One of the features that come in handy in the life of an EV owner is the ability to preheat or precool the car's interior simply by scheduling the climate control system to do its job before a trip (or by tapping a few buttons on a smartphone app).
Tesla is particularly proud of its cars’ ability to de-ice the windows before setting off for a drive and has at least one official video posted on its X account showcasing this feature. But what do you do when the car is covered in snow? The windows will be cleared but the doors might still be covered in the white stuff.
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High-tech EVs to the rescue
Chinese EV firm NIO published a video showcasing an interesting feature of its upcoming ET9 flagship SUV. Thanks to its trick suspension system, the $113,000 EV can literally shake the snow off its body.
Well, Chinese EV maker NIO seems to have come up with a solution to this problem with a system that basically turns its flagship ET9 SUV into a four-wheeled, electrified puppy. As you can see in the video embedded below, which was initially posted by NIO on its official Weibo account and later reposted on X by @Jas0nYu, the car can literally shake the snow off its body thanks to a trick chassis and a 900-volt architecture.
It’s quite a sight to behold, and it’s a testament to how far EV technology has come in the past one or two decades. Thanks to its bespoke architecture, NIO claims the ET9 can deliver a driving experience “akin to traveling on a flat surface” on bumpy roads. That’s because its fully active suspension can modify the ride height and damping harshness almost instantly, a feature that was previously showcased by the Chinese automaker in a video showing the ET9 driving over speed bumps while carrying several glasses filled with champagne on the hood without spilling a drop.
The ET9 also has steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering, much like the American Tesla Cybertruck, while the twin electric motors of the Chinese SUV make a total of 697 horsepower.
The NIO ET9 costs around $113,000 in China with deliveries scheduled for the first quarter of next year. And while the tech that’s showcased in all of these videos is impressive, we’d like to know what you think about it: is the fancy suspension actually useful, or is it just for bragging rights? Let us know in the comments below.
