
W e should start here by pointing out that you can't buy the Nio EL6 in the UK. Not yet, anyway.
However, Nio has already started selling cars in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden and a UK offensive is highly likely before the end of 2024, with this 4.85-metre-long family SUV set to be one of the Chinese EV specialist's launch models.
It's hard not to draw comparisons between the EL6 and the supersmooth, computer-mouse styling that Tesla has made its own, although there's more than a hint of Hyundai at the front. Sleek and inoffensive yet generic just about sums it up, although that camera housing above the windscreen is distinctive, if perhaps not in a flattering way. Taxi, anyone?
The EL6 sits on Nio's new NT2.0 platform and offers two lithium ion battery options: a 75kWh pack and a 100kWh pack, good for a range of 252 or 329 miles respectively.
Charging is capped at 140kW for the smaller battery and 180kW for the bigger one, as used by our test car. That's a way off Tesla, Hyundai and Kia rates but still roughly on a par with many alternative EVs.
Anyway, Nio also has its patented battery-swapping technology, so the EL6's battery can be changed out for a fresh, fully charged pack in around five minutes at one of Nio's special roadside swap stations.
The company has 120 of these planned for installation across mainland Europe and intends to have several here ahead of its launch - although we can't help but feel that the UK's notoriously awkward road infrastructure and planning laws might prove something of a challenge. Good luck to them.
The EL6 has a 201bhp induction motor at the front and a 282bhp synchronous motor at the back for permanent four-wheel drive and a combined output of 483bhp.
There's also standard adaptive damping and no fewer than nine driving modes.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 01, 2023-Ausgabe von Autocar UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 01, 2023-Ausgabe von Autocar UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden

"I'm not surprised that EVs haven't taken off, because most of them suck"
Peter Rawlinson's uniquely dissenting views helped turn Lucid into a major force. As he steps back from the front line, he tells MARK TISSHAW how

Matt Prior
I've bought an Audi A2. It’s a 2003 74bhp 1.4-litre diesel and, because it didn’t have an MOT, it cost me £500.

HYUNDAI IONIQ 9
Here comes another upmarket seven-seat SUV with a calm and cosseting ambience and a long-range electric powertrain

Damien Smith
The most tiresome catchphrase in motorsport? 'It's not as good as it used to be.' Inevitably true in some respects, it's also false in at least as many and always utterly pointless to dwell on. The world keeps spinning, and while it's both enjoyable and important to reflect on and indulge in the past (I admit that I'm as guilty as anyone), it's also vital to live for today and squeeze every drop from the here and now.

Cheap skates
Electric cars, and new cars in general, are expensive. You know it, we know it, and even though they prefer to draw your attention to attractive-looking finance deals and the potential savings of electric driving, car makers know it.

LEXUS RX
Life will be a lot less comfortable now this luxury SUV has left us

THE CLASS-TOPPING ASTON WITH OLD-SCHOOL CHARM
Mk2 Vantage was our top pick when it arrived in 2018 – and now it's £60k

A Q-car classic for the 21st century
Registered in 1970, Jules Cranwell's 'woody' was one of the last Morris Minor Travellers to be built. It left the Adderley Park production line with a 1098cc A-series engine - fine in its day but, according to Jules, a liability in the 21st century. \"In standard trim, the Morris Minor is very slow so I've modified mine a little so that it can keep up with today's traffic,\" he says.

NEW AUDI A6 AVANT KEEPS THE DIESEL FLAME BURNING
Sporty-looking next-gen estate arrives in diesel-hybrid and petrol guise

CUPRA TAVASCAN
Can a big family EV capture this brand's young, sporty ethos? Let's see