Ahead of the rest. As an electric station wagon, the Nio ET5 Touring has more luggage space and headroom in the back.
Several car manufacturers have announced electric station wagons. But after MG and Porsche, Nio is only the third brand that can actually supply one. Is such a practical beast of burden really an addition?
What does the Touring add?
The range of electric cars continues to expand, it would almost make you feel stressed about choosing. However, electric station wagons are still a rarity. Until recently you could only go to MG and Porsche. Nio has now also joined the select group with the ET5 Touring. The Touring is a more practical variant of the ET5, which we already know as a sedan. The length, width, height and wheelbase of the Touring are the same as those of the sedan: the advantage comes from the roofline extending higher to the rear and the wide-opening tailgate. The luggage compartment with height-adjustable loading floor measures 450 liters, which is slightly more than the modest 386 liters of the sedan. If necessary, the backrest of the rear seat can be folded down in three parts (40:20:40) and you have a maximum of 1,300 liters at your disposal. You will have to make do with that, as a frunk (useful for dirty charging cables) is not present. You can connect a trailer of up to 1,400 kg to the electrically deployable towbar.
On the Nio ET5 Touring, you can fold the rear seat backrest forward into three parts.
How are you under the glass ceiling?
The higher roof offers rear passengers 17 millimeters more headroom. Those extra millimeters under the glass roof are very welcome. The extra headroom is not limited by sliding sun blinds. For those who appreciate this (it is an option for €1,200), the transparent roof can be dimmed at the touch of a button to keep out annoying UV radiation. Less pleasant is that the seat of the rear seat is quite short and that the distance between the floor and the seat is modest, so that you make a fairly sharp angle with your knees and you only have support under the buttocks. The seating position is slightly better in the front, you can adjust the seat length at the touch of a button. Furthermore, the front seats are slightly lower than what we experienced before. This creates a slightly more pleasant seating position while also creating slightly more headroom. As a result of the higher roof, visibility over the shoulders is better than with the sedan. However, on the other hand, the view in the rear-view mirror is very modest.
Under the glass ceiling of the Touring you have more headroom than in the sedan.
What is the loading capacity?
Nio is using the introduction of the station wagon to make a number of changes. For example, we are introduced to revised software (Banyan 200) for the multimedia system, where it is particularly striking that we still work with (too) much text. More interesting is the revised battery technology. Just like the sedan, the Touring is available with a choice of a 75 kWh or a 100 kWh battery pack. While Nio previously specified a maximum charging capacity of 125 kW for the latter with a DC fast charger, this is now 180 kW for the new 100 kWh battery in the Touring. That is a big step forward. Of course, if you feel it is necessary, you can always exchange an empty battery for a full one at one of the 28 European Nio battery exchange stations, then you will be helped even faster. But then you have to be close to such a station.
Nio’s spearhead is still the battery changing station.
How does the Nio ET5 Touring drive?
At the rear, the ET5 Touring has a 286 hp synchronous motor with permanent magnets, and at the front it has a 204 hp induction motor. Depending on the selected driving mode, the ET5 Touring is smooth, fast or super fast. The driving behavior of the Touring is not significantly different from that of the sedan. The coil-sprung chassis knows how to handle the driving forces very well, and the car follows the set course in a nice and stable manner. Short bumps and speed bumps sometimes come as heavy blows, but basically the comfort is fine. Bottom line, the Nio ET5 Touring is a pleasant-driving electric station wagon. The additional price compared to the sedan is a modest €1,200, while the car is significantly more practical. But despite that modest additional cost, the starting price of €63,900 for this electric station wagon is still very high.
Nio gives the ET5 Touring coil springs all around.