In profile, the EL8 looks quite similar to a Range Rover Sport (even the optional 22in alloys look like something out of Gaydon). It is a three-row electric SUV with six seats rather than seven, for a more luxurious feel, and is pitched at the likes of the BMW iX. It’s a large car, at 5099mm long, 1750mm tall and 2199mm wide, with a wheelbase of 3070mm. That makes it longer than a Range Rover, and it feels it on the road. Even a Range Rover feels a bit too big for UK roads these days and, on that basis, the EL8 would fare the same. Nio’s styling is on the discreet side, the firm keeping things very restrained and reserved. The EL8 is inoffensive yet not memorable to look at, much like a Tesla, though the lidar sensor on the roof suggests the air of a taxi, and the other cameras either side on top of the pillars little horns. All together, these cameras and sensors give the look of one of those Google cars you sometimes see mapping the streets. Underneath, the EL8 is related to the ET7 saloon (a BMW i7 rival) and the smaller EL7 SUV. Apart from their catchy and memorable names, these cars have plenty in common, including an ultra-high-strength steel and aluminium architecture called Nio Platform B, a battery pack in the floor and twin electric motors for four-wheel drive. Despite the vehicle’s size, its drag coefficient is impressive, at a slippery 0.25. As standard, 20in alloys are fitted, with 21in and 22in options. Nio is one of a number of brands to adopt a minimalist look and let a large central touchscreen do all the heavy lifting, which if done badly can lead to quite a sparse and cold feel inside. Yet as we’ve found on some of its other models, including the Europe-friendly Nio ET5 saloon, Nio is able to add a premium feel to its interiors thanks to excellent material choices and perceived quality. The firm is all in on being a rival to the likes of BMW and Audi, with the models priced accordingly, and the interiors don’t let them down. The central screen still dominates the experience. There’s so much space it doesn’t look like Nio knows what to fill it with, and while the display responds instantly to inputs, you still have to take your eyes off the road to check your finger is pointing in the right place. There is still a driver’s display for all key driver info such as speed – not a given these days, as seen with, for instance,f the Volvo EX30. Nio is one of a number of brands trying to better master voice controls, and the EL8 has the firm’s ‘virtual assistant’, which sits on the top of the dashboard and is called Nomi. When it works, it works well even for more advanced commands, but it has selective hearing before it will even spark into life, let alone make itself useful. The EL8 follows the Kia EV9 in having six seats for a more executive feel, and this is the only available choice. All three rows have large, comfortable chairs but there’s an absence of storage throughout and the boot space is ultimately compromised, at 265 litres with three rows up and 810 litres with the third row down. You can’t then fully get the second row out the way to create a van-like cargo hold like you can with other large SUVs. For so much space, there’s not much versatility. There are some clever features and functions, including a refrigerator that can also operate at 50deg C to keep things warm, a hot-stone massage function on the heated, massaging seats, and the ability to truly change the sense of mood and feel inside through clever use of ambient lighting. The EL8 has two motors for four-wheel drive, with a permanent magnet motor at the front and an induction motor at the rear, and they can work independently of one another to boost efficiency. The combined outputs are prodigious – 644bhp and 627lb ft of torque – as is the acceleration, with a 0-62mph time of 4.1sec quoted, exactly what you need in a 2.6-tonne family SUV… As you’ll read below in the ride and handling section, the EL8 behaves very differently in the different driving modes. In the standard Comfort mode, it doesn’t feel very quick at all – in fact quite slow and heavy. Select Sport+ mode, though, and you’ll soon find that this is simply a case of software tuning; the EL8 is rapid, unnervingly so. Good job Nio talks up the stopping power of the Bosch brakes… There are no real hidden depths at all to the EL8: it’s a very quick car in a straight line, and how much power you make available to your right foot is simply a result of which driving mode you are in. Now then. It has all been fairly typical so far, yet the EL8 is the strangest car I’ve driven all year. That’s all thanks to the suspension tuning. The suspension is incredibly soft and tries to be so comfortable to the point that it becomes uncomfortable. If a stiff, crashy ride takes your fillings out, the EL8’s soft ride makes you feel like being in a boat on choppy waters. Your correspondent gets car sick as a passenger, yet the Nio EL8 is one of few cars I’ve driven that makes me feel that way from the driver’s seat. The suspension is actually rather sophisticated: dual-chamber air at each corner with continuously variable dampers, backed by hydraulic bump-stops to further cushion the extremities of travel. Citroën uses the same bump-stops to better effect. Yet in the standard Comfort mode, the EL8 borders on undrivable, because the car takes so long to settle back down to level after going over a bump or around a corner, whether that’s from front to back or side to side as you get tossed and swayed around. Even the most ‘extreme’ Sport+ mode, it’s a soft car, though it’s better so this is the mode to leave it in. The extra weight to the steering is also welcome in Sport+ mode, because it’s so light in Comfort that you’re constantly making adjustments to keep the EL8 in a straight line. A starting price of €82,900 (£70,000) is in line with the BMW iX on the face of it, but you have to pay for battery rental on top of that, which then allows you to change batteries at Nio’s battery swap stations, 56 of which exist in Nio’s five current European markets. The starting price including the battery is an extra €12,000 (£10,000) for a 73.5kWh battery with up to 242 miles of range and €15,000 (£12,600) for a 90kWh battery with up to 317 miles of range. Our test wasn’t long enough to give a comprehensive assessment of range, but it displayed close to 300 miles on quite a mild morning. The ability to decouple the two motors to run on only the front motor should boost efficiency at motorway speeds too. Beyond the two battery options in the EL8’s line-up, there are two trim levels: a standard model and an Executive one, which puts €5000 (£4200) on the list price. The main difference inside for the Executive is the addition of a bespoke centre console in the rear that includes that special refrigerator.Â
