lineup’s base model.

After the preview of the stunning electric supercar offered by NIO, the carmaker turned its attention to regular customers and offered them an electric SUV that could fit in the same budget with a regular, internal combustion-engined, European premium SUV. Its performances and options were over the edge and proved that the Chinese recipe was good.

The ES6 showed an aggressive styling with the angular look and some ideas seen on Hyundai’s lineup. The carmaker installed the daytime running lights above the LED headlights. Its designers tried to make a different sculptured front fascia to conceal the lack of a regular grille. NIO chose not to install such an element since it was not needed. In the back, the taillights’ wave-like pattern resembled those installed in a Renault Megane hatchback, but they fit well in the overall vehicle’s design.

The interior was fit for five adult passengers. Since there was no transmission tunnel, the flat floor allowed three passengers’ good legroom in the back. Between the front passengers, the carmaker installed a tall and wide center console with bucket-sized storage areas. Most of the center stack was covered by a touch-screen for the infotainment unit, with a few physical buttons at the bottom.

Since the ES6 was the access model for NIO, the carmaker tried to make it more affordable and offered it with two or four engines and two battery packs. Also, it provided the option to rent the batteries instead of buying them, reducing the car’s price by 20%.