So, if you wanted an electric Nissan, you had to choose the Nissan Leaf. Well now theres a new kid on the block to take over the Leaf’s rein. This is the new Nissan Ariya and I am going to tell you why you should buy this over the leaf.
Exterior – Front
So, the overall design is a big departure from any Nissan. Lets start with the front. To start with we have these very thin headlights which are integrated into this large blanked out grill. To the side of this grill we also get these big LED daytime running lights. Next to these we have these side vents which aid aerodynamic. Lower down we have a discrete central air vent which gives this car an overall modern look at the front.
Exterior – Side
Moving round to the side they have borrowed an idea from Ford. To give this car a lower more Coupe-ish look they have added a chrome strip and lowered the top part of the window to make the car look lower. In matter of fact though above this chrome strip we do have about another 5 cm of roof left so headroom wont be affected. Moving down the side Nissan has gone with the less is more approach with only having one crease along the side. I also like these wheel designs. Lets move round to the back
Exterior – Rear
So, moving round to the back the new design language continues. To start with we have this light bar which connects the very thin taillights and within that light bar we have the Nissan lettering rather than the logo. Below on the bumper we have this black paneling which to me gives this car a sporty look. We also have a fake rear splitter. Lets have a look at the battery and motor options.
Car and engine specs and price
So battery and motor options are as follows. You can get an 217 bhp motor option with a 63 kWh battery pack. This gives the car a range of 250 miles and it can do 0-60 in 7.5 seconds. Next up s a 242 bhp motor option with the bigger 87 kWh battery pack giving the can 328 miles of range and although it has the extra power it actually does 0-60 in 7.6 seconds which is 0.1 seconds slower so I would avoid this options. Finally the top of the range version has a 306 bhp dual motor unit giving this car 4 wheel drive. This is mated to the same 87 kWh battery pack giving this car 285 miles of range and a 0-60 sprint in 5.7 seconds. The price of the Nissan Ariya starts at £43,845.
Interior – Design
So, stepping inside just like the outside, the interior is a big departure from what we know from Nissan. To start with we have this dual screen setup like what you would find in a Mercedes. This has your digital instrument cluster and new infotainment system. This infotainment system is quite quick and is very easy to use. There is also a trick where you can drag the navigation to the instrument cluster with your 2 fingers. Below this we have this nice wood paneling that hides the touch sensitive climate controls. We also get some rose gold copper design in the airvents and on the centre console. Talking of the centre console we have some more touch sensitive buttons and another neat trick is that this centre console also moves so you can either have space in the front or room in the back for the third passenger in the middle rear seat. One last thing I want to mention is that I also like the steering wheel design.
Practicality
So, sitting in the back legroom and headroom are good and if you wanted to sit 3 in the back you can do so with ease as there is a flat floor.
Boot Size
So boot space in the Nissan Ariya is 466 litres with the seats up. This is less than the Kia EV6 but there is storage under the floor for your cables which is very handy.
Summary
So, summary then the Nissan Ariya is a very good electric SUV and personally I think it is better than the Kia EV6, Genesis GV60, Hyundai Ioniq5, Renault Megane E-Tech and the Volkswagen ID4. It has all the space you need and the style to go with it. It is most likely one of the best Nissan's I have seen for some time until the new Nissan Leaf replacement comes out.
Exterior 5/5
Interior 5/5
Practicality 4/5
Total 14/15
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