Nissan Canada is now accepting reservations for its latest EV, the 2023 Ariya, and the latest rendition of its iconic Z, with deliveries anticipated for later this year. If you’ve been waiting for your chance to grab one — or both! — you can visit the company’s reservation sites at Nissan.ca/ariyareserve and Nissan.ca/zreserve .
As to what you’re reserving, that, especially if you’re shopping the Ariya EV , gets a little more complicated. In fact, the powertrain lineup for the Canadian Ariya is a little mystifying.
While American Ariya intenders will have the choice of one battery, with 87 kilowatt-hours at its disposal, and two powertrains — a 238-horsepower single-motor FWD entry-level model; and a 389-hp dual-motor AWD setup — Canadians will have a choice of no fewer than two batteries and four powertrains.
So, for instance, while the entry-level Engage FWD has a 63-kWh battery powering a single 214-hp FWD layout, the Venture+ FWD’s 87-kWh single motor boasts 238 hp. To make things just a little more curious, both motors, despite their differing horsepower ratings, are rated for 221 pound-feet of torque. So, are these the very same motors, one just tweaked to accept a little more juice? Or did Nissan really specify two different motors for a 24-hp gain? [UPDATE: Nissan has clarified that apparently these are in fact two different motors in the different trims. —Ed.]
A table outlining the specs of the various trims of the 2023 Nissan Ariya EV
The same applies for the AWD models. In Evolve e-Force AWD trim, the smaller 63-kWh battery drives 335 horses spread between two motors. In Platinum+ and Premiere 87-kWh trims, those two motors now sport 389 hp. In this case, however, the lesser AWD version boasts 413 lb-ft while the bigger-batteried trim has a full 442 lb-ft at its disposal. In either case, both are sure to be sprightly indeed.
But, it is interesting that Nissan is offering such a diverse lineup in Canada compared with the streamlined offerings south of the border. The difference may come down to, as with so many things, dollars and sense, namely that Nissan Canada is trying to squeeze its entry-level Engage version under the $45,000 limit that qualifies a car for the federal government’s $5,000 EV subsidy.
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
The all-electric Nissan Ariya is expected to go on sale in Canada in late-2021. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Ariya. Photo by Nissan Canada
Nissan Canada is not revealing any pricing information yet, but, at first glance, nailing that EV rebate would seem impossible. America’s base Ariya retails for US$45,950. That translates into $58,340 here. However, our Engage versions sport a smaller 24-kilowatt-hour battery. At a retail price of CDN$250/kWh — that’s my wild-ass guess as to what the uptick is ub new car pricing — offering the 63-kWh battery should allow Nissan to lop off about CDN$6,000 of the base car’s MSRP.
The question is then whether Nissan can find enough additional savings — a small inverter for the less-powerful motor, for example, and various interior features — to get our base Ariya below that magical $45,000 mark. I’m not sure. But I do think it’s crucial since, if the base model qualifies for the federal subsidy, so, too, will most of the upper-level trims as well. Nissan Canada says it is not releasing pricing for a couple of months, so I suspect this will remain a mystery for a little while. For the record, the shortest-range version — the 63-kWh Evolve e-4ORCE AWD trim — claims 328 kilometres of electric autonomy, while the longest-range version of the 87-kWh FWD Venture+ comes in at 482 klicks.
The 2023 Nissan Z Photo by Nissan
The 2023 Nissan Z Photo by Nissan
The 2023 Nissan Z Photo by Nissan
2023 Nissan Z Photo by Nissan
2023 Nissan Z Photo by Nissan
The 2023 Nissan Z Photo by Nissan
There’s far less mystery surrounding the new Z . Oh, we don’t have its pricing yet, but we do know it’s beautiful and stylistically faithful to the historic Z that went before. We’ve also long known it would be powered by a 400-horsepower 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo engine and would have a 6-speed manual transmission available — yeah! — with a 9-speed automatic transmission with aluminum paddle shifters.
The 2023 Z is available in Sport and Performance grade levels, both available on the aforementioned reservation portal. There’s also a special Proto Spec edition, which will be available only at dealerships. The new Z is scheduled to go on sale in spring 2022.
Keyword: Reservations open for 2023 Nissan Ariya EV, 400-hp Z coupe