Yahoo Autos 2023 Nissan Ariya First Drive Review: An impressive overture
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Let’s say you write a screenplay and get an agent, manager or producer to read it. If they like your script, the first question they’ll ask you is, “What else do you have?” Movie execs prefer to invest in someone they know has more than one good idea.
If the 2023 Nissan Ariya were the script and I was the producer, the first question to Nissan would be, “What else do you have?” I spent a workday behind the wheel of the new battery-electric crossover, and quite enjoyed my first read. Here's to hoping Nissan’s coming EVs are as good or better.
So much of the good vibe comes from the interior. After expressing a difference of opinion with colleague James Riswick about the Volkswagen ID.4’s infotainment system, I agree with all Riswick had to say about the Ariya cabin, summed up as “fashionable and futuristic while still being functional.” Uncluttered yet inviting. Gorgeous displays with heaps of configurability. Features that are served best by buttons and a knob get buttons and a knob. Excellent material choices, save for one item I’ll get to in a moment. And, huzzah, a real live sunroof that opens with a simple toggle switch.
There’s plenty of room for people, and there’s plenty of room for the notions and trifles people carry, although not in the usual places. The sliding console between the seats doesn’t house the capacious bin we’ve begun to expect in EVs. The only item under the armrest is a slim dock for the wireless charging pad. The cubbies live under the instrument panel — a manually retractable pocket-slash-tiny-table under the HVAC controls, a glove compartment in the usual location. A note on that sliding console: It moves about 5 inches fore and aft, but it’s not a disappearing console, so the room gained by occupants in the front seats is subtracted for occupants in the rear seats. The area forward of it is also open, not unlike an old-school van or BMW i3, meaning that only items too heavy or weirdly shaped to roll into the driver's area can be put on the floor. Some may prefer an enclosed bin like what you'll find in a Kia EV6, even as an accessory.
Roominess takes a hit behind the second row, however, as designers stressed occupant room and an arced greenhouse over cargo space and the arced greenhouse. There’s but 22.8 cubic-feet of storage behind the second row, which is small for the segment. That’s 7 cubes less than found in the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and 7.5 cubes less than in the ID.4. It's equal to the Kia Niro EV. Putting the second row down improves load space to 59.7 cubic-feet, matching the Mach-E, but falling 4.5 cubic-feet short of the ID.4. The ICE-powered Nissan Rogue Sport, which is 10 inches shorter than the Ariya, can hold 22.9 cubic feet behind the second row, 61.1 cubic feet with the second row folded.
That one questionable materials decision mentioned above concerns the crosshatch motif inspired by Japanese Kumiko lanterns placed throughout the cabin, including on the doors, the speaker grilles and a rectangular panel under the dash (it's the thing that looks like a cold air return in the below right photo). When dark outside, a soft glowing light comes through the pattern and as shown in the below right photo, is a nice touch. When light outside, however, the plastic pieces look like a low-res imitation of wicker. That's less nice. At least the pattern carpet looks modern and expensive regardless of the time of day.
Rumor alleges the Ariya was meant to be an Infiniti. As a Nissan, however, it makes a superb reset for what the brand can do after previous leadership starved it of vision, attention and resources for so long. The Ariya’s quarters are premium enough to suit the elevated expectations and MSRP of an electric vehicle, still leaving plenty of room for an Infiniti variant to express genuine luxury.
