Blog

Nov 30, 2023

I drove Nissan's Ariya E

I’VE owned Nissans for nearly 20 years but I was always certain that habit would soon change if I switched to an electric vehicle. Because let’s face it, while the Japanese firm’s only other fully

I’VE owned Nissans for nearly 20 years but I was always certain that habit would soon change if I switched to an electric vehicle.

Because let’s face it, while the Japanese firm’s only other fully electric car, the Leaf, may have revolutionised the electric market, it looked awful.

Born in 2010 – not exactly a time that design forgot – it was a hideous bug-eyed monstrosity.

And the 2018 second-generation didn’t exactly have Pininfarina quaking in their boots.

It was a car you could easily, ahem, Leaf well alone.

So well done to the design team behind the Nissan Ariya for making a vehicle that looks like something you’d be proud to point to in the office car park.

Ariya – Japanese for “honourable” – is what the Qashqai should be when the combustion engine eventually vanishes.

It has a similar silhouette but has what all electric cars aim for – a clear and present “quality gap” between the fossil-fuel burner and its space-age future.

The quality gap here is the usual Houston-on-steroids smorgasbord of electronics but also a sleek nappa-leather interior finish that feels more Scandinavian than Japanese.

The model I tested was the e-4ORCE Evolve Sport E, which comes with an 87kWh battery capable, says the official bumf, of a range of 314 miles.

As ever, that stat was pretty much cobblers but I was getting about 250/260 on a full charge with a mix of motorway and B-roads.

It’s pretty nippy for a two-ton hunk of battery – 5.7 seconds for 0-62mph, with a top speed of 124 mph.

This is largely thanks to motors driving both the front and back wheels.

You can really feel the pull over 40mph but the control, and the weight of the thing, makes you feel safe as houses.

So for family motoring, it’s a solid five stars.

One innovation the Ariya has that I struggled with is the so-called ePedal.

Switching this on allows you to start, accelerate, decelerate and stop using only the accelerator pedal.

In theory it’s a huge convenience but in practice it’s clunky and distracting in slow-moving traffic.

I gave up using it.

But that’s a small gripe for an electric vehicle that you just can’t help feel is doing its best to be a serious entrant into an increasingly crowded market.

I was going to say that one of its few problems is the price – the one I tested was a whopping £61k, all in.

But since I first started tapping out these words, Nissan has announced it’s dropping the price – with a new entry-level model now available at just under £40k.

It’s a smart move for a solid car that should reap rewards.

You could even call it “honourable”.

NISSAN ARIYA E-4ORCE 4WDPrice: £54,840Battery: 87kWhPower: 302hp0-62mph: 5.7 secsTop speed: 124mphRange: 314 milesCO2: 0g/kmOut: Now