Nio is one of a number of brands to adopt a minimalist look and let a large central touchscreen do all the heavy lifting, which if done badly can lead to quite a sparse and cold feel inside.
Yet as we’ve found on some of its other models, including the Europe-friendly Nio ET5 saloon, Nio is able to add a premium feel to its interiors thanks to excellent material choices and perceived quality. The firm is all in on being a rival to the likes of BMW and Audi, with the models priced accordingly, and the interiors don’t let them down.
The central screen still dominates the experience. There’s so much space it doesn’t look like Nio knows what to fill it with, and while the display responds instantly to inputs, you still have to take your eyes off the road to check your finger is pointing in the right place. There is still a driver’s display for all key driver info such as speed – not a given these days, as seen with, for instance,f the Volvo EX30.
Nio is one of a number of brands trying to better master voice controls, and the EL8 has the firm’s ‘virtual assistant’, which sits on the top of the dashboard and is called Nomi.
When it works, it works well even for more advanced commands, but it has selective hearing before it will even spark into life, let alone make itself useful.
The EL8 follows the Kia EV9 in having six seats for a more executive feel, and this is the only available choice. All three rows have large, comfortable chairs but there’s an absence of storage throughout and the boot space is ultimately compromised, at 265 litres with three rows up and 810 litres with the third row down.
You can’t then fully get the second row out the way to create a van-like cargo hold like you can with other large SUVs. For so much space, there’s not much versatility.
There are some clever features and functions, including a refrigerator that can also operate at 50deg C to keep things warm, a hot-stone massage function on the heated, massaging seats, and the ability to truly change the sense of mood and feel inside through clever use of ambient lighting.