The Ariya Is Nissan’s Most Compelling SUV in Ages

For Nissan, the Ariya is a big deal. It's the centerpiece of its reinvention, with the automaker seeking greater profits from more exciting models. It's also another entry into the hottest segment of the moment—the mid-size, electric crossover. With that comes competition from just about everyone else, so Nissan has to get this one right. For the most part, it did. There's some evidence that Nissan doesn't have the R&D budget of other large automakers, yet Z aside, this is the most appealing new product from the Japanese company in some time.

Nissan is very proud to point out its relatively long history with EVs, the Leaf being the first successful mass-market electric car, on sale for 11 years, though one wonders what took the company so long to add to its EV offerings. It could've beaten everyone to the electric crossover party, but even EV-averse Toyota got there first. Still, the Ariya arrives at a great moment, and it should be much more appealing to American audiences than the gawky Leaf.

It's a striking thing in person, virtually unchanged in appearance to the Ariya concept of 2019. Nissan nailed the classic concept-car look, smartly using a black roof and chrome trim line to make the car appeal lower. The design team also gets points for really taking advantage of the design freedom provided by a dedicated EV platform, pushing the wheels out to the corners, and moving the cabin forward to give a futuristic look and improve interior space. A low hood with creases above the wheel arches gives the driver great sightlines too.

Inside, it's minimalist but not obtusely so, as in so many EVs trying too hard to be futuristic. Especially cool is Nissan's use of matte-finish wood trim throughout, with haptic climate-control buttons integrated into the panel below the infotainment screen. Haptic controls are usually a disaster, but these work well, requiring a firm press and providing good feedback. Still, you have to take your eyes off the road to look at them, which is never great. Better than integrating climate controls into a screen though.

Our tester was an EMPOWER+ model. The cringey name indicates that this is the top-trim front-wheel drive Ariya, equipped with an 87-kWh battery pack, the larger of the two offered. Being a higher-trim model, the interior was well-appointed. It's not class-leading—for that, look towards the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 siblings—but it represents a huge step forward for Nissan, whose cabins have long lagged behind the competition.

The EMPOWER+ has a Nissan-estimated range of "up to 289" miles (EPA figures are yet to be finalized), a figure that falls slightly behind the Hyundai and Kia competitors, but easily beats the Toyota BZ4x/Subaru Solterra's 252 miles. The lower-spec Ariya Venture+ offers an estimated 304 miles of range. Maximum charge input is 130 kW with a DC fast charger, which Nissan says is good to get you from 20 to 80 percent battery in 40 minutes. Kia and Hyundai's 800-volt architecture allows for a maximum charging rate of 350 kw, and in the case of the EV6, the brand claims it can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in 18 minutes.