Nissan Ariya review: They're beginning to shake things up again
The new Nissan Ariya
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NISSAN ARIYA |
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Rating |
★★★★☆ |
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Price |
from €48,995 - €66,995 as tested |
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Power |
a 178 kW motor outputting some 242 bhp and an 87 kWh battery |
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Range |
475-500km |
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The Spec |
thoroughly post-modern design offers a huge amount of kit |
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Verdict |
It has taken a while, but Nissan’s electric chops are underscored here |
Although things have been quiet on the product front from Nissan for some years now as the company struggled in the aftermath of the scandal of executive-turned-fugitive Carlos Ghosn and its troubled alliance with Renault.
While Renault continues to show resilience and growth, Nissan seems to have gotten itself stuck up to its axles into something of an automotive swamp with considerable financial perils having to be negotiated and ongoing discussions with its French partner about their future together scheduled to have been completed this week.
But, despite little new product coming from the Yokohama concern, once itself the sixth largest automaker in the world, there have been many signs of green shoots and this week we get to try one of the greenest of these, the new Nissan Ariya.
Despite having been an electric pioneer with their hugely successful Leaf, Nissan has not truly capitalised on their early successes in this field and certainly has failed to stamp its’ nameplate on a field of endeavour in which it seemed to have the whip hand on much of the opposition.
Certainly, the cataclysmic financial tremors which were sparked by Ghosn’s seem to have settled down from their initial earthquake proportions and the confidence being expressed by Nissan’s President and CEO, Makoto Uchida, in recent times suggest a growing confidence within the boardroom that the company has largely weathered the bad times.
That growing swagger is certainly reflected by the Ariya which, seemingly coming out of nowhere, is set to firmly put Nissan front and centre of all things electric again and indicates a growing internal confidence about what it can do. Ahead of a blunderbuss Toyota assault on all things electric with a barrage of BEVs, this is timely to say the least.
The Ariya is a strangely good-looking car and not in the sense that it is take-the-eye-out-of-your-head beautiful, but more in way it imposes itself on you and imprints itself on your senses. Certainly there is a lot of it because it is a big thing and that does register, but it’s still not drop-dead gorgeous and some of the colour choices are terrible.
But it does have a definite presence and, further, the way it goes about its business with an engaging mix of technology and innovation is nearly captivating, aside altogether from being terribly impressive.
Nissan describe the styling as ‘radical’ and while I wouldn’t go that far myself the designers in fairness have at least given the Ariya a distinctive front-end look – something that seems to have failed almost everyone else that’s putting electric cars out there these days. So, front that point of view at least, they’ve come up with the goods.
Overall the styling might not be as dramatic as, say, the sister cars from Hyundai and Kia, the Ioniq-5 and the EV6, but it is well ahead of most of the MEB-platform stuff coming from the VW stable and Volkswagen itself in particular. At least Audi, SEAT and Skoda of the VW companies, are making interesting-looking cars, but the ID series and the South Koreans are the market leaders in this sphere right now.
But this Nissan is set to shake up the whole apple tart, as Bertie Ahern might say. Whatever about the exterior look, you will be helplessly blown away by what’s on offer on the inside. Once you’re aboard you will be gobsmacked by such as the single-panel dashboard with has two truly easy-to-use integrated digital screens.
It is a very clean, minimalist, look but one which does not baffle the driver with its complexity and the loungey atmosphere is helped greatly by the premium feel of everything; the clever switchgear, the electric sliding centre console; and, the flat floor which adds a spacious feel to proceedings. It’s all a bit Star Trekky, really, but terribly nice.
One could, if you were picky, accuse Nissan of having designed an SUV coupe here, but its swoopy lines and severely sloped roofline actually indicate Nissan’s clever adoption of current design trends rather than an actual coupe format.
Interior space for front and rear passengers is excellent and the head and leg room afforded those in the back will impress even the Michael Jordans of this world. Seating is excellently comfortable and the driving position imperious. The boot space too is pretty vast.
You can spec Nappa leather upholstery if you wish, but the standard offering on the upper-end Evolve model is a curious mix of synthetic suede and PVC which is both environmentally friendly and nice to live with.
The Evolve model we tried – as against the entry-level Advance version – came fitted with the more powerful option which has a 178 kW motor outputting some 242 bhp and an 87 kWh battery. The system is good for a claimed range of 529 km. Given that none of us drives exactly the same, you can be assured that you’re going to get at least in the region of 475 km of range and, by the standards being set right now, that’s pretty much on the money.
And, unlike a lot of the early electrics we’ve encountered where the range plummets in front of your eyes after minimal motoring, this one does pretty much what’s claimed of it which – in turn – means that you have a bring-you-anywhere machine which does not induce that awful fear of being left powerless in the middle of nowhere.
No, this is a far more modern incarnation of the electric genre which offers security and peace of mind. It’s quick too, clocking up 100 km/h from a standstill in just 7.2 seconds. But it is not frighten-the-shite-out-of-you quick like some electrics where the on/off nature of the accelerator is like a light switch where you’re either ‘on it’ or you’re not.
The acceleration is very linear and smooth and is delivered slickly through the front wheels. Like a lot of electrics, however, while it is bottom-end quick, the top speed is a mere 160 km/h, so if you’re looking for a serious motorway mile-muncher, this might not be for you. But this beast will still cover a lot of ground in good time.
It is not a particularly startling handler, but it is very effective in the ride and road-holding departments and I doubt many will find fault here. Nissan’s e-Pedal technology effectively makes this a genuine one-pedal driver and that makes it perfect in an urban environment and quite a bit of fun on open roads.
It was difficult to be anything other than impressed with the Ariya and with the manner in which Nissan has rebounded from a series of setbacks which might have taken the wind out of the company’s sails.
At one fell swoop Nissan has caught up with the opposition and if this is a portent of what’s to come from the Japanese giant, then its future is very bright.
And, there is no suggestion that the future will be anything other than bright on this evidence. This is a car that is going to shake up the opposition and thoroughly impress anyone lucky enough to buy one.
