Nio firefly is China’s biggest rival to the Mini

SINGAPORE – Some cars are inspired by apex predators lunging at their prey in the wild. The Nio firefly seems to take its cue from something much closer to the hearts of folks in the city. Specifically, the triple-LED headlight clusters, which look like the trio of camera lenses on the back of the Apple iPhone 17 Pro.

And no, the rear of the car does not glow quite intensely like the beetle it is named after.

The Nio firefly is an upmarket electric hatchback aimed at the Mini.

With an overall length of 4,003mm, the firefly is shorter than its closest rival, the 4,079mm-long electric Mini Aceman. It is even shorter than the pint-size, petrol-powered five-door Mini Cooper, which measures 4,036mm.

The firefly is not the first Chinese car challenging the English brand, which is the king of chic, but comes closer to the mark than others with a convincingly premium design and engaging driving dynamics.

The car may be the work of a Chinese carmaker, but in look and feel, the firefly could be mistaken for a European hatchback. Someone used to the finest examples of a Volkswagen or Volvo will take to the firefly easily.

There is an almost timeless quality about the car’s simple design, which is subtly sculpted along the flanks. Details like the consistently tight panel gaps give a sense of quality.

The European-inspired looks and upmarket finishing are consistent with Nio.

Founded in Shanghai in 2014, Nio wanted to be a global player fast. It opened a design centre in Munich, Germany, and set the lap record on the famed Nurburgring with its supercar.

Besides its battery-swopping technology, Nio also focused exclusively on left-hand-drive markets.

This changed in November 2025, when Nio started producing the firefly in right-hand drive, in addition to the left-hand-drive version.

Singapore marks the beginning of the company’s expansion to countries like Thailand, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

For now, the swoppable battery technology will have to wait. Nio has not committed to making that available here just yet.

What is lined up for Singapore is the launch of the Nio smartphone app within the first quarter of 2026.

The app serves as the car’s key. Until it is ready, tapping a keycard on the driver’s side mirror is the only way to unlock the doors, as there is no remote key fob.

This is not a big deal, unless you are carrying an armful of groceries and forget to tap the mirror before reaching for the boot.

When you do manage to pop the hatch, you will find a 404-litre boot, expandable to 1,253 litres by folding down the rear seats. In contrast, the Mini Aceman’s boot is good for 300 litres or up to 1,005 litres with the rear bench folded.

Under the firefly’s stubby bonnet is another 92 litres of storage space, which can carry an aircraft cabin-size luggage or durians and other strong-smelling things you do not want in the cabin.

Thoughtfully, the cubby is washable, with a drain plug to let the water out. Below the rear bench is a 29-litre bin that is ideal for hiding valuables, such as a laptop, from prying eyes.

The cabin continues the simple and upmarket style of the exterior. Where harder plastics are used, such as on the door panels, the surfaces are tastefully decorated with textures.

Elsewhere, like on portions of the dashboard, a suede-like material further dresses up an otherwise minimalist cabin.

The ambient lighting is quite classy too, glowing softly at the edges of the dashboard.

While the test car’s single-tone dark grey upholstery looks a bit too serious, the firefly also comes in funkier colour combinations, including one that mixes green with brown.

The 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen is the absolute nerve centre of the car, controlling nearly every conceivable function, including the air-conditioning vents.

Besides the usual one-finger poke and swipe gestures, running two fingers at specific segments of the screen will activate certain shortcuts to control the music volume and fan speed.

To help users, there is a built-in video tutorial in the infotainment system showing the tricks.

Although a digital native will probably feel quite at ease with the interface, it can be a bit unnerving for others. A tech-savvy user may also appreciate the single unmarked button on the steering wheel spokes which can be configured, but, ultimately, it is not as user-friendly as conventional switches for, say, mirror controls.

There is bad news for the Android smartphone crowd because only Apple CarPlay is available at the moment, with Android Auto coming soon.

The firefly is otherwise as feature-packed as is expected of a Chinese electric car. The premium 14-speaker sound system transforms the cabin into a mobile concert hall and the driver’s seat even wheels itself towards the back to ease entry and exit, much like in a high-end Mercedes-Benz.

The driver’s seat also has ventilation and massage functions.

Nio does not describe the firefly as a performance hatchback, but the car is a hoot to drive.

Unlike most hatchbacks, which are front-wheel drive, the firefly’s motor powers the rear wheels. Even when the accelerator is floored, the steering does not squirm with the rush of torque, which is good.

The pick-up feels punchier than the claimed eight-second century sprint timing suggests.

The car is quite softly sprung, so the body does lean in the corners, but the tyres always seem to be able to find plenty of grip. So it is a nice set-up that makes it easy to find a good rhythm stringing the car through a series of bends.

The only thing preventing the driver from pushing really aggressively is the seat cushion. The base is too soft and flat to hold the driver in place securely.

The test car averages 12.6kWh/100km over the three-day drive, which is better than the claimed 15.2kWh/100km. The cooler weather may have helped, as it meant that the air-conditioning did not have to work as hard.

Under such conditions, the firefly should be able to cover more than 300km or so on a full charge. While this is comparable with the Mini Aceman E, the operating range may not be enough for drivers coming from petrol-engine cars that can easily cover 400km on a tank of fuel.

The firefly comes with plenty of driving assistance technology, including adaptive cruise control and active lane change.

However, the programming of the lane centring feature seems to need more refinement. On several occasions during the drive, the test car kept closer to the left side of the lane than a human driver would prefer.

Much like the iPhone, the Nio firefly’s biggest draw may not be its raw technical specs or even its sleek driving dynamics, but its execution as a polished and premium lifestyle accessory.

Nio firefly

Price: $219,999 with certificate of entitlement (COE), before applicable discounts
Motors: Permanent magnet synchronous with 42kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery
Transmission: Single-speed
Power: 105kW
Torque: 205Nm
0-100kmh: 8.1 seconds
Top speed: 150kmh (estimated)
Power consumption: 15.2kWh/100km
Charging capacity: 11kW AC; 100kW DC
EV range: 320km
Agent: Wearnes Automotive
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Comparable considerations

Mini Aceman E ($246,888  with COE)

The electric Aceman is more a crossover than a hatchback, but it is the firefly’s closest rival. The Mini has a firmer ride and seems a bit less practical, but its user interface, being less screen-reliant, is a tad easier to use than the Nio’s.

Honda Jazz Crossstar ($189,999 with COE, before applicable discounts)

Slightly bigger than the Nio and Aceman on the outside, the Jazz Crosstar is a cheerful little hatchback with a spacious cabin. With a claimed fuel consumption of 4.5litres/100km, the 1.5-litre petrol-hybrid car should be able to cover more than 500km on a single tank of fuel, which is something the electric cars cannot match.