Puppy-like Nio ET9 snow shake offers glimpse at snappy suspension adjustments from 'active hydraulic suspension system'

The Nio ET9 flagship electric sedan is the Chinese car company's latest challenge to the likes of Audi, BMW, and Tesla, and the innovative SkyRide chassis is one of the luxury sedan's headline features. SkyRide is, in part, a fully active hydraulic suspension system that Nio claims "brings you a composed handling and riding experience that is as smooth as cruising in the stratosphere."

Nebulous claims aside, the most recent demo video shared on YouTube by CnEVPost, show off the ET9 literally shaking off a thick layer of snow during some winter testing. While there's a certain level of entertainment in watching several thousand kilograms of electric sedan shaking around like an excited puppy, the feat is also an impressive demonstration of Nio's active suspension control.

Nio hasn't published any specific claims or metrics about its active suspension control system — for instance, how quickly the system can respond or what the sensing rate is for road conditions — but this demo, along with two others it has published in the past, promises an exceedingly smooth, responsive ride.

One of Nio's previous demos saw the ET9 riding over a series of alternating bumps with a stack of full champagne glasses on the hood, while the other had a full glass of water sitting peachy atop the hood of a ET9 while the vehicle effectively bounced the front wheel, creating waves in a puddle of water.

How the Nio ET9's SkyRide chassis system works in actual road conditions out in the wild remains to be seen, since the $112,000 electric luxury sedan will only start shipping to customers in Q1 2025.

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