NIO is a relatively young manufacturer
that has already demonstrated an exciting electric sports car in 2016: EP9. The
first production car actually intended for the Chinese automobile market was
the ES8 SUV, introduced at the end of 2017, which was later joined also by the
electric ES6 and EC6. ES8 is currently carefully thought out and has advantages
in the form of a variant with a 100 kWh battery.
Initially, the ES8 was only available with
batteries of 70 kWh and 84 kWh, with which the 5-meter SUV was supposed to
reach the NEDC electric range of 355 and 425 km, respectively. NIO has made a
number of adjustments, thanks to which the option with the smallest battery
pack now has to cover 415 km of electric path, in the version with a set of 84
kWh – 485 km. As NIO promises, the new ES8 in the top version with a 100 kWh
battery has a range of 580 km.
According to autoweek.nl, the ES8 has an
electric motor with a capacity of 218 hp. on the front axle, which is helped by
a powerful gasoline engine of 326 hp. on the rear axle. Therefore, the ES8 is
able to accelerate in 4.9 seconds to a speed of 100 km/h.
In appearance, the updated ES8 can hardly
be distinguished from the original. NIO modifies the front and rear bumpers,
adding a silver trim to the front. In addition, the SUV receives dynamic
direction indicators. NIO also makes changes to the interior, mainly related to
the materials used and the format of the digital displays. Driving a 9.8-inch
digital dashboard. An 11.3-inch vertically oriented display is located in the
center console.
The NIO ES8 crossover, available in China
in six- and seven-seater versions, has a starting price of about 60,000 euros.
The top version with a package of 100 kWh is estimated at a minimum of 68,000
euros.