Nissan Ariya review: Bronze crossover
After a very long hiatus, Nissan offers a new electric car. Is the successor to the Leaf ready to compete in today's sea of crossovers?
After a very long hiatus, Nissan offers a new electric car. Is the successor to the Leaf ready to compete in today's sea of crossovers?
When Nissan first introduced the Leaf to the world, it put the brand at the cutting edge of e-mobility. However, the years passed and nothing new came from Nissan. Yes, there was e-NV200 un Leaf experienced facelift, but the once most popular electric car manufacturer did not bring anything new to the world for many years. We can speculate as to the reasons (my suspicion is on the leadership position), but Ariya didn't get off to a smooth start either. When it was presented in 2020, many experts could not understand why it was not immediately put into production, because technologically nothing was on the top shelf. It was already mentioned that this car was 2 years late for its presentation.
Ariya's troubles did not end there - due to Covid and other reasons, it went into production much later. It took 2 years from the presentation until the first model reached the customer. Also, at the 2022 Latvian Auto Show, we did not see the real model, but the pre-production model.
Japanese Bronze Age
Good comes with waiting. That could describe the Nissan Ariya. I don't like crossovers as a species. There are a few exceptions that I turn a blind eye to. And among those exceptions is Ariya. Especially in bronze. I tried several models with different colors (white, black, bronze) and I'll say it as it is - if Ariya is not in bronze color, then the car seems worth less.
Some were at least pleasantly surprised by the fact that the concept car was almost the same as the one that went into production. And it's a good thing, because Ariya is a very beautiful car in my eyes. Not only from the outside, but also from the inside. However, many will be pleasantly surprised by the consumption. With this car, even in cool autumn, you will be able to drive more than 400 km on a single charge without any effort. When it was +8°C outside and I took pictures with this car, it promised 208 km at 47% battery charge. Accordingly, longer journeys with it would be pure nonsense.
A step up from the Leaf
I myself drove a Leaf for 2 years and I could say that I know that car well. It must be said that inside the Nissan Ariya, not only do you sit higher, but also everything else is much better. It could be argued that Japan still doesn't understand what Europe expects from multimedia, but Android Auto solves that.
Inside, everything is spacious and with child seats there was never a thought that there would be not enough space. On the contrary, there were more places than it seemed at first. The haptic buttons on the panel that regulate the climate seemed uncomfortable at first. Another party trick, so to speak. However, they seemed comfortable to use. At first, you have to watch where you put your finger, but 2 trips were enough for me to get used to it.
The charging options will not make anyone whistle - 130 kW is just such an average these days. However, you can buy 22kW AC charging, which might be more useful than a higher fast charging point. Maybe someone will scratch the back of their head, because such charging parameters have already been heard somewhere. And so it is - the technological relative is Renault Megane E-Tech. Also, the multimedia screen, which is not shared with Renault, will not whistle. Nissan for an excuse - I have not yet seen any classic car manufacturer who would teach how to make it modern. I was not convinced by the Renault Google Automotive multimedia. But no, Ford was purely good… At which point we Tesla let's start counting down to the classic car manufacturers?
Overall
I had a positive impression of Ariya. Despite the fact that it is a crossover. Certainly much more than another electric Japanese crossover – Subaru Solterra.
I'm a little worried about Nissan's electric future. Until the Leaf is no longer available, the Ariya will be the only passenger car available as an electric car… I don't want to believe that they will actually follow the Japanese strategy of playing the scared ostrich when it comes to electric cars. There is Townstar, but it is positioned as a van.
In today's crossover market, the Ariya has to elbow hard to get noticed. The price would be a good way to attract attention to the former market leader, but it is also necessary to expand the range of available models.
Features I found Ariya better than Leaf:
- Finish quality – you can feel that Ariya is much more expensive than Leaf for a reason
- Driving comfort - I glided through Riga like a cloud
- Capacity – I already found the Leaf to have good capacity (especially in the trunk), but the Ariya makes even better use of its dimensions
- Possibility to preheat the battery - if you want to use the full charging capacity, it would be worth turning it on well before arriving at the charging station
- Digital rearview mirror - at first it seemed like a party trick, but very convenient in the dark
- Plenty of options to charge your devices
- The hidden drawer and sliding center console - it has to be seen to be understood
Qualities that I feel Ariya needs to improve
- Multimedia – Car manufacturers just don't know how to make good multimedia
- Find out how to preheat the battery - back to the topic of multimedia... And then you have to remember to turn it off when you don't need it anymore...
- Price - yes, this is a good deal compared to the competition, but still even with reduce the price Ariya is the most expensive Nissan model in the range…
- One pedal driving - why is it no longer possible? With the e-pedal engaged, the car continues to roll anyway. The Leaf was the first to offer it, and for that reason alone, it was picked up by many.
- MOST IMPORTANT - no frunk! Well, how can such a big car not be frunk?!
Technical specifications:
- Autonomy: 403-520 km in the WLTP cycle, 335-450 km in real life
- AC (slow) charging: 7.4-22 kW
- DC (fast) charging: 130 kW
- Battery (net): 63 or 87 kWh
- 0-100 km/h: 7.5 s (base version), 5.1 (performance version)
- Engine power: 160-290 kW
- Torque: 300-600 Nm
- Drive: front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive
- Trunk volume: 468 l
- Seats: 5
- V2X: –