4When it was launched in 2022, the Nissan Ariya impressed us so much that it won our Car of the Year award. But as a testament to the rapidly changing EV landscape, it’s high time the award-winning electric SUV received some mid-life upgrades. On sale from June this year, the revised Ariya will come in two forms: a small-battery ‘Engage+’ and a larger-battery ‘Advance’. The Engage+ starts from £37,000 (£500 less than the current car) and Nissan says it expects this version to qualify for the UK government’s Electric Car Grant, just like the outgoing car, which gained the £1,500 ‘Band 2’ grant. The Advance kicks off at £43,425. The Engage+ comes with the same 63kWh battery as the old Ariya and in Japan where the new version is already on sale, Nissan says range has been bumped from 250 miles up to 292 miles in the single-motor version. The 'e-4ORCE’ four-wheel drive model isn’t expected to come to the UK. As for the Advance, again that has the same 87kWh battery as before, but in Japan the WLTP-rated range stands at 397 miles, a big increase over the 329 miles the current Ariya offers. It also ensures Nissan’s flagship EV has more range than the new Leaf, which can cover a claimed 370 miles on a single charge. Maximum charging speeds for the Ariya remain the same, at 130kW, meaning a 10 to 80 per cent top up should take around 30 minutes for either version. Underneath, Nissan has tweaked the Ariya’s chassis for refinement, stating “ride comfort is enhanced through updated suspension tuning, delivering improved stability, reduced vibrations and a smoother driving experience”. While the Ariya introduced a bold fresh style for Nissan, in recent months we’ve seen the all-new Leaf and the Renault 5-based Micra turn plenty of heads. Looking to bring attention back to the Ariya, the new design clearly takes inspiration from the latest third-generation Nissan Leaf with the large black panel on the Ariya’s nose now removed, while there’s also reshaped LED headlight clusters and a new lower air intake. Equally fresh are the 19-inch alloy wheels and ‘Plasma Green’ exterior paint. 4The interior is largely the same as before with the array of touch-sensitive controls in the centre of the dash and the sliding centre console. The 12.3-inch touchscreen gets the latest generation of ‘NissanConnect’ infotainment, which has Google built-in. There’s also bi-directional charging with up to 3kW available, which Nissan says is enough to power items such as an electric cooker or to charge a laptop computer. Don’t want to wait for the new Ariya? There are loads of great deals on used Nissan Ariyas on the Auto Express Buy a Car service with prices starting below £18,000...
