ES6 in-depth sharing, veteran users still recommend purchasing the next generation model with tears in their eyes?

Personal Overall Experience

Overall, my six-month experience with the car has been great, with far more advantages than disadvantages compared to its peers.

However, there is still much room for improvement, such as the basic hardware of assisted driving, seat comfort, recorders, application markets, software interaction, and attention to detail experience.

I would not recommend this generation of car models to my friends, but I would recommend them to take a look at the next generation of car models.

Static Experience

The visual perception of static design varies from person to person, and there are also many pictures and professional evaluations available. Here, I will talk about some subjective feelings.

Appearance:

Pros:

• The appearance is a style I like: original design, balanced proportions, neat workmanship, not exaggerated, durable and not mediocre.

• I personally like the size of large five-seat SUV models.

• NIO has also designed non-painted parts around the car body that are prone to scratches, such as the four corners, wheel arches, and the bottom of the doors, which are perfectly integrated into the overall design. It’s great!

Cons:

• None

Interior:

Pros:

• Black Nappa leather and gray ultra-fine fiber top, visually delicate.

• The central console retains few physical buttons, which are the most critical driving functions. They are not influenced by trends, but rather meet real needs. I like it!

• I also like the way the gears are shifted. The operation is intuitive and feels more reasonable than the gear-shifting method of Tesla.

• Nomi is very interesting. If you like it, you will think it is worth installing.

Cons:

• Occasionally, there is a gear shift failure, for example, when switching between R/D while reversing. I have encountered several situations where I thought I had switched from R to D but was actually still in R. Although the ES6 has a small sound reminder for gear shift failure, the sound recognition rate is not high and can easily be ignored. Therefore, I recommend that you lightly step on the accelerator pedal to confirm after every gear shift.

Storage space:

Pros:

• The armrest is double-layered, with a deep bottom layer, internal fluff, a safety lock, and official accessories to increase the compartment. These details are good and convenient to use.

Cons:

• The overall internal storage space is pitifully small.

• There is no storage space in the front passenger seat as the queen seat is not selected.

• The back of the two front seats has no back pockets or side pockets.

• The door panel storage space is also relatively small.

• The storage design is mainly aimed at a two-person world.

• I hung a Taobao-bought bag behind the headrest of the front passenger seat.

Neutral:

• The space below the central console is slightly larger than similar designed cars, with room to store some uncommonly used items. However, it is not very convenient to take things out, but the storage space in this position is generally like this.- The trunk of ES6 is not big, but not small either. The main problem is that the floor is too high. Taking luggage from ES6 to my gasoline SUV is like descending about 20cm in altitude.

• The center console cup holder is somewhat small, even a child’s insulated cup cannot fit in it.

Seating:

Pros:

• The workmanship looks very exquisite.

• The massage is gentle and can be used occasionally.

• The reclining angle in the back seat is a bit surprising. I thought it would be very hard, but it turned out to be quite comfortable. I took a nap a few times and felt that my back pain was relieved.

Average:

• The comfort level of the back seat is at a normal level, about the same as Y, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Cons:

• Overall comfort: very average, at least a little worse than Model X/3/Y, Ford/Volkswagen/BBA SUVs of the same level. Comfort seems to have been sacrificed for appearance.

• The inclination angle of the cushion is too large, front high and back low, pushing the body weight back.

• The padding is very hard, and sitting is not comfortable.

• The lumbar support adjustment is not comfortable no matter how it’s adjusted, and the shoulder support is insufficiently narrow.

• The front seat does not have back or side pockets, and no storage function.

• The co-driver does not have control buttons for the rear seats, which is very inconvenient.

• The front seat and sun visor conflict, and there is no safety distance limit or anti-squeezing function during electric adjustment, which can break the glass of the sun visor.

Possible Cons:

• About 3 months after delivery, I started having lower back pain. In the 5th month, I suspected that my lower back muscles were strained and went to the hospital. After sleeping on a hard bed for a while, it got better. Back pain is a mystery, with no direct clues, only time-relatedness. I had 10 years of driving experience with mileage of about 180,000.

Recommendations:

• You can buy two memory foam backrests in the smallest size and put them on the side seats in the back, which will greatly increase the comfort of long-distance travel in the back seat.

Comfort

Pros:

• Automatic defrosting, air purification, and other small details are quite good. The fragrance and odor are also good.

• Heated steering wheel, heated front and back seats, and front seat ventilation are practical and normal.

• App remote start air conditioning, seat ventilation and heating, etc., are quite practical. I basically don’t need to use the front windshield sunshade anymore, and I have a nomi sunshade that is idle.

• The roof has a sunshade, which is useful in summer.

• Double-layered glass, the sound insulation effect is quite good.

Average:

• The convenience of getting in and out of the front seats is not very practical, too slow. I tried it for a while and then turned it off. Are all these types of functions like this?

• The shading effect of the sun visor is not very high, and it is too bright when resting.

Cons:

• The fragrance noise is too loud, and the start-up frequency is too frequent. I turned it off.

• The folding of the rearview mirror is slightly slow, and I have encountered situations where I switched gears immediately after getting on the car and it did not unfold. Moreover, it seems to have no anti-squeezing function. I encountered a situation where the folding was just above an obstacle and it pressed against it and did not automatically rebound.### Safety (Static)

Pros:

• Lower compartment of the storage box has a safety lock.
• Smart app notifies users if the car is unlocked or windows are left open. It also allows for remote locking and window closing.
• Trunk has anti-pinch feature.

Cons:

• The alarm goes off when closing the door by pushing the handle.
• The car cannot be locked using the handle if the key is inside the car. The notification is not obvious enough.
• NFC card to unlock the car is too slow and requires a lengthy touch.

Entertainment System

Pros:

• NIO Radio is a pleasant surprise. NIO has found a great collaborator and offers a variety of great programs.

Cons:

• The system is closed and does not have an app store or NetEase Cloud Music.

Other Aspects

Pros:

• Remote-controlled parking function is very useful in narrow parking spaces.
• Trunk can be opened by simply kicking your foot.

Neutral:

• Wireless charging is a convenient feature to have, although not very powerful, and there is only one USB port. Fast charging requires an extra cigarette lighter adapter.
• In-car camera is a feature that users may rarely use.
• Rear-seat passengers have no control over the air conditioning. Voice commands must be used to adjust the front air conditioning.

Cons:

• Dash cam image quality is low and does not support wireless exporting to phones.
• Users cannot use voice commands to command NOMI to take pictures of the front of the car.

Driving

Basics

Cons:

• The accelerator and brake pedals of the ES6 have a lighter feel, which is different from the heavier feel of Tesla pedals.
• This setting makes it easier to feel the acceleration and braking, but it also creates more bouncing and head bobbing. Of course, head bobbing can be adjusted. Tesla’s relatively tight accelerator pedal setting can more finely control low-speed acceleration and deceleration, which makes driving in congested traffic easier. Although I don’t like the energy recovery setting that can’t be adjusted on a Tesla, NIO still needs to catch up with Tesla in terms of driving experience.
• Another feeling is that the overly light pedal feedback can lead to energy waste during low-speed acceleration. Of course, this is just a feeling, and may not actually be wasteful.
• When driving over speed bumps, you will often feel the rear wheels vibrating or shaking out of sync with the body, resulting in excess shaking. It is still sportier than a sedan when driving the same speed over speed bumps (sport version).
• During low-speed braking, there is a sensation of “brake failure” in a specific speed range. In the process of continuous pressing down on the brake pedal, there is a short speed range where the speed is maintained instead of decreasing with the pedal.

Pros:

• Acceleration is very thrilling.- Thanks to the chassis battery, the car is relatively stable when cornering.

Other Tips:

• When getting into the car, it’s better to not immediately put it into gear and drive. Otherwise, you may encounter some strange problems, such as 360 can’t exit, the rearview mirror doesn’t unfold, etc. For safety reasons, it’s better to go slow.

Parking and Waiting

• Automatic parking can really be used. It’s just slow and suitable for beginners. Some parking spots are difficult, and it may be abandoned.

• The reversing image works well with a score of 80. In most cases, it’s useful, but it often defaults to 360 and needs to be manually switched. Also, it starts up too slowly when just getting into the car.

• The 360 image is useful, but there are blind spots in the four corners, and you need to pay attention to whether there are low and narrow objects.

• There are no auxiliary lights for the side camera. In dark or dimly lit areas, the side view is basically blind.

• When moving the car, the braking noise is a bit loud.

Driving Assistance

• Lane keeping and reminders, and side prompts-these conventional auxiliary functions, have been done well.

• NP/NOP can be used: use NP on main roads, NOP on highways. It can reduce the burden. From 2.x to 3.0.0, the detailed experience of following, braking, accelerating, and changing lanes have continuously improved.

• The shortcomings of NP/NOP have been described in many evaluations:

• Hardware limitations-the hesitation of changing lanes, and NP sometimes accelerates when there is no car directly ahead, but cars are merging from the side.

• Occasionally, there are random braking and misjudgment in a one-lane two-way road for NP.

• When the car distance is too far and the front car suddenly slows down, the braking time for NP/NOP is too late. It can eventually stop, but if you let it brake by itself, things in the car will fall to the ground, and people will sway back and forth. I think no one will not take control in that situation.

• As long as you pay attention and control the car, NP and NOP can be used.

• AEB has been triggered a few times and is quite sensitive. However, it doesn’t seem necessary when it occurs. One time I went across a pedestrian crossing turning right at a T-shaped intersection, and a pedestrian had walked from right to left. I slowly drove forward, and AEB triggered without making me shake. The other time was when I crossed two non-perpendicular crossroads. At the time, another vehicle was coming from about a 135-degree angle to the right front. I had already entered the intersection, and the other vehicle was still far away from the intersection, and not driving fast. AEB was triggered, and things in the car fell to the ground.

Energy Regeneration & Energy Consumption

Regeneration

• Most of the time, just change the battery. I’m used to it. Most of the time when I go to several charging stations, I can just change when I arrive, or I’m already going to shop at the surrounding parks and shopping malls, which saves me trouble. In a minority of situations, I have to wait for an hour, but in this case, I usually use a little power next to the charging station and come back next time.- The additional experience is pretty good: the battery exchange personnel generally provide good service; I ran into a coffee bus twice at the exchange station; when there is a queue, they will try to choose a station with Niu House, allowing you to rest while waiting. These services help to relieve the boredom during the battery replacement process.

• Despite having charging conditions, the author still agrees to go for battery exchange because it is faster.

• The charging power is not high. Typically, it takes an hour to fully charge 90% of the battery using a fast charger.

Energy Consumption

• 100-degree battery

• From May to September (Beijing), in comfort mode and normal but not intense driving with non-optimal acceleration, the car’s battery can last between 400 to 430 km when fully charged in city traffic.

• From May to September (Beijing), on highways driving at speeds ranging from 110 to 125 km/h on Jing-Jin highways, the fully charged battery’s range is expected to be between 330 to 350 km.

• Still unknown for winter.

App

App and the Vehicle

• The App has basic functions such as locking the car, windows, checking parking spaces, and turning on the air conditioner.

• App’s control functions on the vehicle are limited, and it cannot be linked to the in-car entertainment system nor access the vehicle’s complete settings.

• After locking the car, there is a significant delay for the app to synchronize the status of the vehicle’s related risks. For example, if the window is not closed, it takes several minutes for the status to be pushed to the user’s phone.

App and Nio and Vehicle Owners

• Almost all services can be found through a Butler. Although there may be problems that the Butler cannot solve, communication is still relatively good.

• Vehicle Owners shared a lot of experiences, including criticisms. However, the total number of users is not large, so besides major events, the overall interaction activity in the app is generally not that high.

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.