As a car editor, test drives are a very important part of our daily work. Needless to say, there is no need to say more about fuel vehicles, but there are relatively few opportunities to test drive pure electric vehicles, and there are very few opportunities to experience an electric vehicle as a user within a week. Just recently, I had the opportunity to get a new Weilai ES8 for a week's experience. Within a week, this new Weilai ES8 made me have a great change in my view of domestic electric vehicles.
As for the appearance of ES8, many media have explained it in detail before, so I will spend a lot of time introducing it here. From the day ES8 was unveiled, the “X-Bar” family design language has left a deep impression on people. The ES8 has been on the market for many years. In fact, the appearance of the new model has not changed much. However, during the week I drove the new ES8, its return rate is almost as good as a brand new model. This is enough to prove that ES8’s advanced design has been leading the design trend of new energy vehicles.
As the number one new domestic car manufacturer, NIO’s intelligence has always been its most iconic label, so during this experience, I also focused on experiencing this aspect. Function.
The first step to get on the car is to complete the authorization operation of the mobile APP. Under the guidance of NIO staff, the vehicle authorization was completed in less than two minutes. All I need to do is register an account on NIO’s mobile APP, and then enter the mobile phone number I just used to register the account into the car machine, and the authorization can be simply completed.
This 11.3-inch central control screen has become the "controller" that carries various intelligent functions of ES8. First of all, I like the design of this screen very much. It is not as obtrusive as the large screen of Tesla Model? S. Compared with the dual-screen design of Mercedes-Benz EQC, it is more convenient in terms of operation and UI It is also superior in simplicity.
The car-machine UI interface of this car is the kind that I like very much: the car-machine UI design of Weilai ES8 is very simple and clear. You can control almost every aspect of the car through the main menu on the left side of the settings interface. At the same time, the setting interface is displayed in a very direct way on the right side. There is no complicated and cumbersome secondary interface. Even novice users who have never used a smart car can get started without learning.
NIO ES8 also integrates the seat memory function into the 11.3-inch central control screen. Compared with the traditional button-type seat memory like BBA, NIO integrates the seat memory function into the 11.3-inch central control screen. The learning cost is reduced to almost zero. According to the text prompts on the screen, I can easily adjust the seat position to my suitable sitting posture. At the same time, the seat position when leaving the car can also be set by yourself, truly achieving the transformation of the person who adapts to the car. In addition, you can also set a variety of seat postures such as resting positions. With these position settings, the seat adjustment buttons of the NIO ES8 are almost useless.
I have to say that Weilai ES8 is really a "big guy". I will mention how big it is later. But what I want to say first is that in my one-week experience, the size of this ES8 did cause a lot of "trouble". At intersections where I can usually make a U-turn with my car, the ES8 needs another turn. However, when parking and getting into the parking space, this ES8 did not trouble me.
ES8 is equipped with a 360° panoramic view function, and the clarity is very high, and the presentation and restoration of details are also remarkable. With the help of this panoramic imaging system, the problem of difficult parking is well solved. At the same time, in many old communities, the roads themselves are relatively narrow and the roads are full of cars. When the ES8 passes by them this time, the panoramic image will be automatically turned on.
The addition of NOMI seems to give life to this set of cars. It has two big round eyes in standby mode. This cute image makes people want to "tease" it. desire. After these few days of experience, NOMI has really helped me a lot. It is naturally not difficult to let it navigate simple tasks such as opening and closing the car windows. When you are stuck in a traffic jam and you are bored, you can chat with it for a few words and it will be able to pick up the conversation. When you ask it to play music, it will also respond accordingly. Different music styles and different expressions make it feel like listening to music with you.
With a personalized and warm design like NOMI, in my opinion, traditional manufacturers such as BBA should make breakthroughs.
That’s not to say that they should come up with something similar to “NOMI”. I just think that while adhering to the things they stick to, they can also introduce something new that will be refreshing to users.
As a high-end pure electric SUV, NIO ES8 gives me the comfort I want. This does not just refer to a certain point, but all aspects, such as space and riding, daily charging, and driving. Assistance, etc.
Among the new energy SUV models in the 500,000-600,000 yuan range, the Weilai ES8 is definitely a big one. In fact, before this, I just looked at the Nio ES8 statically and didn't think it was that big, but after I drove it, I realized that its size is really big. Compared with the Mercedes-Benz EQC and BMW ix3 and other models of the same level, the ES8 is a whole level larger.
The large size naturally brings about a large space, and the co-pilot queen seat on this signature version of the NIO ES8 is very popular. Although there was no "queen" sitting here during the week-long experience, it made me very comfortable to use it.
The adjustment buttons on the passenger seat can show the adjustability of the Queen's passenger seat. This new ES8 adopts a new seat button layout and adds fully electric leg rests; the fully electric leg rests are further drawn inward to further improve comfort.
I have always felt that without your own fixed charging pile, the convenience of using an electric vehicle will be greatly reduced, because you have to spend a whole time to complete the necessary task of charging.
But after having the Queen as a co-pilot, I think it is very pleasant to go to the charging pile near home to charge at night. Fully open the Queen's passenger seat and adjust it to a suitable sitting position. As long as you want, it can almost provide you with a position that is close to lying flat. Then wake up NOMI and tell it the song you want to listen to. At this moment you will enjoy a space and time exclusive to you.
It takes about an hour to fully charge half of the battery. Many people who drive have the habit of staying in the car for a while before going home, and this period of time for charging an electric vehicle is just right. Act as this time. And another advantage is that you can turn on the air conditioner and music all the time, and you don't have to worry about engine carbon deposits caused by idling like you do when driving a fuel vehicle.
The assisted driving system of NIO’s ES8 is worth mentioning. Among all the fuel vehicles and electric vehicles that I have tested, this driving assistance system called Pilot ranks first. The driving assistance functions of the echelon are comparable to those of mainstream BBA. Starting Pilot is also very simple. You only need to press the start button on the left side of the steering wheel. If the conditions for automatic driving are met, Pilot will take effect immediately.
Although traditional car companies like BBA are evenly matched with ES8 in terms of driving assistance algorithms and actual driving experience, they have one more step to start than Weilai ES8, which is currently A practice adopted by most car companies. Take the Mercedes-Benz EQC as an example. When starting the assisted driving function, you must first press the button in the upper right corner of the function key area on the left side of the steering wheel to turn on the adaptive cruise, and then click SET to set the cruise speed, so that the assisted driving can be fully activated.
Summary: In fact, I was conflicted before taking the Weilai ES8 for a test drive, because I always felt that driving an electric car would cause a lot of inconvenience, especially for people like me who don’t have private charging stations. . But after this week’s experience, through the new Weilai ES8, I have had a very big change in my attitude towards new forces building cars and even towards domestic electric cars. It is not easy for a start-up new car company to get a share of the 500,000-600,000 yuan market that has always been occupied by luxury manufacturers. It is not inferior to BBA in terms of functionality and design, and can even give you everything BBA has to offer. I can't give you a different experience. Perhaps there are still many obstacles ahead for new car brands like NIO, but popular products such as NIO's ES8 and ES6 have been recognized by the market, and the overall future is still bright.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.