EV Review: 2023 Nissan Ariya

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For the past decade, Nissan’s electrification journey has been similar to The Tortoise and the Hare fable. In this instance, the hare is Nissan, originally jumping out to an early lead but eventually loses to the tortoise — pretty much every other automaker — who showed consistency.

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The Nissan Leaf was the first mass-market EV in 2011 and that should’ve propelled the company into EV leadership. Sadly, there hasn’t been anything else electrified from the troubled brand until the all-new Ariya. Meanwhile, nearly every other manufacturer has released at least one EV since 2011 — in many cases, they’ve introduced several.

As a brand, Nissan’s in trouble. They’ve killed the Micra, Maxima, Titan, Versa Note and for some bizarre reason, brought back the Versa subcompact sedan a few years ago. The Nissan Leaf is also reportedly being discontinued — the company should’ve kept that original pillar and modernized it.

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My point? There’s a helluva lot riding on the wheels and batteries of the 2023 Nissan Ariya. I spent a week with the Ariya Evolve+, the front-wheel drive variant. Let’s dig into what it is, what it’s like in the real world and most importantly, how it compares to its competition in the burgeoning segment.

How does it look?

As you walk up to the Nissan Ariya, there’s nothing overly distinct design-wise. It’s not as edgy as the Hyundai Ioniq 5; it’s not as sleek as the Ford Mustang Mach-E or Kia EV6; it’s just bulbous like the Volkswagen ID.4. It’s not entirely a bad thing, but it doesn’t stand out.

Compare the specs of similar electric crossovers

Making up for that are the new vertically angled LED daytime running lights that double as the turn signals, with low and high beams neatly placed above. The black grille has Japanese lantern-inspired design elements embedded, which are very close to Mercedes’ EQ style. Thick black wheel arch cladding are above the 19-inch wheels with aerodynamic rims; it looks busy and more like hubcaps. The charging port is above the front passenger wheel and the chrome trim runs along the top of the window line, finishing off at the C-pillar.

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Embedded in the rear light bar that spans the width of the tailgate is the word Nissan, as opposed to a logo. A long spoiler gives it a sleeker look and unlike the Ioniq 5/EV6, there’s actually a rear wiper. It looks more like an Infiniti QX55 than anything else, so I suppose there’s consistency there.

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Interior features and infotainment

You may recall our in-depth interior review of the Ariya last year, in which the example we previewed wasn’t even for North America, but rather a right-hand drive pre-production prototype from Japan. It was apparent then that the brand was aiming to level up, but now we can see the North American version is just as great. It has an impressive interior design, with an open concept like the Ioniq 5 and EV6. There’s open space across the footwells and more Japanese lantern-inspired design features, giving it a premium look. This trim brings a standard panoramic sunroof and a flat-bottom steering wheel is a nice finisher.

The centre console is powered, meaning it moves forward and backwards to accommodate different sized drivers and offers modular functionality. Cool party trick, right? The issue is if that motor fails, it’ll be an expensive fix. In the back, it’ll be unfortunate for whoever has to sit in the middle seat as nearly all leg space is eliminated if the console is pushed all the way back.

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There’s barely enough storage space for an average wallet, as the wireless charging pad eats up the majority of the real estate. The USB ports are at the bottom of the console so reaching it is difficult and there’s nowhere to store the cables. An unforgivable botch comes with the door armrests being misaligned with the height of the powered centre console; the console is over an inch higher so it’s uncomfortable for those who drive with their elbows on those touch points.

The positives are that Nissan has jumped on the one-panel dual-screen train. Dual 12.3-inch screens are incorporated nicely. A fully digital instrument cluster, complete with battery percentage and remaining range is at the top of the cluster, meaning you’ll always see it. The infotainment screen is responsive and fairly easy to navigate and includes a volume knob. While you can do most HVAC adjustments via the HVAC haptic bar, you’ve gotta dig into the screen to get access to everything — not cool when you’re doing 100 km/h.

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The zero-gravity seats are comfortable and bring minimal driver fatigue. In the rear, the seats are surprisingly comfortable for outboard passengers; I’d spend up to three hours there before calling a mandatory seat change. As for cargo space, with the rear seats up, you’re looking at 646L and folded, it increases to 1,691L. The best part is they’ve implemented the “Divide-N-Hide” configurable cargo system, which isn’t on the highest Premiere trim.

2023 Nissan Ariya range and charging time

My Evolve+ tester uses the bigger of two battery options — the 87 kWh battery produces up to 465 km of range and it’s a front-wheel drive system. Horsepower comes in at 238 and torque registers at 221 pound-feet. The Engage FWD trim uses the smaller 63 kWh battery and has up to 348 km of range, while the Evolve e-4orce trim use the same battery and has the lowest of all ranges at up to 330 km. If you’re looking for a bit more range, the Venture+ uses the bigger 87 kWh battery and gets up to 490 km. The top Platinum+ e-4orce and Premiere+ e-4orce both run up to 426 km of range — note that the Premiere+ is a special launch edition with minimal availability.

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Thanks to a nearly 50-50 weight distribution, the Ariya rides smoothly. It’s well-balanced and navigating urban curves, twists and turns are handled well given its height. With the lower torque figure, there’s no brisk acceleration compared to others in the segment, but there’s still a nice strong push once your foot goes down. You’ll have no issues getting up to highway speeds or needing a little boost of torque to avoid a collision situation.

Stopping the Ariya sees a steep learning curve as there’s a rocking motion as soon as it’s at a standstill for one to two seconds. Think of it like a boat being docked and taking a moment to settle. Sadly, Nissan declined to use the Leaf’s smart one-pedal drive system and replaced it with their “e-step” technology. It increases the intensity of regenerative braking but does not bring the Ariya to a full stop; you’ve still gotta apply the brake manually for that. A smarter system would’ve been to use paddle shifters that control the amount of brake regen that many other EVs use. It’s not as bad as the Mustang Mach-E’s on or off option but it’s not great compared to others.

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Drive modes are Sport, Standard and Eco, but I imagine most will live outside of Sport and inside Eco.

How long does it take to charge the Ariya?

On a Level 3 charger at 130 kW, the run from 10 to 80 per cent is done in 40 minutes. Drop down to a 50 kW charger and that same charging parameter takes 90 minutes. The common Level 2 charger, which I imagine most owners will have in their homes/residences, sees the Ariya charge from zero to 100 per cent in 14 hours, which isn’t especially fast but consider that most times, you won’t be charging from zero. There’s also a 7.2 kW on board charger.

2023 Nissan Ariya Canadian pricing and competition

I know prices of everything have gone up. Yes, you can get the keys to the base model Ariya Engage for $52,998 but rarely is the base model bought. The mid-level trim for the Hyundai Ioniq 5 has an MSRP of $52,999 and up to 488 km of range. Nissan feels this Evolve+ tester will be the volume seller, but at a staggering $64,948 — nearly $15,000 more than the Ioniq 5 when similarly equipped, but the Ariya gets a bit less range.

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In fact, many of the Ariya’s direct competitors have lower prices when similarly equipped:

Add in the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV, the existing Toyota bZ4X, Subaru Solterra, and Nissan has seemingly priced themselves out of the market. Yes, there’ll be Nissan loyalists who will opt for the Ariya, but for a brand that’s often changing lanes and lagging behind, it’s already a few car lengths behind in the EV world.

Final thoughts

An average looking exterior surrounds a mostly impressive interior, complete with modern design language and technology, comfortable seats and sadly, a pesky motorized centre console. It’s a liveable EV with strong cargo capacity and good cabin comfort, plus the 465 km of range is enough to keep the EV skeptics interested and the EV enthusiasts happy.

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It’s a difficult proposition for Nissan to ask potential customers to pay $64,948 for the Ariya when it’s the highest priced and least-proven model in the segment. And with the range-topping Platinum+ and Premiere a touch away from a whopping $70,000, well, come on, Nissan; read the room. It’s overpriced, despite all of its features and standard safety — via its Safety Shield 360. Slicing off roughly 10 per cent of the price would make this a different conversation.

Nissan needs the Ariya to be a success. The brand is finally becoming competitive again with a new Frontier and Pathfinder in recent years, and possibly the Rogue, although it’s already showing its age. If the Ariya fails, it won’t be the end of the Nissan brand but it’ll certainly make changing lanes back to relevance incredibly challenging.

Check out the latest Nissan Ariya model.