All-New, All-Electric Crossover Now Lists All-Wheel Drive Among Its Many Attributes
by Peter Ciani
Since its unveiling in 2020, the Ariya (pron. AH-ree-uh) has experienced production delays and supply chain issues that have held back its North American release. There have been reports suggesting that some delays are due to manufacturing challenges at Nissan’s highly automated “Intelligent Factory” line in Tochigi, located just north of Tokyo.
Ross Proffitt, Senior Manager of EV Transformation at Nissan recently stopped by the New England Motor Press Association garage to talk about the 2023 Nissan Ariya, the brand’s highly-anticipated EV follow-up to the pioneering Nissan LEAF.
Although production has fallen short of Nissan’s targets, the Ariya is now reaching customers. Deliveries in the U.S. started in late 2022. Early consumer reviews suggest that Nissan may have a winner on its hands, despite the ongoing production woes.
On a recent visit to NEMPA headquarters, the Ariya made a good first impression with the organization’s members who’ll start test-driving the crossover in the near future.
The exterior styling of the Ariya certainly looks like the part of a next-generation Nissan crossover, debuting what Nissan is calling their new “Timeless Japanese Futurism” design philosophy, “characterized by a distinctive Japanese approach conveyed in a simple-yet-powerfully modern way”. Which is marketing speak for sleek and modern.
The front grille is gone, replaced by what Nissan calls a shield. The shield features a 3-D Japanese traditional Kumiko pattern set below a smooth surface. The grille is flanked by slim LED headlights and LED daytime running lights.
Outback, the Ariya displays a sleek fastback-style roofline and a darkened, one-piece light blade with integrated rear combination lamps and N-I-S-S-A-N spelled across the back.
The all-electric architecture of the Ariya allows for a surprisingly spacious interior thanks to the absence of a driveshaft tunnel. Without the gas engine and its associated hardware upfront, designers were able to move the heating and air conditioning system further forward under the hood. While this may eliminate the possibility of a frunk, it does provide extra space in the interior.
When speaking about interior volume in his interview with RPM New Weekly’s Rich Taber and Drive-thru Radio’s Paul Zangari (see below), Ross Proffitt, Senior Manager of EV Transformation at Nissan compared the Ariya to two of its own Nissan stable mates.
“On the outside when you look at this vehicle it looks like probably a Rogue-sized packing on the exterior, but on the interior, due to the electric powertrain, it is more of a Murano size. So you get space,” he explained.
Besides the extra space, the interior also has an upmarket feel, especially in the Platinum+ e-4ORCE trim (shown above) with its Nappa Leather seating and soft-touch materials. The same intricate Kumiko pattern that’s used in the front shield is brought into the interior as well.
The Ariya is offered in a wide range of trims including the Venture, Engage, Evolve, Empower, Premiere, and Platinum. Standard and extended range battery packs are available as is front-wheel drive, or dual-motor e-4ORCE all-wheel-drive. Pricing starts at $43,190 for the base, front-wheel-drive equipped Engage trim.
Even at the base level, the Ariya comes with desirable comfort features like heated front seats with leatherette seating surfaces and a heated steering wheel. Standard tech features include a 12.3-inch Advanced Drive-Assist Display, a head-up display, and the NissanConnect system with a 12.3-inch display, Siri Eyes Free, and Amazon Alexa Built-In. Other standard features include Nissan Door-to-Door Connected Navigation and wireless Apple CarPlay. Sorry fellow Android users – we’re stuck with a cord for now.
Additionally, all trims include Nissan Safety Shield 360, a comprehensive suite of standard safety technology that features Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Rear Automatic Braking, Lane Departure Warning, High Beam Assist, and Blind Spot Warning with Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
Nissan’s new ProPilot Assist 2.0 is available on the top trims and offers drivers a hands-off driver assist system when the conditions allow it. ProPilot Assist 2.0 can change lanes, pass other vehicles and exit the highway, the system also ties into the navigation system, using 3-D map data to detect road types and speed limits. It’s not fully self-driving even though it is hands-free, so you do have to watch the road ahead. If you’re not the Driver Monitor System will bust you, which is a good thing because we don’t need a bunch of people dozing off on the highway. It’s not a Tesla after all.
No matter what trim you choose, you’ll never be stuck in a bland econobox with rental-car-level features. However, the Engage with the standard 63 kWh battery does get the lowest range ratings in the line-up, starting at 205 for the all-wheel-drive and 216 miles for the front-wheel-drive. If you require more range, you’ll have to upgrade to the Venture+ (admittedly, this sounds like the name of a credit card), which includes a larger 87-kilowatt-hour battery pack.
The front-wheel-drive-only Venture+ trim also happens to be the range leader in the Ariya lineup with up to 304 miles of range. At $47,190, it’ll cost you $4k more than the front-wheel-drive Engage, but it’s nice to see that you don’t have to go to the top-tier price level to get the maximum available range either.
All-wheel-drive equipped models get up to 270 miles of range depending on trim and battery size.
Charging from 0 to 100% with a Level 2 home charger will take up to 14 hours with the 87 kWh battery and 10.5 hours with the 63 kWh battery. Fourteen hours might sound like a lot, but most people don’t drive 300 miles a day, and if you do, then you might need to consider a job with a shorter commute. The average American actually drives about 30 miles a day, which a Level 2 charger can easily replace when plugged in at night.
On the other hand, the Ariya’s 480-volt DC fast charging system can charge the 87 kWh battery from 10 to 80% in 40 minutes and the smaller 67 kWh battery in 35 minutes.
We look forward to getting some seat time in the Ariya and will report back as soon as we can take it out for a spin.
RPM’s Rich Taber teams up with Drive Thru Radio co-host Paul Zangari to talk with Nissan’s Ross Proffitt about the state of EV charging and, of course, the Ariya. Watch Below:
