UK-bound Chinese firm will have an all-electric estate offering
Nio has just revealed its newest offering, a pure-electric estate called the ET5 Touring. It’ll share the same battery and technology as the ET5 saloon, plus the additional practicality of an estate bodystyle, designed to take on the incoming selection of premium electric estates.
Rivals for the ET5 Touring are few in number currently – just the MG5 and Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo occupy the pure-electric estate segment – but the BMW i5 Touring, Audi A6 e-tron Avant and Volkswagen ID.7 estate will be vying for the same premium end of the market from 2024.
Next year is also when we can expect the ET5 Touring to come to the UK, with European deliveries starting later this summer. Nio says the ET5 Touring is ‘designed with families in mind; it adds versatility, space, and practicality to the sporting character of its sedan variant’.
In terms of design, it's the same as what we’ve seen on the saloon model, with a smooth front end, thin LED headlights and side air intakes. The rear also shares the saloon’s full-width rear light bar and bumper but as an estate it gains the traditional extra mass behind the C-pillar.
As with the saloon, the Touring comes with two battery offerings. The smaller 75kWh unit allows for a maximum 270-mile range; the larger 100kW battery gives the ET5 Touring up to 347 miles of range. Nio says in the saloon the batteries take 30 and 40 minutes respectively to replenish from 10 to 80 per cent on a fast charger.
Nio is also developing its ‘Power Swap Stations’ which allows a full battery swap to be completed in less than five minutes. The firm already has the technology up and running in Norway, The Netherlands and Germany. In Norway, customers get two free battery swaps a month and 200kW of free charging, and there are currently plans for 70 Power Swap locations in Europe by the end of 2023.
The 100kW unit also sends power to two electric motors, one on each axle. The front motor has 201bhp and the rear 282bhp, combining for a total of 483bhp and 705Nm of torque. This gives the ET5 Touring a 0-62mph time of four seconds flat.
We’ve already driven the ET5 saloon, finding the composed ride and power impressive, and it should be the same story with the estate. Underneath the ET5 Touring you’ll find the same suspension set-up and 50:50 weight distribution as the saloon, although even with the smaller battery it’ll weigh more than 2,140kg.
Inside, Nio ET5 Touring interior design is clean and unadorned, with a 12.8-inch infotainment screen taking care of most controls and a 10.2-inch driver’s display. The interface is simple and, as with lots of EV-only rivals, the ET5 has had a focus on software integration from its inception. As well as the usual interfaces, Nio’s ‘Nomi’ personal assistant is integrated into the dash top.
Prices for the ET5 saloon start at 60,900 euros (£53,000), so it’s likely this new Touring will carry a small price premium when it arrives in the UK from 2024.
Now read our review of the Nio ET5 saloon…
Keyword: New 2024 Nio ET5 Touring to come with 483bhp