2018 NIO ES8

Power comes from a 70 kWh battery pack, located underneath and within the 3010 mm wheelbase. This powers a pair of 322 bhp motors, one on each axle for full-time four-wheel drive. The resulting maximum power is a more than healthy 641 bhp, along with 620 lb ft of torque. This manifests itself in a headline 4.4 seconds 0–62 mph dash.

At the front, the ES8 gets what Nio calls an “X-bar” grille, while at the rear there’s a set of “heartbeat” tail-lights. It measures 5,022 mm long and about 40 mm by 2,000 mm wide .

Inside, the ES8’s quality feel continues, with an interior that’s cloaked in Nappa leather. The electrically adjustable, heated, ventilated and massaging front seats are comfortable and supportive. The passenger chair has a business class range of movement. Should its occupant wish to catch up on some sleep, there’s an electric footrest that folds out from where the glovebox should be. Alternatively, they can glide back to tend an infant seated in the middle row of three seats.

The Dual electric motors provide intelligent all-wheel drive with at least some off-road ability; with the suspension raised the ES8 can wade water up to 400 mm deep. The adaptive air springs deliver, in the most part, a smooth ride .At high speeds the car lowers to improve stability, and when parked it can squat to help while loading heavy items.

On top of the dashboard, with its 10.4 inch central touchscreen, sits an egg-like object with googly eyes. This is Nomi, the world’s first in-car artificial intelligence personal assistant. Nomi (Know Me, get it?) learns behavior and does everything from opening the windows to directing you to the nearest charging station, taking selfies and entertaining the kids.

Less impressive is the steering. Numb and over-assisted, it has been calibrated for the Chinese market, say Nio’s engineers, where drivers clearly don’t like to feel any link between the front tyres and steering wheel.The steering initially feels light, but it is actually much better balanced than most Chinese cars Unlike some EVs you can’t choose the level of braking regeneration, and the standard setting is quite heavy. Take your foot off the accelerator and the car will slow quickly to around 5 mph, meaning you rarely need to use the brake pedal in town.

Should you prefer to use a controller rather than touch to operate the infotainment screen, you’ll find a fiddly little knob. And plastics around the lower portions of the doors and particularly the boot lining feel cheap and scratchy.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the way Nio has chosen to swap out the glove box for a fold down foot rest, giving the front passenger better legroom. The electrically adjustable seat goes back much further than it might in a Model X, allowing those in the front to attend to children in the back.

Unlike many supposedly seven-seat SUVs, it is possible to seat adults in the third row, too, although headroom is limited. These seats fold flat with the boot floor via an easy release catch, increasing luggage space.

Functions such as the massage seats and climate control have voice activation by AI-helper NOMI, which sits on top of the dashboard and swivels to face you. Currently, NOMI only understands Chinese only.

The ES8’s biggest problem, however, is that a lot of the software is simply not ready. Over the air updates will bring autonomous driving features later down the line, along with a more mundane 360-degree parking view. The hardware is all there, but the tech team has yet to catch up with production-ready software.

Unlike many supposedly seven-seat SUVs, it is possible to seat adults in the third row, too, although headroom is limited. These seats fold flat with the boot floor via an easy release catch, increasing luggage space.

Functions such as the massage seats and climate control have voice activation by AI-helper NOMI, which sits on top of the dashboard and swivels to face you. Currently, NOMI only understands Chinese, though, and will need adapting for European buyers. In our experience it isn’t the most responsive system, and needs to have commands done in a certain way for it to understand.

The ES8’s biggest problem, however, is that a lot of the software is simply not ready. Over the air updates will bring autonomous driving features later down the line, along with a more mundane 360-degree parking view. The hardware is all there, but the tech team has yet to catch up with production-ready software.

Nio ES8 specification

Price £51,500 ,Engine Two permanent-magnet electric motors Power 641 bhp Torque 620 lb ft Gearbox Single-speed direct drive Kerb weight 2460 kg Top speed 125 mph 0–62 mph 4.4 seconds Range 222 miles CO2 0g/km Rivals Tesla Model X, Audi E-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQC