Nio Firefly review

Chinese EV specialist heads to the UK with an eye-catching supermini to rival the Renault 5 What if Honda had stuck with the Honda E? It was a delightful piece of design and was great to drive, but it needed a bigger battery and a lower price. We will never know for sure, because the E is dead and buried, but the Nio Firefly might be a decent consolation prize.This supermini is made by Nio, but Firefly is its own brand. There’s no model name, like when BMW relaunched the Mini: it’s simply the Firefly. It has been sold in Europe for a few months and is now confirmed to be coming to the UK in 2026.And to my eyes, at least, it looks really cool. There’s a definite E vibe, but the triple lights on either side of the front and rear and the relatively big-wheeled stance mean that it’s distinctive and original enough to be its own thing.