This Nissan Ariya ISN’T Nissan’s first EV
Nissan was one of the first electric car players with their Leaf which started production in 2010
That’s even before we saw the Tesla Model S
BUT this is the first dedicated long range EV from Nissan so we’re going to hit the highlights both good and bad
This is the Nissan Ariya and it may be one of the best kept secrets in the segment
But nothing’s perfect so we’re going to cover the best and the rest starting with the rest
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BAD:
1 – No cooled seat option
This just seems a bit strange to not offer a cooled seat function in 2023
Maybe they’ll add it for coming years, but at launch the car doesn’t get a cooled seat option regardless of trim
2 – No frunk
This one has a little asterisk next to it because it’s not really a negative it’s more of a tradeoff
Yes, it’s true there’s no frunk, but when you look at the profile of the vehicle you can see why
There’s such little trunk area that there wouldn’t be a place for a frunk
What you have is the hood area minimised in order to make the interio and cabin area bigger…and it is
So yeah, no frunk, but more space on the interior – seems like a decent trade
3 – Styling isn’t for me (im more of an Ioniq5 guy)
It’s very swoopy egg shaped – kind of like a better looking Model Y
Up front you have a familiar Nissan face with bold running lights
The front bedge does light up on some models
Around the side all Ariyas get 19 inch wheels except for Platinum plus
The wheels themselves are interesting and I don’t mind them
On the profile you can see the egg shape i was talking about
You have your charging port on the front passenger side
You have a chrome accent bar running your roofline (Z)
You also have conventional door handles which is interesting
And then around back you have a full width LED tailbar
Youve also got nissan spelled out which we havent seen before
And then at the top you have a spoiler and dual shark fins
Overall I don’t hate the look – i think it looks best in that gold press color, but personally I think the Ioniq5 looks better…but styling is subjective
4 – Drive is fairly vanilla
This is another thing that isn’t inherently bad it’s just kinda meh
It’s very much like what we’re coming to expect from all these EVs
Unless it has outrageous power or a fake soundtrack designed by Hans Zimmer there all kinda drive the same
It’s very smooth as you’d expect it to be
Feels a lot like the Toyota BZ4X we were in last week as these are both FWD
It’s nice and quiet but not luxury car quiet
It has enough power to feel a little peppy, but won’t inspire races between stoplights
The only major difference I feel here from the other competitors is this feels more SUV from a seating position
I feel like I’m higher up than the Hyndai and Kia and Ford and VW
What I’m left feeling behind the wheel is that this type of vehicle just makes so much sense for people shopping in this segment
People that are mostly just commuting to and from work or the store or the gym who don’t REALLY care about sportyness but just want something easy and quiet and smooth with modern tech
This makes A LOT of sense for that person
5 – Range & price
It’s solid, but the Ioniq5 edges it just a bit, everywhere
The Ioniq5 is less expensive starting
The Ioniq5 is RWD vs FWD (could be a bad thing depending where you live)
Engage FWD gets 216 miles of range
Ioniq 5 SE standard range gets 220 miles of range…for almost 2k less money
But there’s a lot of good things going on here so let’s talk about those
GOOD:
1 – The wood buttons & center console
This is my FAVORITE thing about this car. It’s details like these that make or break new EVs
Everything is so similar that it comes down o these little touches or styling elements to make the car feel special
The climate controls on the dash and the controls on your center console areseemingly just illuminated bits of the wood trimming
It’s such a cool design and looks SO expensive
They’re capacitive touch and work just as well as normal climate buttons
Then on the center console it’s the same wood and light buttons
You have buttons for your eStep and your drive mode
But you also have a buttons to open and close this secret compartment which is so cool
Not only do you have this secret compartment but you still have a glove box unlike the BZ4X
I just love the look of the wood on the center console
AND the center console moves forward and back like inthe Ioniq5, but here it’s motorized!
I never thought I would care so muchabout a center console but this one is really cool
2 – The rear seats
I’m very impressed with the rear seats
They’re big and spacious for legroom and headroom
You get a totally flat floor
You get a pano roof making it feel big and airy
AND you can get heated seats in the back here
Only bummer is the ambient mood lighting doesn’t continue back here
3 – The accents
We already talked about the wood light buttons and how much i love them, but the lux touches dont stop there
The interior is rimmed with this really nice and expensive looking gold piece
It’s on the dash, it’s on some buttons and it just looks expensive
And then there’s the ambient light which isn’t just some LED string like you see everywhere else
It’s made to remind you of sort of a paper lantern and i really like the feeling it gives you
Feels very Japanese, very Nissan
4 – Screens & tech
Screens and tech are major focuses for any new car, specifically EVs so it’s nice to see Nissan has equipped some serious screens here
You get 2 huge 12 inch displays for your cluster and center infotainment
The layout of the infotainment screen reminds me of the new toyota system
But admittedly this one is a little laggier to respond
But you do get great stuff like wireless car play
Although AA is wired.lol
You will get OTA updates here
Your 360 cameras are really nice
And your heated seats and heated steering wheel are in the screen but they’re pretty easy to get to and they have an auto function
And lastly is the driver assist suite which is very good here..maybe not Super Cruise good, but very solid and genuinely helpful
5 – Trunk is nice and big
Lastly we’ll talka about the trunk which is a great size
It’s deep, the opening is huge, and it’s super practical
Of course your seats fold 60/40 for more space
But you also get 2 hidden compartments in your floor OR you can take the false floors out and have an even deeper trunk
Really nice
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Outro:
So that’s the best and the rest of the new Nissan Ariya
It’s a super solid EV that Nissan should spend more money advertising
I don’t know about you, but aside from seeing Bre Larson drive it around without referring to it by name, that’s the only time I’ve seen it in a conventional advertisement
Meanwhile Hyundai has Jason Bateman AND Kevin Bacon all over their Ioniqs
But The Nissan Ariya here is a solid choice if you’re looking for a compact EV crossover with some style and a really unique interior
So thanks to Russ Darrow Nissan for letting me try it out!