Nissan was one of the first companies to sell a fully electric vehicle in the United States market with its popular Nissan Leaf. It was introduced way back in 2010 with a quite modest range of 73 miles. Seventy-three miles. And we think we have range anxiety with 300 miles! The Leaf appearance has gone through a number of major redesigns and is also known as one of the more affordable EVs on the market, particularly in the heyday of gov't rebates. Nissan's learned a lot from the global success of its Infiniti line, however, so it's no surprise that the Nissan engineers were eager to create a bigger, more upscale electric vehicle as an alternative to the Leaf.
Enter the Ariya, introduced by Nissan in 2020 as an upscale SUV sibling of the humble Leaf. I drove an Ariya last year and quite liked it [See: This is a Nissan??], so when the company invited me to spend a week with the 2024 Nissan Ariya Platinum+ Dual Motor AWD SUV, I didn't hesitate to say "yes!". The company dropped off a two-tone blue/black model and my neighbors immediately came over to find out more about it. No surprise, it's got very good curb appeal:
A lot of EV designers try to minimize the inevitably bulky front of an electric vehicle, but the Ariya leans into it with its SUV design. But the Ariya designers did more than just work on the front, they threw out the Nissan dashboard and interior design guidelines and created something entirely new for the brand. Here's the dashboard so you can see what I mean:
This is reminiscent of my first experience with a Volkswagen ID.4 where it has a radically different dashboard with no obvious gearshift or gear control at all. The VW rep really wanted to show me how to operate it, but I puzzled it out instead. The Ariya isn't quite that dramatic a difference, but there are quite a lot of nifty luxury features. The dash features a dual display with 12.3" infotainment and control display. Awkwardly, the backup and Around View display are accessed with the "Camera" button to the left of the infotainment controls, behind the steering wheel. You only need that when you aren't backing up, but if you're pulling forward into a parking spot, it's quite helpful.
There's also a secret storage bin integrated into the dashboard that is controlled by the center console:
The Open/Close buttons control the hidden storage area (I'll show you it momentarily), and the e-Step button gives you one-step driving, the only way to drive an EV (in my opinion, at least).
Speaking of e-Step, I was disappointed that unlike most EVs with this feature, taking your foot off the pedal will not result in the car coming to a full stop. The Ariya rolled forward at just a mile or two per hour, but it was enough that I had to use the brake pedal in traffic. This, of course, defeats the purpose of the one-pedal e-Step. Is this some special setting or owner hack? If you know, please drop a comment.
The gearshift is a strange hybrid design where it's almost an actual shift; one can imagine the designers saying "buttons! let's make it buttons!" and customer panels saying "we want a gear shift!". This is the resultant mashup (shown above).
Back to the storage bin. Here it is, open:
Given the importance of vehicle security, I think it's a very smart idea to have ways for vehicle owners to stash valuables so that criminals peeking into the vehicle see empty seats and move on to the next vehicle for their nefarious activities. In the above photo you can also see the climate control buttons, neatly integrated into the dashboard. This is the same integrated design in the center console controls and it's very appealing.
The main gauge display offers lots of information in a reasonable layout too; you can see that I have 57% charge, an estimated range of 181 miles (do the math, that means it's estimating 317 miles on a full charge, which is quite interesting given that it's rated at "up to 267 miles" on the vehicle documentation. Certainly enough range that I drove all over the state of Colorado, including up into the mountains, without any concerns about charge or range. The 110V charger was sluggish - offering a 20% charge in 12 hours! - but I never felt there was an issue so long as I dutifully left it plugged in every night. If I owed the vehicle, I would unquestionably get a 220V home charger. At the risk of going against the common anti-EV narrative, it's also the case that using a supercharger every few weeks, like a 150kW Electrify America unit, wouldn't be particularly onerous either.
The steering wheel crossbar took a bit of puzzling out to figure every control, it's certainly composed of what we could call a "rich design language" with buttons, integrated buttons, toggles, and a roller button. Still, like so much in a modern vehicle, a few minutes with the user guide every month or so reveals all, even those features you forgot your car supported.
One area where the Nissan Ariya shines is how roomy it is. If you've read my car reviews, I generally complain about the lack of legroom for rear passengers. Not the Ariya! Even with the front seat pushed back for a tall driver - I'm 6'3" - the rear legroom was quite good:
More than that, the front seat was also a comfy compartment with easy ingress and egress:
Most EVs leave the foot area between the front seat driver and passenger open, and it offers a much roomier sensibility, even if no-one's ever going to actually put their feet in the center portion. The seats in question are Nappa Leather-appointed, heated, cooled, and in blue gray. Entirely functional. the top portion of the door panels and the top portion of the main dash are sort of brushed suede that looks very nice but might not be quite as attractive ten years down the road.
The back seat has a 60/40 split and as you can see, there's quite a bit of cargo space in the Ariya, another benefit of the SUV form factor. The storage bins on either side of the back area were also quite useful, a perfect size for a carton of milk. The back right is a first aid kit, something that's included with more and more cars nowadays. I've never had call to use one but like so much emergency equipment, it's meant to be ignored until you need it.
The drive experience was very fun; the Ariya has plenty of torque in its dual motor design and I was constantly leaping far ahead of the pack from a red light! It's a comfortable ride and corners well, making it a good car for mountain driving too, and with its dampened interior, the ride's quiet enough to have a conversation with someone in the back or enjoy your favorite music without cranking the 10-speaker Bose audio system. It also includes Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Nissan clearly learned a lot about EV design in the decade it had the Leaf on the market prior to the release of the Ariya and while this model has few changes over the 2023 vehicle, it's still a comfortable, attractive addition to your full electric vehicle choices and one well worth a close look. It's also on my own short list of best EVs on the market.
2024 Nissan Ariya Platinum+ Dual Motor AWD, 386hp AC synchronous motor with e-Step regenerative braking system and 87 kWh usable Lithium Ion Battery with liquid cooling. BASE PRICE: $54,190.00. Options Included: Carpeted floor mats, Exterior ground lighting, Two-tone paint. AS DRIVEN: $56,940.00.
Disclosure: Nissan loaned me the Ariya for a week in return for this candid writeup.
