Real record of the driving experience of ET5.

What is your car budget?

Just sold ES6 for 280,000 yuan and did not want to spend too much money. I “downgraded” to ET5 and plan to transition to NT3 in 2-3 years.

How much did you spend on it in total?

After deducting subsidies, the actual payment was 330,000 yuan. Originally, I intended to pay 260,000 yuan plus 2 years of rent. Then, after careful calculation including residual value and capital gains, it was approximately even in 2.5 years. However, considering that the first car of NT3 may not meet my own needs, it is better to leave some room and choose full payment in the end.

How long did you wait to get your car?

More than six months

Vin791 came out very early, for various reasons, I got the car only in early November.

Is this your first car?

No

It’s the fourth car. Previously, I mainly drove Mazda6, Mercedes-Benz C, and ES6, and now I drive ET5.

Is it your first time buying a new energy car?

No

Do you have a home charging pile?

Yes

Why do you want to change your car?

I still prefer to drive sedans. Usually, there are only 1 to 2 people traveling, plus I like to try new things, so I couldn’t resist NT2. Here, I have to say that the NIO replacement is very cost-effective. In addition to the accumulated points of old car owners, the benefits of old car ownership can be inherited by people, such as unlimited free battery swaps, life-long quality guarantee, and cross-regional charging rights. If you value them at 50,000 yuan and the six battery swaps per month are worth 30,000 yuan, it means that the old car has 20,000 yuan worth of benefits that can be inherited to the new car. When selling the old car, these benefits were not priced and sold together. I don’t know if I made myself clear enough…### What cars did you consider before buying it?

ET7 was a little too big, not very convenient to park, and its quality control reputation is a bit scary.
Avita was considered, but seeing it in person was disappointing despite liking the interior design in the renderings.
Zhi Ji was too big, and its exterior design was too aggressive.
JiKe was too wide, and the infotainment system and driver-assistance features convinced me to pass.

How many points do you give for its appearance?

Looks good on the road

One of the main reasons for choosing it.

Are you satisfied with its space?

Enough room

It comfortably fits two adults and a child, and is suitable for camping. The vertical space is not much smaller than that of the ES6, and the headroom is better than what others have claimed online. I am 183cm tall, and there are still two fists of headroom in the driver’s seat. The storage space is small and limited, as the door panels are occupied by speakers. It needs some getting used to compared to the ES6’s ample storage.

How do you feel about its performance?

Consistent output

The acceleration is fast enough, but the linear acceleration of the floor electric is not as strong as that of the ES6, which is more pleasing to most people (I personally prefer the Tesla-style acceleration of the NT1). I usually drive in the 5.9 and 7.9 modes.

How many points do you give for its driver-assistance features?

Basically usable Because of the high upper limit, the basic NP can only score 5 points now. The vertical ACC is much better than the first generation, but it is too sensitive to vehicles approaching on the left and right lanes, often causing “ghost shark cars”. In addition, it cannot achieve the ideal quick response to overtaking. In summary, it can compete with the large NP of NT1, but considering these hardware configurations, the current version can only score 5 points with difficulty, and there is too much room for optimization.

How is its energy consumption and endurance performance?

Not good, not particularly energy-saving
It is not particularly energy-saving, definitely not better than ES6, when driving around the city with air conditioning and heating on, the app displays 22-25 kWh. It consumes less power when driving on highways and mountains. As it can swap batteries, this is not really an issue.

Are you satisfied with its infotainment system?

Obvious flaws
It’s similar to the first generation system, acceptable, but the response should be faster, it does not feel transformative. The infotainment team seems to be a bit complacent and non-progressive (what’s the deal with the team travel feature?), NOMI is still as embarrassing as before. So this time, I did not install it, AR glasses are currently just toys, they will freeze and reboot after half an hour of use. I just want to ask, when can navigation be brought up to the instrument cluster?

How often do you charge it in your daily use?

I never pay attention. Few people care about this with NIO, just swap the battery when it reaches 80% battery level. I’ve even turned off my home charging stations.

Please share three aspects you hope this car can improve.

-Add a Heads Up Display (HUD). It is difficult to look at the navigation without tilting your head, just like Tesla, luxury to fringe difficulty.
-The sound insulation especially at high speed is annoyingly loud.
-The sound system needs an OTA update ASAP. I bought it for the 23 speakers, but now there is too much background noise, worse than ES6.

Please share three aspects you are most satisfied with.

-The appearance, especially the protruding part of the rear wheel waistline, it is too sexy.
-Handling, precise and smooth steering, linear feeling of acceleration and braking, the chassis is perfect for a combination of sporty and comfort.
-The interior style is amazing, especially the purple accents.

Please share your thoughts and experiences with using this car.Also considered as an early delivery model, there are still some minor problems with the vehicle, but the after-sales service has basically solved them. Fortunately, there are no major defects in the workmanship, and we believe that NIO’s production capacity and quality will continue to improve without major problems (except for the ET7). Apart from the product itself, NIO’s strengths lie in its power-swap stations, NIO Houses, online and offline communities, and NIOLife, all of which are industry benchmarks. You can see the answer when so many brands are “learning from” them. Finally, if you are considering buying an ET5, you really don’t have to think too much. A good heart is hard to come by, so go ahead and buy what you love.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.