Already long in the tooth, Nissan’s second fully electric vehicle Ariya takes up where the LEAF left off in Australia.
And might we just say thank goodness for that, because LEAF was never one of our favourite automobiles. The Ariya could be though.
The production version of Ariya was unveiled in 2019, but its launch was delayed because of the global chip shortage caused by COVID.
This delay has allowed competitors to get the drop on the car and it will be tough playing catch up, but Nissan is no stranger to this situation. Better late than never, one might say.
In music, an aria is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompaniment.
The word Ariya however has Indo-Iranian origins and is primarily derived from the Sanskrit word ‘ārya’ meaning ‘noble’ or ‘honorable’.
STYLING
Ariya is available in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive (e-4orce) variants, with a 63kWh or 87kWh battery.
The bigger battery delivers about 120km of extra range.
There are four grades, comprising Engage, Advance, Advance+ and Evolve e-4ORCE.
Prices start from $55,840 for the Engage, $59,840 for Advance, $63,840 for Advance+ and $71,840 for Evolve e-4ORCE – all figures before on-road costs.
If you’re chasing maximum range, Advance+ is the one to get.
Ariya shares a platform with LEAF, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Renault Scenic E-Tech and other vehicles from the Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi development alliance.
The traditional grille has been replaced by a seamless, single-piece V-motion ‘shield’ that incorporates a stylized Kumiko pattern.
Or you could interpret it as a blanked-out grille.
Inside a sense of space is achieved through a minimalist dashboard design, flat floor and the option of a powered but truncated, sliding centre console.
In fact, Nissan reckons the interior is more akin to a sleek cafe lounge on a starship, evoking performance and intrigue – than to a traditional automotive cabin.
Standard kit includes cloth trim and two-zone climate air with rear vents, auto high beam, adaptive cruise control, auto lights and wipers, all-LED lights, front and rear parking sensors, auto-dimming frameless mirror, and handy walk-away locking, Advance+ brings black synthetic leather with suede inserts, power slide centre console, heated and cooled seats, heated steering wheel, power-adjust front seats, driver power lumbar adjustment, UV resistant glass and a large sunroof.
Ariya is covered by a 10-year, 300,000km warranty when servicing by Nissan.
The battery is warranted against excessive capacity loss for a period of eight years or 160,000km.
INFOTAINMENT
All variants are equipped with dual 12.3-inch displays, one for instruments and the other for the infotainment display, but presented in a seamless single unit.
Interestingly, the designers opted to incorporate a kink or wave in joining the two display units, which detracts from the clean design or offers a point of difference to competitors.
Like other Nissans, the infotainment system is designed to look like Android Auto which can be momentarily confusing when it comes to accessing various features.
The touchscreen system incorporates voice recognition, Bluetooth with audio streaming, satellite navigation, AM/FM and DAB digital radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
There’s also wireless phone charging, with USB-A and -C ports front and another two USB-C ports in the back, plus a 12V accessory socket.
Generic six-speaker audio is standard, but Advance+ gets a punchy 10-speaker Bose system that offers plenty of clarity.
SAFETY
Ariya receives a full five stars for safety, with seven airbags, including a front and centre bag, intelligent around view monitor with moving object detection and autonomous emergency braking (Car-to-Car, Vulnerable Road User, Junction Assist and Backover).
There’s also a lane support system with lane keep assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW) and emergency lane keeping (ELK), Blind Spot Warning and Intervention, Cross Traffic Alert & Intelligent Rear Automatic Braking, and an advanced speed assistance system (SAS).
Advance+ adds head-up display, ensuring the driver’s eyes remain on the road.
There are ISOFix tethers for the outer rear seats as well as tethers for all three
positions.
ENGINES/TRANSMISSIONS
Engage and Advance variants produce 160kW and 300Nm, with three drive modes (Eco, Standard and Sport).
Advance+ ups power to 178kW. At the same time, it is also the slowest of the four out of the blocks, with a 0-100km/h time of 8.1 seconds.
Dual-motor Evolve is equipped with not one but two 160kW motors, and produces 290kW of power and 600Nm of torque, with a braked towing capacity of 1500kg and 0-100km/h time of just 5.6 seconds.
DRIVING
Ariya looks a lot like the concept of the same name showcased at the 2019 Tokyo motor show.
More of a high riding hatch than conventional SUV, the swoopy lines echo those of the BMW X6 which pioneered the genre.
Based on the LEAF EV, Ariya is 4595mm long and 1850mm wide, with a wheelbase of 2775mm.
It’s a fairly roomy beast, but lacks storage in the front seat area.
Not sure what the purpose of the power-slide console is – apart from being able to stretch your left leg when required.
Ariya is offered in four grades with either a 63kWh or 87kWh battery packs, and a range from 385km to 504km (car claimed 567km to start with).
With energy consumption cited at 19.1 kWh, we were getting 17.7 kWh after around 350km of driving, with 20 per cent charge and 112km remaining.
The liquid-cooled battery offers active thermal management and the battery pack’s flat design and integrated cross-member in the battery case, allow the Ariya to have a true flat floor and impressive structural rigidity.
The e-4ORCE all-wheel drive system in the Evolve provides a 50:50 weight
distribution (2WD grades are 53:55), with independent brake control at each of the four wheels.
It rides on 19-inch wheels with 235/55 profile rubber, with a tyre repair kit in the event of a puncture.
Performance is middle of the road, more relaxed than it is sporty.
It’s also the first car to tell us to put both hands on the steering wheel, even without cruise control engaged.
One-pedal driving is available, but does not bring the vehicle to a complete stop, nor is the regenerative braking adjustable.
The ride is pleasant enough however and it is pretty quiet in the cabin.
Despite the UV resistant glass, the steeply raked windscreen simply radiated heat.
It’s quick off the line compared to ICE-powered vehicles, but lacks the punch of many EVs that we’ve driven.
Typically, the car became a bit bouncy in the backlots and the handling can be unpredictable as the suspension loads and unloads, with the back stepping out at one point.
Whoops. That was close!
SUMMING UP
Ariya is likeable enough, but it doesn’t really break any new ground in what is a rapidly changing section of the market.
It does everything everyone else does, but doesn’t bring anything new to the equation.
It’s also relatively expensive compared to its Chinese competitors.
Your call?
RATINGS
Looks: 7
Performance: 7
Safety: 8
Thirst: 7
Practicality: 7
Comfort: 7
Tech: 7.5
Value: 7.5
Overall: 7.2
