The NIO ET5 is a ‘second living room’ on wheels

Chinese electric car brand NIO has followed up its ES6 SUV and ET7 saloon with a compact version of the latter, christened the ET5.

With a similar profile and ultra-slippery drag coefficient of 0.24, the 4.7 metre long ET5 boasts a range of over 621 miles courtesy of a gargantuan 150kWh battery.

Despite the bulk of the cells it’s properly quick too: a 150kW asynchronous front motor and 210kW permanent magnet rear motor combine for 483bhp and 442.5lb ft of torque, meaning 0-62mph takes just 4.3 seconds.

Meanwhile four-pot brake calipers will bring you back from 62mph to a complete stop in 33.9 metres.

Numbers aside, there’s a typical focus on luxury inside. The interior design follows the latest ‘trends in furniture, fashion and footwear’ (yes, really), with recycled and sustainable materials used throughout. The glasshouse and panoramic sunroof are designed to let in as much natural light as possible, but you can also choose from 256 ambient lighting colours when you decide to dictate the mood.

In fact, NIO wants you to think of the ET5 as a ‘second living room’, although we’d wager your actual living room doesn’t have invisible air vents or a Dolby Atmos surround sound system.

What about the tech? Well, the ET5 is equipped with an array of autonomous driving sensors that will ‘gradually’ add features, although you’ll need to pay a subscription as well. The digital display and central touchscreen look quite restrained by modern standards, so to compensate for this sensibleness NIO has co-developed some AR glasses that will ‘project an effective screen size’ of 201 inches. Yup, your guess is as good as ours…

Deliveries will begin in China in September, and NIO says it has plans to enter markets in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark in 2022. Domestically the ET5 will cost 328,000 Chinese yen, about £38,000 in the UK. But whether or not you’ll ever be able to purchase one in good old pounds sterling remains to be seen.