The NIO EC6 Is The Most Luxurious EV We've Ever Driven

What is it?

NIO is one of the most talked about electric carmakers in the world, and for good reason. It’s trying to do something that other Chinese EV companies haven’t yet attempted: offer a luxury experience that competes with the big boys from Germany. The NIO EC6 is their entry into the highly-contested coupe SUV category, and prices range from 57,000 to 83,000 USD here in China.

Bridging the gap between EV and petrol

The styling on the EC6 and other NIO models bridges the gap between the traditional styling of an internal combustion car, and the completely blank, grill-less face of many other electric vehicles. The result manages to be both futuristic and familiar at the same time. It’s attractive, though we would have appreciated a little extra splash of sportiness to compliment the coupe roofline and separate this model from the ES6, the brand’s more traditionally-designed SUV.

Something that all NIOs seem to have in common is black plastic cladding that runs around the entirety of the car. You can find this look on a lot more affordable SUVs, but you know where you won’t find it? On the latest BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Audi SUVs. That’s because it makes the car look less upscale. On lighter-colored cars, the plastic also gives the front-end a kind lip-like look, something our darker-colored test car managed to avoid for the most part.

The most luxurious EV we've ever driven

Simply put, this is the most luxurious electric car we have ever tested. Nothing short of a Mercedes EQC can rival the material quality and comfort of the EC6’s interior. Everything you touch feels soft and expensive. Ergonomics are also top notch, particularly the shifter design, which falls easily to hand and takes up very little real estate on the center console.

The center screen is well-sized, and the UI is attractive and easy to operate, but what we really appreciated was the physical buttons and dial. They allow you to control important functions like the volume and the driving mode. Our only complaint is the level of distortion on the cameras. There was a lot, and on a vehicle with a small rear window and thick pillars, good cameras really come in handy.

Rear seat leg space in the EC6 is adequate, but compromised by a high rear floor and seat bottoms that are a bit on the short side. The rear roofline also means the EC6 only manages to offer 510 liters of rear storage (18 cubic ft), far less than a comparably-sized Mercedes GLE Coupe

Swappable batteries + air suspension = good

EC6 buyers can choose between two different ternary lithium batteries, a 70 kWh battery offering 440 (270 miles) kilometers of NEDC range, or a 100 kWh option that will go a claimed 610 kilometers (379 miles) on a full charge. Both batteries take a little less than an hour to recharge using a DC fast charger, and 10 and 15 hours respectively on a regular home outlet.

The true innovation from NIO, however, is its widespread use of battery swapping, with swapping stations strategically placed along major roadways here in China. It’s even possible to purchase a 70 kWh model, then simply pay to rent a 100 kWh battery that you can swap in at any of those stations.

NIO has also announced plans to allow consumers to purchase their cars at a lower price and simply lease their battery, potentially offering some relief to buyers who are worried about depreciation on their electric car.

We would have loved to experience it ourselves, but the owner had only one request when they lent us this car, don’t swap the battery. They intend to take advantage of the battery swapping stations in the future, but they didn’t want to swap their brand-new battery for a battery that could be much older.

No doubt NIO has ways of removing older, degraded batteries from circulation, but it illustrates an interesting mental barrier that could stand in the way of someone taking advantage of the battery swapping feature. Still, NIO claims to have completed more than 500,000 battery swaps across 143 stations in China, so the system clearly appeals to NIO customers.

Regardless of which battery you choose, the EC6 comes in two power levels, the Sport trim which gives you 320 kW and 610Nm of torque (430hp and 450 ft-lb of torque) or the Performance trim, which steps things up to 400 kW and 725Nm (536hp and 535 ft-lb of torque).

The Sport trim uses permanent magnet motors in both the front and the rear, while the Performance version uses a permanent magnet motor in the front and an induction motor in the rear. 0-100 kph times range from 5.6 seconds for the Sport, down to 4.5 seconds for the Performance.

Our test car was a Performance model with the 70 kWh battery pack, and it was certainly quick, but what stood out most was its comfort. The adjustable air suspension meant it fairly floated down the road, but still stayed admirably flat in corners. It also meant it could do things like lower after you lock the car, making for easier ingress and egress, as well as hunkering down when driving at sustained high speeds, providing better aerodynamics.

NIO offers their own competitor to Tesla’s AutoPilot called NIO Pilot. This particular car came equipped with the “complete package”, a roughly USD 6,000 option that allows the car to do things like navigate on and off-ramps, pass other vehicles, merge lanes, and navigate planned routes.

Basically, it’s NIO’s version of Tesla’s FSD. We weren’t able to do a thorough review given our limited time with the car, but it doesn’t quite seem to measure up to Tesla’s full FSD system. The lane changing feature, for example, was quite slow. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance at a more extensive review in the future.   

Takeaway

When NIO debuted their ET7 sedan concept in 2019, President Qin Lihong made a lot of waves by saying that it was targeted, not at Tesla, but at the BMW 7-Series. Was it really possible, many asked, for a Chinese EV startup to offer that level of luxury?

Having driven the EC6, our honest answer is, they already are! The EC6 earns its USD 80,000 price tag by offering the technology and driving experience that one would expect from a car at that level. Combine it with innovations like battery swapping, and we’d argue it’s actually a bit of a bargain.