The new Nio EL8’s gameplan appears to be two-fold: Bludgeon your senses with masses of power and torque, then let them recover by depriving them of any and all stimulation. Proper rock in one hand, bandage in the other stuff.
First, the arsenal: The EL8 twins a 241hp permanent-magnet front motor with a 402hp induction unit on the rear for a grand total of 643hp and 849Nm. Ooft. Nil to 100kph takes 4.1sec, merely a beat behind the (much smaller and lighter) MG 4 XPower. Six-piston front brakes aid big stopping power, too.
And that’s while carrying a massive 100kWh battery (there’s a Standard Range 75kWh alternative), needed to propel the EL8 around 510km on one charge. We might’ve expected more, given the slippery drag coefficient of 0.25.
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Inside there’s a choice of two six-seat layouts, made possible by the car being 5,099mm long, 1,750mm tall, and 2,199mm wide, inclusive of a 3,070mm wheelbase. The first gets 14-way adjustable rear seats; the second gets 12-way adjustable ottomans and a ‘smart’ fridge.
Everything is finished in a roll call of sustainable materials: rattan, soybean foam cushions, Haptext synthetic leather, sugar cane, castor oil...it’s all in there. The headlining is the world’s first plant-based woven suede, claims Nio.
There’s also an in-car fragrance system. No, really. It promises ‘woodland freshness,’ apparently, plus ‘waterfall’ LED ambient lighting and a 23-speaker, 2,300W surround sound system.
Now the deprivation stuff: laminated glass and more than 50 ‘acoustic treatments’ are designed to shut out the outside world, while dual-chamber air suspension, continuous damping control, and noise-reducing tires work in tandem to keep you as undisturbed as possible. Twenty-inch rims are standard, with 21- and 22-inchers optional.
Anything else to note? More safety aids than you can shake a risk assessment at, a 16.3-inch HUD and 12.8-inch central display, multi-beam adaptive matrix LEDs, LiDAR (with detection up to half a kilometer), and 2,000kg of towing ability. Oh, and an 810-liter cargo area if you collapse seats five and six.
Think it’s got a place in our market?
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
