Nio ET5 Touring: as an electric station wagon, an EV with a practical impact

Highlights Nio ET5 Touring

• Large tailgate
• Up to 560 kilometers range
• In 4.0 count to 100 km / h
• From €63,900
• Autumn 2023 in the Netherlands

Electric station wagons are still a rarity. Only Porsche and MG currently offer an electric pack mule. The station versions of the electric Opel Astra and Peugeot 308 have already been promised, but we still don’t see them driving. If the boat from China arrives on time, the ET5 Touring can give the sales figures of the young Chinese brand a significant boost. And that seems necessary, because so many ET5s, ET7s and EL7s have still not been sold.

With the ET5 Touring, Nio seems to be one step ahead of the established order.

Dimensions Nio ET5 Touring

Length (4.79 m), width (2.18 m), height (1.50 m) and wheelbase (2.89 m) of the Touring are the same as those of the sedan: the gain comes from the higher to rear continuous roofline. Above the rear seat you do indeed have more headroom under the large glass roof, and that headroom is not limited by a sun blind – just like the Volkswagen ID7, the glass has a dimming position. The luggage compartment (450 liters against 386 liters in the sedan) with its height-adjustable floor is easily accessible via the large tailgate and, if necessary, the backrest of the rear seat can be folded down in three parts, so that you can take a maximum of 1,300 liters with you. If that is not enough, you can always hitch up a 1,400 kg trailer.

The sloping roofline provides extra headroom in the back of the Nio ET5 Touring.

Range of up to 560 km on a full battery

As with the sedan, Nio also gives you the choice of two battery variants with the ET5 Touring, one with a capacity of 75 kWh and the other with 100 kWh. The battery choice has no influence on the performance of the two electric motors (the Touring is also a four-wheel drive), which is unchanged at 490 hp, just like with the four-door version. Of course, the battery capacity does have consequences for the range. With a full 75 kWh battery you can reach 435 km according to WLTP and with the 100 kWh battery 560 km should be achievable. The charging capacity is not yet specified by Nio, but we assume that it is equal to what we know from the sedan: 11 kW at the AC charging station. With the fast charger, the 75 kWh version can handle 140 kW DC and the 100 kWh version with a maximum of 125 kW DC. These are not groundbreaking values, but Nio is busy rolling out a network of battery exchange stations. Here you are back on the road after six minutes (we clocked it) with a full battery.

Nio’s electric station wagon can travel up to 560 km on a full battery.

Interior and equipment

In the front, the Nio ET5 Touring is the same as the sedan. This means a minimalist dashboard. Right in front of you is a compact set of instruments on which the most necessary data is projected. Amidships you will find a large multimedia screen with which you have to control just about everything that can be arranged; from adjusting the steering wheel and mirrors to unfolding the tow bar. Nio gives the ET5 a whole range of safety systems and comfort-enhancing features. This limits the option list to things like a comfort package (with massage seats and seat ventilation), a trailer package (with the fold-out tow bar), the NOMI robot head on the dashboard and different types of wheels plus a number of paint colors.

Nio gives the electric station wagon a nice and complete equipment.

Chinese price war

Just like with us, Tesla has been waging a price war in China for some time now, and the rest of the car industry followed almost immediately. It was only last Monday that Nio responded with a price reduction on all models of 30,000 Yuan, the equivalent of €3,900, which amounts to a discount of 6 to 9 percent depending on the model. With this, Nio hopes to boost sales from just over 6,000 cars in May to more than 20,000 per month in the second half of the year. With the price reduction, the free battery change is canceled.

Four-wheel drive makes the EV just that little bit more practical.

Price list Nio ET5 Touring