► First impressions of Nissan’s new Ariya► Electric crossover follows on from Leaf
► Can Nissan claw back lost ground?
After being such pioneers in the EV landscape with the Leaf, Nissan has rested on its laurels for far too long. The Leaf just isn’t competitive any more, and every one of its competitors now has an electric family SUV – from Volkswagen and its ID.4, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, Skoda’s Enyaq and Tesla’s Model Y – to draw in those looking to make the EV switch.
So, after pandemic and chip shortage-related delays, Nissan needs the new Ariya – its second proper EV in Europe – to be good.
It certainly looks good…
Doesn’t it just? Nissan’s taken a leaf (wahey!) out of Hyundai’s How to Make a Concept Car Real design book, providing its new crossover properly futuristic lines and flowing curves. Nissan’s classic ‘V-motion’ motif – redesigned for a new electric age – appears, as does a coupe-like profile, big wheels on our prototype version and a full-width light bar across the rear end. All very on-trend, especially if you pick the copper paint colour – we suspect some of those sharp lines and creases will be lost if you choose a dark hue.
The interior’s got some wow factor on face value, too. That huge, single panel dashboard, with its integrated screens, just looks so clean and the flat floor gives you a bit more of a lounge-like feel when you’re inside. Materials feel suitably posh enough, with only the gear selector feeling a little plasticky.
There’s some attention to detail with geometric patterns dotted about in panels you’d not normally look at, and some quirks, too: you move the centre console electronically with switches by your hip and, as well as a conventional glovebox in front of the front passenger, there’s a second electronically assisted one below the central infotainment screen. A bit unnecessary, Nissan.
That infotainment screen shares its tech with the latest Qashqai, so it’s laid out well and easy enough to use (albeit a bit of a stretch to reach for tall drivers), so it’s already scoring extra usability points compared to VW’s ID.4. But, in order to get that clean effect on the dashboard and the centre console, the ‘buttons’ are touch sensitive with haptic feedback. You tap the ones on the dashboard, but have to push the ones on the centre console, which’ll be confusing the first few times you press them.
Rear legroom is great for adults, but that concept car silhouette (and the inclusion of a panoramic glass roof) comes back to haunt adult-size passengers with a lack of headroom. The boot is a good size, too, but is outdone in terms of volume by the ID.4 and Mach-E – two of the Ariya’s closest rivals.
I need a specs debrief…
Okay, so: there are two battery sizes (63 or 87kWh), the option of front- or e-FORCE all-wheel drive and three trims in the UK: Advance, Evolve and Performance. Prices start at £41,845. Tech you can spec includes Nissan’s ProPILOT suite of safety tech, a Bose audio system, panoramic glass roof and a digital rear mirror.
Go for front-wheel drive and you can pick either battery pack size (63kWh = 223-mile claimed range, 87kWh = 310-mile claimed range). Opt for e-4ORCE (pronounced e-force) and it’ll either give you up to 285 miles of range as standard, or 248 miles if you spec the warm Performance version.
The Ariya uses a CCS charger port in Europe and can cope with up to 130kW charging speeds, with the 63kWh battery capable of charging from 10-80 per cent in half an hour.
We’ve driven a prototype of the 63kWh front-wheel drive version on both a smooth track in Spain, and a much rougher track here in the UK. It’s as cheap as the powertrain can get in the Ariya: smaller battery pack and a 215bhp single e-motor and claimed range that’s marginally better on paper than VW’s most basic ID.4. We’ve not driven a full production-spec model, or one on the road yet.
Well, what’s it like to drive?
Start the Ariya up and it cheerily jingles at you like an American breakfast news show intro as you get comfortable in the remarkably high up and firm seats.
Accelerate from a standing start and it’s more than enough – there’s a bit of punch as you initially set off, then a calm surge of power as the speed rises. It’s not going to set your hair on fire, but it’ll do. Here, Nissan’s included its e-Pedal technology and it still works just as much as the Leaf; use it mainly for urban driving and, when you do, a significant amount of braking force can be applied without you ever touching the physical brake pedal. There are Eco and Sport modes at your disposal; Eco does its job of sogging up the throttle, but Sport is next to useless beyond making the steering heavier on turn-in.
And the steering has to be the Ariya’s party piece. It’s tremendously alert off-centre like it’s just guzzled a few energy drinks, taking you by surprise with its reaction times. It’s light, yes, but remarkably direct.
But we’d recommend avoiding the top-spec’s 20-inch wheels if you can: they make the ride tremendously coarse on anything but sublime tarmac. After our track time in Spain, we were enamoured with how smooth and soft the suspension felt on the racing-spec surface. But with our time in one in the UK on a surface much rougher and pockmarked, the massive wheels translate almost very bump as a jolt through the cabin.
Nissan Ariya: first impressions
Even at this early stage, we came away from our time with the Ariya intrigued. It looks concept car-fantastic inside and out, with some lovely attention to detail in places (and some daft gimmicks in others). As for its performance, it’s respectable performance isn’t much to shout about but we’re more than a little bit excited by the idea of a longer drive on the public road. Preferably on smaller wheels.
Keyword: Nissan Ariya (2022) prototype review: the difficult second album