Review of NIO ET7 and ET5
It’s been a year since I’ve been interested in the ET7, and now the ET5 has been released after the event that was expected from NIO. At first glance, the macaron color scheme is more eye-catching. Even though I’m an auntie now, who can resist the “mirror sky powder” color?
There was a full-model test drive event in Shanghai, which looked really impressive, so I quickly made an appointment with FL! 
The NIO delivery center has been moved to Nanxiang, and this site has been transformed into a test drive base, which is quite impressive. As soon as you enter, you’re greeted by a row of cars. The “mirror sky powder” color is on the first car, and its allure is too strong. 😍
After signing in, there was a lecture that introduced NIO’s development and several cars present today. I’m an old fan, and I’m quite familiar with it. Then we were divided into groups, and I was put in the first group for the road test. We set off to the nearest battery exchange station. The ET7’s suspension has three settings, and it’s comfortable. It doesn’t have the jolting feel that the Model 3 gave me when driving over speed bumps. NVH is also much improved, and I don’t need to turn on the sound. The kinetic energy recovery system can be adjusted in three modes. Since I’m accustomed to using a single pedal, I find that the third setting is the best to adapt to. The steering is a bit light, and I adjusted it to “sport” mode, which is on par with the standard setting of the Model 3. The “nimo” feature can help adjust the air conditioning, open the massage seat while driving, and minimize the frequency of operating the menu. I never had the experience of a “raised display” before, and I thought it might make me dizzy. Today’s experience showed that it wasn’t bad. I’m used to the empty space in front of the steering wheel on a Tesla, so I’m still not used to the dashboard. 😂
After the test drive on the open road, we returned to the venue where there was a dark room to experience the cabin’s ambient lights and audio. To be honest, I never expected the surround sound to be so immersive. It gave me the feeling of attending a music concert at Chenshan Botanical Garden.
The last part was the performance challenge test drive. Because I chose to test drive a sedan, there was no hill climbing or rolling barrel challenges; mainly 0-80 acceleration and slaloms. During the 0-80 acceleration test, the NPE staff member stepped on the accelerator, and the electric car was more exciting than Disney’s “Lightcycle Power Run” roller coaster. When it was my turn to drive, because I’m used to using a single pedal, I released the accelerator at a distance of 5 meters 😂. Activating the kinetic energy recovery system weakened the braking feeling a lot 😂. I told the NPE staff member that I haven’t had the habit of pressing the brake pedal myself in many years, and that when it’s time to use the brake, he or she should step on it all the way. I couldn’t help but worry about the condition of the test drive car when it retired. During the slalom test, although the car didn’t have rear steering, it was still easy to turn, and it didn’t feel like a 5.1 meter long vehicle at all.
Overall, this test drive has deepened my enthusiasm for the ET7. It has also caused me to hesitate between choosing the ET5 or the ET7. The wheel performance of the ET7 is superior, but the color of the ET5 is more attractive to me. Plus, as a car paint enthusiast, I really don’t like color films. I have scheduled a test drive for the ET5 next week to make a horizontal comparison. 😲
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.