Take a first look at Nio’s all-new Firefly EV – a stylish, affordable, and smart electric vehicle designed to rival the Mini Cooper and Fiat 500e. Built by Chinese EV giant Nio, the Firefly combines futuristic design, innovative features like battery swapping, and a surprisingly luxurious interior – all starting at just $16,800 in China!
In this video, we explore the Firefly’s specs, range, tech, and driving experience after a test drive around Shanghai. From its space-efficient rear motor to its Dolby Atmos sound system and unique design by ex-BMW designer Kris Tomasson – the Firefly could be the next big thing in city EVs.
Could this be the perfect urban electric car Americans wish they could buy?
🔋 42.1 kWh battery
⚡ 261 miles (claimed CLTC range)
🚗 0-60 mph in ~8 seconds
💰 Starting price: $16,800 (China)
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#ElectricVehicle #NioFirefly #MiniCooperRival #EVReview #AffordableEV #FutureCars
In this video, we explore the Firefly’s specs, range, tech, and driving experience after a test drive around Shanghai. From its space-efficient rear motor to its Dolby Atmos sound system and unique design by ex-BMW designer Kris Tomasson – the Firefly could be the next big thing in city EVs.
Could this be the perfect urban electric car Americans wish they could buy?
🔋 42.1 kWh battery
⚡ 261 miles (claimed CLTC range)
🚗 0-60 mph in ~8 seconds
💰 Starting price: $16,800 (China)
Subscribe for more reviews, EV comparisons, and global automotive news.
#ElectricVehicle #NioFirefly #MiniCooperRival #EVReview #AffordableEV #FutureCars
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MotorTranscript
00:00Think of private EV startup NIO, EST 2014, as China's homegrown Tesla, a premium brand that solved buyer's range slash charging anxiety by investing in its own infrastructure, battery swap stations in this case rather than fast chargers, and by designing and developing its own hardware and software in-house.
00:20A big difference is that after just seven years of selling cars and before sustaining a profitable bottom line, NIO is introducing a small, affordable, urban electric runabout, so as not to dilute its premium executive car brand reputation.
00:37NIO's Firefly is a sub-brand targeted at premium competitors like MINI and SMART.
00:42We spent the day driving one around ex-urban Shanghai and found lots of features and traits that Americans could love and wish for in an urban EV.
00:50NIO designed and developed its own electric drivetrains, and the permanent magnet motor tucked under the low rear cargo floor is particularly space efficient.
01:00Its highly integrated six in one electric drive system, motor, drive reduction gearing, differential, motor controller, high voltage power distribution unit, and DCC converter is unique in this class.
01:15The rear motor adopts a coaxial layout, meaning the half-shafts are concentric with the motor's rotor, not offset below it, and the planetary differential gearing is inside the rotor, the way Lucid does it.
01:29This all helps keep the center of gravity low and the motor out of the way of cargo.
01:34With no constant velocity joints to protect, the front wheels are free to turn to a much more extreme angle, permitting a city-friendly 30.8-foot turning circle.
01:45This is a choice that shouldn't cost much, if any extra, to implement, and it's thus ripe for adoption on U.S. market cars.
01:52NIO's Firefly EV mounts the steering rack ahead of the front wheel's center line instead of behind it, as most cars do.
02:01This frees up interior footroom and gets the steering out of the way of the frunk.
02:06And with no drivetrain components up there, the Firefly's 3.2-cubic-foot frunk accommodates a good-sized carry-on bag.
02:16Better yet, throw your dirty or wet stuff in there to keep the cabin neat and dry.
02:21The plastic bin can easily be hosed out, or filled with ice, and used as a cooler, thanks to a drain with a removable plug in the bottom.
02:29There's another cubic foot of storage under the right rear seat cushion, plus more under the front passenger cushion, with manual-adjust cloth seats.
02:39Here again, no government subsidizing made this feature possible.
02:43At 35,700 Nm per degree, the Firefly's torsional rigidity is said to be more than 30% stiffer than that of a Tesla Model 3 and 50 to 80% stiffer than more direct competitor hatchbacks.
02:58China cuts some safety regulatory slack to cars measuring shorter than 4 meters, so the Firefly stretches to 4.003 meters long to reassure buyers its nine standard airbags will protect them in a collision with a larger car.
03:14China's equivalent to our IIHS gives it top marks.
03:19Oh, and that ninth bag serves to separate the two front passengers in a crash.
03:23Some of this is a major source of cost.
03:26Some is smart engineering.
03:28Head of design, Chris Tomasson, an American who has stamped his passport at BMW, Ford, and Gulfstream, among others, recalls his marching orders.
03:39My brief was to create the next Fiat 500 or Mini.
03:43Right away, that says it's got to be something unique, not different, unique.
03:48A car that can be recognized by anyone from a child to your grandma.
03:52Three lights was something that was going to be a game-changer in design.
03:55Something memorable.
03:56Then copying and pasting front to the rear.
04:00No one's not going to know that's a Firefly, right?
04:03Capturing the innermost lamps in an elongated pill shape, front and rear provided another design element that's replicated elsewhere.
04:10See the charge port and door handles outside, as well as the rear view mirror, accelerator, brake, and dead pedals, and more inside.
04:20Spending a week familiarizing ourselves with the entire Neo line, we were struck by the utter lack of parts bin sharing.
04:28Every inch of this little car has been designed.
04:31We've said the same of Mini.
04:33There's refreshingly little shiny hard plastic.
04:36Most everything is wrapped in soft-touch microfiber or polyurethane, and at night it's dressed up by 256 color ambient lighting.
04:46Dash level A, see air emits from a row of vents way forward on the dash.
04:51They're not aimable, but there's a swing function, like an oscillating fan that worked great.
04:57Design is free, and we can hope smart materials developers elsewhere can figure out these finishes on a tiny car budget.
05:05Swinging vents are a bigger cost.
05:06The 13.2-inch central display is not pill-shaped, but the home screen incorporates pleasing circular graphics, and every screen features a Firefly font and look.
05:18A UI slash UX win that everyone should start copying at no additional cost.
05:24No matter what's currently displayed on the screen, dragging two fingers up or down on the left side of the screen changes volume, and on the right adjusts temperature.
05:33Standard equipment includes a 14-speaker Dolby Atmos sound system that punches above its class, a power lift gate, phone is key, welcome lighting, and an AI assistant named Luma.
05:46Smart parking and level 2 plus autonomy are also included, all of which are likely budget busters for Western competitors.
05:54Sometimes in dense city centers, you end up parked too close to something to comfortably open a door.
05:59The area ahead of and between the seats is open, and the top of the center console, which features a slide-out bin, is level with the seat cushions.
06:10So, simply raising the armrest allows both driver and front passenger to easily enter and exit via either door.
06:18A great free idea!
06:19The Firefly gets a 42.1 kWh lithium-ion phosphate battery, the West's great hope for cheap entry EVs, that's claimed to provide 261 miles of range.
06:32But that, like the 10.9 kWh per 100 km overall efficiency statistic, 192.1 MEG, are both products of the wildly optimistic China light-duty vehicle test cycle.
06:47CLTC, so salt them liberally.
06:49Firefly uses budget-friendly 400-volt architecture, and is limited to 100 kW charging, which is said to be able to bring the 42.1 kWh battery pack from 10% to 80% in 30 minutes.
07:04But the promise of 3-minute battery swaps will eventually make charging speed irrelevant.
07:09The delay is the fact that the smaller Firefly battery can't use NIO's 3,275 existing battery swap stations.
07:18The new fifth-generation design has been developed in conjunction with battery partner CATL,
07:24which will contribute to the swapping station build-out along with seven other EV manufacturers that have signed on to share this new battery swapping standard.
07:33So, early Firefly owners may find themselves charging more than swapping for a while.
07:38Firefly claims the 141-horsepower motor will scoot this 3,300-pound runabout to 60 mph in around 8 seconds, roughly matching our most recent Fiat 500e.
07:53But with that thrust coming from behind, the rear suspension is a five-link design where many competitors fit cheaper trailing twist beams.
08:02Add in the fact that NIO enlisted the aid of Canada's Multimatic to tune the suspension,
08:07using fixed-rate dampers, using fixed-rate dampers, and the result is admirably agile driving dynamics.
08:13Our Chinese market-test car felt more softly suspended than a Mini or 500e,
08:19but its longer wheelbase helps it feel equally well-planted and stable, with no excessive roll, pitch, or dive.
08:27Tuning could be tweaked to suit European tastes, or possibly left us is to carve out a more comfort-centric niche.
08:33Unlike other NIO products we drove, this one offers full one-pedal driving as well as adjustable regenerative braking levels,
08:42plus an auto mode, using forward radar to increase Regan to pace slowing vehicles.
08:48Sport, normal, and Eco drive modes alter steering feel and accelerator responsiveness,
08:54and we found that only Eco allowed smooth highway driving, with higher levels of Regan selected.
09:01No mode provided realistic steering feel, but that's almost universally true in this class.
09:07The Firefly is on sale now, starting at the equivalent of $16,800 in China,
09:14sporting five mostly bright exterior colors and four interior color schemes,
09:19as well as a choice of two-seat materials and two-wheel designs.
09:23It will eventually enter 16 countries on five continents.
09:27With North America and Antarctica the odd rocks out.
09:31Even at twice that price or a little more,
09:34the Firefly EV would strike most Americans as an unbelievable steal.
09:38Which has raised the question, what might end up actually getting stolen?
09:44Market share, hearts, minds.
09:46Perhaps, if Americans could buy this car for $34,000?
09:50$34,000?