Author: Bai Yang

Perhaps NIO never expected that one day their own products would be “compared” with models from Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

During the pre-launch test drive of the Ideal L7, the NIO ES7, Mercedes-Benz GLE, and BMW X5 L also parked on site. Official footage comparing several models through the same test project was recorded.

As a long-time fan of NIO, my inner feelings after driving the Ideal L7 were that if a family were to vote democratically on whether to choose the NIO ES7 or the Ideal L9, it is very likely that only the driver’s seat would vote for the NIO ES7.

The soft and comfortable seats, large areas of soft material, spacious interior, unique second-row armrest, 20-40 degree wide range of second-row backrest angle adjustment, 15.7-inch rear entertainment screen, independent rear air conditioning – all of these real experiences would win over other family members.

To persuade other family members to buy the NIO ES7, the only reason left is that NIO’s brand is more high-end, and the design style of the interior and exterior is more upscale. Does it sound familiar? Isn’t this the reason to buy a Mercedes-Benz or BMW when compared to NIO?

With the polishing of the second-generation product, Ideal has taken a big step forward, and the process of gradually polishing and optimizing from the L9 to L7 was conducive to the engineering team to show their strength on the large five-seat SUV. It can be said that the L7 is the final result after the Ideal was modified and optimized.## What new experiences does the Ideal ONE bring with its 7-seater layout?

The Ideal ONE L7 is the first 5-seater SUV from Ideal, and its layout allows owners to unlock some new experiences.

For example, the back seats can be folded completely flat, providing a comfortable space for families in the outdoors, with a mobile air-conditioning and audio-visual room. I have personally experienced sitting in this mode, with my bare 175cm body sitting comfortably in the middle position, with a little space between my head and the sunroof, and leaning against the B-pillar.

In addition, the Ideal ONE L7 has moved the location of the rear entertainment screen backward, providing a closer viewing distance and a more comfortable viewing angle compared to the Ideal ONE L8 and L9.

Although the Ideal ONE L7 still looks large from the outside, driving it feels small enough, making it convenient for multiple family members to drive the car and greatly increasing the utilization of the vehicle.

Ideal ONE L7 also released a promotional image of a wife sitting in the driver’s seat and a father playing with their child in the backseat. The Ideal ONE L7 also optimizes sun protection for car windows, solving the last concern for female drivers’ driving experience.

In addition, compared to previous products, the Ideal ONE L7 needs to pay more attention to the driving experience, and during test drives, the chassis team is working hard to find a balance between handling and comfort in the L7.

At present, the driving experience of the L7 still needs improvement, as it lacks the compactness of the NIO ES7 chassis and the comfort of the Ideal ONE L9. However, fortunately, the Ideal ONE L9 now comes standard with an air suspension and a self-developed vehicle control controller. The driving experience of the L7 can be continuously improved through OTA updates.

How to choose between Ideal ONE L7 PRO and MAX?

The Ideanomics L7 has two versions: Pro and Max. The main difference between the two is that the Max version has a rear entertainment screen, a Velodyne Lidar AT128 laser radar, and two NVIDIA Orin chips, while the Pro version only has a camera and a 128TOPS computing chip from Horizon J5.

The price difference between the two versions is 40,000 RMB. Considering that the cost of adding a rear entertainment screen is low, the most obvious difference in the driving experience between the two versions is the advanced driving assistance systems. As planned, the Max version will have city navigation assistance features in some cities in the fourth quarter of this year, while the Pro version currently only supports highway navigation assistance.

If you are looking forward to the city navigation assistance features and your city supports them (such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou), it is recommended to buy the Max version. If you do not require the city navigation assistance features, the Pro version will provide better value for money.

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.