This fireflies will soon illuminate the city

Nomi gets a little sister. Don’t you know? This is the digital assistant on the dashboard, which has been entertaining its well-heeled customers in Oberliga cars such as ET5, the EL6 or most recently the ET9 of the Chinese start-up.

Now the friendly Lumo will soon do its job – with a slimmed down appearance and more function. Because it will start – in the first European countries this summer in the Firefly brand branch. The Firefly is a smart and strong small car.

Decisive in the European headquarters in Munich Designed and tailored to neighbors such as the Mini from the BMW family, it will take a few months longer for us for the « firefly » to shed the urban jungle. At the earliest at the end of this more likely early next year, the Firefly is supposed to get rid of prices from around 30,000 euros.

This would make it almost twice as expensive as in China, which the manufacturer justifies with the significantly expanded equipment and excuses the EU’s high import duties.

Charming on the outside, spacious inside

There is a fourth door of almost exactly four meters in length, which not only has charm and character because it is nice to look at without being cute; And because his three button eyes per headlight make him unmistakable. But he also has plenty of something on the box.

Thanks to its wheelbase of 2.62 meters, it is surprisingly large for a small car, so that you are still sitting first-class in the second row as an adult-maybe not necessarily on a vacation trip to Spain, but definitely in the city center at the shopping trip. And nobody has to limit themselves when shopping.

Already the trunk almost 404 liters and can be expanded to 1,253. The frunker under the bow flap has unrivaled 92 liters in this class. And the two dozen shelves in the cabin include two practical compartments under the seat cushions. These are tall like shoeboxes, in them either particularly valuable or dirty objects can be stowed away, for example.

Slide instead of spilling

There is also a comparatively sobering and more serious atmosphere for a small car, which does not look cheap and feels good all around. In addition, there is an equipment with which NIO wants to put the price of his little nephew in the right light. For example, air -conditioned seats can be found comparatively rarely in small cars. Just like an electric tailgate. Or the cameras to all sides that add to the mirror when turning and maneuvering. Most of the other assistance systems, on the other hand, are common – and without five stars in the NCAP crash test, it doesn’t even have to try a brand from China after the many flops in the first wave.

Blacky instead of driving

While the Firefly appears quite grown up in size and character on the inside, it presents himself to the driver as a youthful whirlwind. The engine with 105 kW/143 hp and 200 Nm is more of the weaker variety for an electric car, and the Firefly is not a real sprinter either. After all, it takes 8.1 seconds to accelerate from a standing start to 100 km/h, and is braked again at 150 km/h.

But what he lacks in dynamics does he make up for through his agility. Because the engine sits in the rear, the front wheels can be continued than with other small cars, the turning circle shrinks, and the little one feels like a tiny. Where you sometimes have to rank with mini & Co. when turning or parking, the Firefly buzzes through the city through the city effortlessly and turns around the competition.

No bundle of energy

The Firefly seems to be as stirring as the Duracell bunny from the television advertising of yore-but it is not really an energy bundle. Because the Chinese, like many manufacturers in this segment, are limited to a battery that not only relies on the cheaper LFP cells in this segment, but is also comparatively small with 41.2 kWh. Therefore, even in the standard cycle there are only 330 kilometers in it and in everyday life there is probably hardly more than 250. And on top of that, Nio saves the charging capacity.

The 11 kW on the alternating current may still be common, but at a maximum of 100 kW it is also tough on the fast loader. In theory, this is not bad because the Firefly also takes over the idea of ​​the battery exchange and is therefore full again in three minutes. In practice, however, this is not a consolation because the small car needs its own swap wings.

And with just 20 stations in five years at NIO, we have learned painfully how long it takes to build such a network. It is only a weak consolation that the new changes are smaller and cheaper and the building permit should go faster.

Conclusion: charm with radiance

It finally looks unmistakable, offers plenty of space on a few space and brings a little fun to city traffic. So the Firefly could become one of the sharpest competitors of the Mini – until it goes to the shop.

Because as long as it has to go to the cable, the radiance of the firefly is rather modest. But if there is really changing stations in the center at some point, he could actually shine the city jungle.

Data sheet: Firefly