Luxury automakers are feeling real pressure from Chinese brands as the new car makers move into the premium phase. Such pressure, in fact, has started with the entry of the NIO ES8, a high-end SUV from a Chinese brand that already has a high sales record in the midsize SUV market, and here we will see an NIO ES8 2023 75kWh Executive Edition model priced at 548,000 yuan, the entry version of the latest year model. The other model is not from BBA, but an American luxury SUV that is considered to be no less luxurious than the Audi Q7, a Lincoln Aviator 2022 3.0T V6 4WD Premium model priced at 553,800 yuan. We will look at the compaLIn of these two vehicles today to see whether it is more appropriate to get a luxury mid-size SUV from a new Chinese carmaker, or to go for a slightly lower-profile but more luxurious American product.
As a mid-size SUV, NIO ES8 is more practical
The ES8 is a mid-life facelift, with the front end still showing the basic X-Bar style, but the metal trim is being stripped from the body to the greatest extent possible, replaced by more simple split headlights and a trapezoidal lower grille, while the body lines and chassis surround are also much cleaner than before. Of course, the disposition of the suspended roof structure, through the tail lights, etc., still continues its avant-garde style.
The Aviator also uses a split headlight design, but it is obvious to feel that this American luxury car is a bit more rugged, not that kind of unconventional ruggedness, but in that the vehicle has more large-diameter functional areas and decorative elements, including the shield grille, lower grille, wheel brow, and even the stamping structure on the body panels and so on. And at the rear of the Aviator, plenty of privacy glass and fuller metallic chrome give it the look and feel of a business flagship.
Lincoln Aviator's interior is more advanced
In terms of size, both cars are notoriously big guys even in the mid-size SUV market, with body dimensions of 5080/2022/1759mm and their wheelbase reaching 3025mm, with one of the best wide-body structures in the class, while the NIO ES8, with body figures of 5099/1989/1750mm, emphasizes the size advantage* through its long-axis design (wheelbase of 3070mm), and can actually translate into third-row space advantages. However, because the NIO ES8 has a more sensible three-row, six-seat layout, it will be more practical in terms of physical width than the Aviator, which offers three rows of seven seats.
In terms of the interior, the NIO ES8 takes the simple route, with a 10.2-inch full LCD instrument panel and a 12.8-inch touchscreen OLED screen both in suspension style, a NOMI voice assistant at the top of the center console, an electronic shift mechanism that takes up very little space, a double-spoke stitched leather trim for the steering wheel, and the entire center console complete with a longitudinal stepped decoration, while the left and right continue to have an asymmetrical design. In addition, there are obvious mahogany grain decorative materials in the hidden air conditioning vent area, some metal trim pieces are also polished in detail, and leather will cover more areas outside the door panels and armrests.
The Aviator is a wide open design, with a 12.8-inch touch screen for suspension, 12.3-inch full LCD instrument panel is embedded, the center console is completed with horizontal through decoration and a mix of leather, wood panels and baked enamel panels, disposing of a more direct process, with special electronic buttons for gear shifting and a three-spoke style steering wheel. And compared to the NIO ES8, the leather of the Aviator is all leather with stitching, both in terms of style and in terms of specific touch, the actual will be a bit more advanced.
Lincoln Aviator Smart Connect is slightly behind the ES8
In terms of intelligence, the NIO ES8 is naturally the one doing better, with the NOMI in-car system supported by a 5G communication network, V2X vehicle-road collaboration, and providing 6.6-inch entertainment multimedia in the rear. The assisted driving side is upgraded to a combination of four NVIDIA Orin-X chips + LIDAR perception hardware, allowing NIO Pilot to have standard L2 and optional L3 level assisted driving capability, even without subscribing to L3 level fully automatic assistance, it can also complete a series of practical intelligent assistance functions such as 540 degree panoramic image, full speed adaptive cruise control, automatic parking and automatic lane change.
The Aviator's SYNC+ system also has 4G communication network support, except that its intelligent voice does not support sunroof control, cell phone APP can not control the air conditioning or provide more owner services, but the built-in Baidu navigation is still relatively easy to use, objectively speaking, its features are rich enough, but the lack of support for third-party applications will be a little behind. In terms of assisted driving, the Aviator fails to achieve L2 level, only through the reverse camera + fixed speed cruise to ease the pressure of using the car, active safety is also lacking, which is a relatively large gap compared to the NIO ES8.
As an electric car, does the NIO ES8 have enough power?
Other configurations, both cars are matched with panoramic sunroof, induction power tailgate, full keyless entry, multi-temperature independent air conditioning system and active closing grille outside the car, while the NIO ES8 also has the advantage of enabling full electric suction doors, heat pump air conditioning with fragrance, and adding HUD head-up display, wireless charging pad to enhance the application of modern digital features, and comfort with 16-way adjustable front row Seats + front two rows of heating/ventilation/massage + three rows of power adjustment, Dolby Atmos + 256-color ambient lighting, etc., luxury is all-round.
The Aviator side has a better active noise cancellation system and covers the seats with premium full leather and multi-layer acoustic glass to the top of the full windows, in addition to being less adjustable, it is the one that does a better job in terms of both the tactile comfort of the seats and the quietness of the cabin disposition.
Power, NIO ES8 is equipped with a total power and total torque of 480kW, 850N-m dual-motor four-wheel drive, which allows the vehicle to break 100 in 4.1 seconds, but 465km of CLTC pure electric range will be a slight headache, but the good thing is that it still supports the power exchange mode, the complementary energy will not limit the comprehensive application of the vehicle. The Aviator side, on the other hand, has a 261kW, 553N-m 3.0T twin-turbo V8 engine, with 10AT transmission, the presence of its small inertia turbo can make low-torque acceleration more direct, but at the cost of WLTC integrated fuel consumption will reach 9.72L/100km, the cost of using the car is significantly higher.
In terms of suspension, both models feature a higher specification front double-wishbone + rear multi-link independent suspension combination, while the NIO ES8 will also get a standard air suspension system, which helps the vehicle gain higher passability and optimizes the balance of support and filtering comfort by adjusting the damping softness.
Write in the end
There's no doubt that the NIO ES8 is the one that leads the pack if you look at it through the lens of technological intelligence, and the way it's built to shed material ensures that its cabin is luxurious in the direction of a comprehensive experience. But when it comes to ride feedback, the Lincoln Aviator, which inherited the American luxury business attributes, still retains its core competitive advantage. Although in the matter of running a straight line, the instantaneous burst of the electric motor brings a more direct Sagitar for the NIO ES8, the kind of smoothness of the big turbo is still more perfect for the Aviator. To put it simply, if you're looking for smart connectivity, the NIO ES8 is a better choice, but if you're looking for a comprehensive driving luxury experience, we'd still recommend the Lincoln Aviator.
