If you are shopping for a new battery-electric crossover vehicle, Nissan’s Ariya is one you should definitely consider. We found it offers many great features and a very satisfying driving experience.
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As electric vehicles enter the mainstream, every automaker is trying to put their best foot forward. Nissan’s new Ariya is one of the newest battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) to hit the market. Now in its second year of sales, we’ve had two chances to try the Ariya and were pleasantly surprised to find that the prices have apparently gone down, not up in the model’s second year.
The Ariya is a five-passenger crossover. Another way to say this is a five-door car. It has approximately the same interior space as a Nissan Rogue (Which we also recently tested - Thank you, Nissan!)
The Ariya offers a practical layout that we felt very comfortable in. The seats all feel very roomy, and the vehicle has more of a car vibe than an SUV vibe. Cargo space is generous as well.
The top-trim all-wheel drive Ariya we tested had a 2024 model-year consumer cost of $55,580 before dealer doc fees. Front-wheel drive trims with fewer features and less range start in the low $40Ks. The first top-trim Ariya we tested topped $60K. This lower price still seems high to us, given that a top-trim Rogue is about $43K, but we understand that EV powertrains are more expensive than other powertrain options.
2024 Nissan Ariya Platinum + e-Force AWD - Availability and Discounting
We searched for Ariyas in stock near our Metro West Boston home. Our nearest dealer showed nine in stock, and all were heavily discounted. The discounts ranged from $2,000 on the top trims to $5,500 on other trims. Deep discounts on BEVs are now quite common. Your author feels strongly that leasing BEVs makes more sense than buying outright. Here’s why.
The Ariya is battery-electric, meaning it is powered solely by electricity. Electric motors drive the wheels, and a large battery stores your energy. It is charged up using any of the common ways to charge an EV: Level 1 (115V), Level 2 (240V), or DC Fast Charging using the Combined Charging System (CCS). That last bit is important. It means it is not like the Leaf, which uses an obscure charging style not found in many places in America. The Ariya is very easy to find chargers for.
We charged the Ariya on many different public chargers. Three different DCFCs and a Level 2 public charger. We also charged at home using a Level 2 EVIQO brand EV charger. The Ariya is not the fastest-charging EV in its class. It is about mid-pack. It offers similar charge speeds on DCFCs as the Subaru Soltera, Toyota bZ4X, Volkswagen ID.4, and Ford Mustang Mach-E. Some EVs in this class, from Hyundai and Kia, charge more quickly in public. At home, the Ariya can take advantage of a 30 A, 240 V current. Some EVs of this type can charge up a bit faster. All of this is really not that critical in the real world. The Ariya’s charging profile is just fine unless you are a road warrior covering hundreds of miles a day, many days per week. Or if you cannot charge at home. In which case, you should be in a hybrid, not a BEV.
2024 Nissan Ariya Platinum + e-Force AWD - The Driving Experience
What we liked most about the Nissan Ariya was the driving experience. Like all EVs of its type, it has ample torque and offers great acceleration. The Ariya is quick and even fast when you want it to be, but it is also quite happy cruising sedately in suburban traffic. You would be surprised how few vehicles we test are good in both scenarios.
During our testing, we traveled to rural New Hampshire, where the (nicely high) speed limits seemed right for the environment. We had a chance to enjoy the Ariya on open, twisty mountain roads. It’s not a sports car. Nissan makes some of the best of those, but those also come with compromises in comfort and utility. The Ariya is well-rounded. On windy roads, it is fun to steer. On one uphill two-lane stretch, we had a chance to pass a slower vehicle, and the Ariya simply leaped ahead from about 45 MPH to a higher speed in a way that few gas-powered vehicles in its price range can. The brake pedal was a bit softer than we prefer, but the brakes get the job done just fine.
The Ariya has a good greenhouse, and the driver has a good view of the open road. A rear-view camera is handy if you prefer it. We found the Ariya to be a very nice vehicle on longer drives.
The Ariya is a Nissan, which means excellent seats. We also liked the infotainment screen and head-up display. Finding things like the tire pressure display in the system was easy. We liked that Nissan offers some touchpad controls outside the screens for HVAC functions.
2024 Nissan Ariya Platinum + e-Force AWD - What’s Missing?
This is the Gen-1 Ariya, and there is room for improvement. We would start with a spare tire. Next, wireless Android Auto. Finally, we’d add an AC button to the static HAVC controls. Having to aim and tap for it in the menus was sometimes distracting.
The Ariya we tested offers a whopping 442 lb-ft of torque—you can really feel that when you accelerate. It is equipped with an 87 kWh (usable capacity) battery, which translated to over 300 miles of estimated range in our travels during mild temperatures. The EPA-estimated range is 272 miles. The worst-case scenario (very cold winter highway use) would be about 150 miles of range.
The Ariya has a 7.2-kW onboard charger for Level 2 charging (like one might have at home) and a 130-kW DC public fast charger rate. These are lower than some vehicles in its class, but we didn't feel as if the lower charge rates were a big deal in our real-world use. Few of the DC fast chargers in our local area can offer a faster charging rate anyway. Most of the range an Ariya owner will add over the vehicle’s lifetime will be added at home while the car is parked and the owner is sleeping.
2024 Nissan Ariya Platinum + e-Force AWD - Conclusion
If you are shopping for your EV based primarily on charging specs, the Ariya may not seem like the “best” in the category. However, we’ve tested everything in this segment and find that in the real world, the Ariya is one of the best vehicles of its type. It offers a very satisfying driving experience, the infotainment is very good, and the vehicle feels like it is a premium model hiding in mainstream clothes. If you are shopping for a five-passenger BEV crossover, do yourself a favor and check out the Ariya. You may just like it best in this very competitive segment.
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John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work at our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ Grammarly grammar and punctuation software when proofreading.
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