The youngest ES7 owner in history! Why did a '99 person like me buy it?

Ahem, today is the 39th day of becoming a NIO car owner. I have driven 1300km in these 39 days, and it’s been a great experience.

Let me share my deep experience driving the ES7 for over a month. I will give a simple star rating and discuss it at the same time.

Vehicle Configuration: NIO ES7, 75kWh battery, 20-inch multi-spoke wheels, Aurora Green.

Car System Version: Banyan 1.1.5 – 1.1.6b CN.

Exterior Rating

I give it a score of 99 points, five stars! (✨✨✨✨✨)

In fact, I really liked the appearance of NIO since 2019 when I decided to buy a car. I love those small, charming eyes. But I didn’t choose NIO for some other reasons later, which I regret very much.

I have to say, NIO has a really high recognition value! Appearance is an important reason for buying a car. Here is a beautifully (Photo-shopped) picture!

(I took this picture just as I picked up the car, and it turned out to be quite spectacular.)

Interior Rating

I give the interior a score of 101 points, five stars! (✨✨✨✨✨)

I have been paying attention to NIO for four years, from the classic luxury of the first-generation platform 866 to the simplicity and luxury of the second-generation platform 577.

For me, a young person born in 1999, I think the interior design of the second-generation platform is fantastic! The waterfall-style ambient lighting and the black-and-white interior design are suitable for young people: stable and presentable by day and elegant and warm-hearted by night.

The interior of the car is also very quiet, and the seat design is very ergonomic (feeling sorry for old car owners…). The seat ventilation and massage functions are fabulous (compared to my other car, the XPeng P7), but the fan noise is a bit loud when the car is stationary. Normally, I only turn it on when I am listening to music. 

There is one thing I have to say about the storage space of ES7, it’s incredibly huge. Can you believe that I have used ES7 as a small truck to move goods? When the seats are folded down, I can even squeeze in two big fans and N-number of boxes, and it’s not even crowded! Highly recommended!

                    (Just taking a little nap in the car before going home, the second living room is ready~)

                    (The newly installed four-door welcome lights today~ very nice)

Driving Experience Rating

I would give it 90 points and four stars (✨✨✨✨). 

I used the customized driving mode (5.9s acceleration, standard comfortable suspension, and low energy recovery). My feeling is that the brakes of ES7 are very comfortable, and the chassis driving texture is also pretty good. However, I feel that there are still some slight and unnecessary small shakes when driving over bumps. Hopefully, there will be more optimizations in the future as I used to drive more sedans. However, it’s not quite realistic to compare the handling of an SUV to that of a sedan. Overall, I am satisfied, and it is a very easy to drive medium to large SUV.

                    (The melting snow is so beautiful, cannot resist taking a picture)

Intelligent Evaluation

I would give it 80 points and four stars (✨✨✨✨). 

Currently, the car’s system version which I am using is banyan1.1.6b.Hmm, to be honest, NIO’s infotainment software is quite user-friendly. However, there are still some bugs that need to be fixed, and there are often feedback from car owners in the car owners’ group. Looking forward to the new version solving all kinds of small problems that currently exist, OTA is getting better and better~

As mentioned earlier, I also have a XPeng P7. To be honest, NIO’s software is not as powerful and user-friendly as P7. Although software has always been XPeng’s strength, I also hope that NIO can do better in software experience (less bugs, smarter NOMI, and the upcoming NOP+, which I love very much for its auxiliary driving feature–this is also an important reason why I resolutely bought ES7).

360 panoramic imaging is definitely a thumbs up~ The entire screen is a camera, which is already higher than the frequency of my rearview mirror. The display of vehicle information on the mobile phone APP is also great, and the operation is clear at a glance. NIO’s APP logic and UI are also among the best in new energy vehicles.

Let me also talk about keyless entry. Now I only carry a card key with me, which can be used with the phone’s Bluetooth key. I can basically give up the physical key, which is very convenient. The Bluetooth key experience is much better than P7. (But sometimes the phone’s Bluetooth key is a bit silly, looking forward to an upgrade.)

APP screenshot

(This is a screenshot from the APP, sorry for the lack of pictures.)

Endurance

Three stars (✨✨✨)

Battery swapping Five stars (✨✨✨✨✨)

This is actually something I don’t want to talk too much about. Because NIO has a battery swapping system, which is very powerful (in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai), the energy consumption control of the second generation platform is indeed better than the first generation. But after all, it is such a large pure electric SUV, and the endurance is not really strong. I have driven 1300km and have already swapped the battery 5 times.# Markdown Text Translated from Chinese

I am a chill person and do not really care about the old versus new battery debate. After all, batteries eventually need to be replaced, and as a user, I do not pay much attention to its longevity or mileage. When the battery dies, I simply replace it. I have not recharged my battery since I picked up my car. One time, while waiting for my P7 to fully charge at a recharging station, I felt foolish for waiting in the car for so long.

Here’s some good news: while I was writing this blog post, I noticed that a battery replacement station opened up within 500 meters of my home. As I walked by, I talked to one of the technicians about the new service launch. I’m excited that I am now a proud owner of an “electricity room”!

A photo of the replacement station entrance situated near my apartment

A photo of the technicians installing a battery at the station

The photo displays the staff members tirelessly working overtime at the new battery replacement station near my home before its launch.

Final Words

Well, that concludes everything. I wrote everything I could (and I apologize for not including any handsome pictures, but better luck next time!). Stay tuned for my next in-depth experience report. Please give me a “like” if you enjoy the content. Thank you for reading!

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.