Nissan’s AWD Ariya e-4orce Is Determined To Catch Up

Nissan’s new Ariya electric SUV debuted as a front-wheel drive model last fall. Now the Japanese carmaker unveiled the new e-4orce (pronounced “e-force”) all-wheel drive model, which features dual—rather than single—motors to achieve AWD. The “4” in its naming (e-4orce) is meant to signal all-wheel propulsion to Ariya buyers, and it’s almost a worse sin than Toyota labeling its first electric SUV the bZ4X. Kia’s simpler EV6, EV9 convention couldn’t be more boring, but at least it’s not as confusing. 

AWD Ariya

All nomenclature aside, the Ariya e-4orce is an all-wheel drive competitor in roughly the same shape, size and mid-range pricing segment as Ford’s Mach-E, Volkswagen’s ID.4, and Hyundai’s Ioniq 5. We’ll get a little more into how the Ariya AWD version stacks up against these main rivals’ offerings, but first, how does the e-4orce differ from the front-wheel drive Ariya? 

Like the two-wheel drive Ariya, e-4orce models are offered in two flavors as well, with either 63 kWh or 87 kWh battery configurations. The 63 kWh model delivers 335 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque, as compared to 304 horsepower and 224 pound-feet of torque from the front-drive Ariya. The 87 kWh Ariya e-4orce offers even more “force” from its dual motors: 389 hp and 442 pound-feet of torque, and that model can race to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. 

Hands-off

And unlike the front-driver, all e-4orce Ariyas come standard with Nissan’s Level 2 advanced driving system (ProPilot Assist 2.0 in Nissan-speak). However, that hands-off driving mode doesn’t work everywhere, since it relies on  high-resolution, digitally mapped roads, of which, Nissan says there are about 200,000 miles to be found across the nation. 

When you’re on one of these highways (we found a few on a test-drive outside of San Francisco), the mapping works in tandem with exterior and interior sensors. Inside the cabin, Nissan’s autonomous driving engineer Aaron Tenorio explained that sensors monitor the driver, including head and eye position. And, yep, these can scan through sunglasses, so there’s no fooling ProPilot Assist 2.0 by wearing mirrored shades and taking a nap while the car is in self-driving mode.

In practice, a color-coded system in the instrument cluster and head-up display telegraphs to the driver when ProPilot Assist 2.0 can actually steer the car, switching from white to green and then to blue squares, with the latter cueing to the driver they can drive hands off the wheel but with eyes and hands front and ready. 

However, unlike General Motors’ Super Cruise, Nissan’s system is more sensitive to the driver’s gaze straying—which is a good thing. On a fairly curvy stretch of highway it “asked” for more vigilance, by turning red to get our attention, and when aggressive NorCal drivers did Californian maneuvers, like cutting us off and passing on the right and left simultaneously, ProPilot Assist kept the car on path and braked to restore the distance to the car ahead. 

It would also subtly make it clear you still had to pay attention: during an automatic lane change (activate your turn signal with a hard flick left or right), it tells the driver to scan the adjacent lane, before moving the car over. The activation is deliberate rather than immediate—which could be frustrating in the hurly burly of commuter traffic—but until every car is autonomously driven, it errs on the side of not crashing. Some semi-autonomous systems feel almost too smooth, by contrast, lulling drivers into a false sense of security.

Use the 4orce!

Nissan calls e-4orce the “spiritual offspring” of the Nissan GT-R all-wheel drive system. James Mastronardi, vehicle performance development manager, who sat with us at Nissan’s demo at the Sonoma Raceway, drew an important distinction, “The speed that we can get with an electronic system,” which is what Nissan’s deploying with Ariya, “versus a mechanical system” like with the GT-R, “is orders of magnitude faster.” 

To put a finer point on that, Ariya’s monitoring and adjusting torque output, grip, rotational forces and the split in all of these vectors back to front and side to side 10,000 times per second. The maximum speed of the GT-R’s system is a mere 100 times per second.

But the result isn’t necessarily what you’d expect. Nissan’s test course had us start with a full throttle turn, with the accelerator pinned to the floor, the way a rally driver would take a corner—trying to get the rear end to bust free. That doesn’t occur with the Ariya’s AWD, because even on wet tarmac, it’s only applying power that can achieve grip. Drive like a nut and throw more steering into a corner than it requires and you’ll still feel the bite of stability and traction control cutting off your hooliganism, but it all happens so fluidly you actually have to try to perceive the intrusion. Mastronardi says Nissan’s using e-4orce to manage torque to reduce head toss, which is the dizzying sensation caused by heavy acceleration and deceleration. 

The resulting experience is anti-GT-R. You can’t wag the tail of the Ariya with e-4orce, and you can barely induce a skid or wheelspin. While Mastronardi explains that both two-wheel and four-wheel drive Ariyas have identical steering calibration, the AWD car uses the rear motor’s ability to add re-gen—essentially, drag—to reduce some of the shock of accelerating and braking. He explains that while obviously instant response is an advantage in an EV, throttle inputs through corners can feel harsh in some EVs, where the power hits hard. What you find with the Ariya is pace, but a more luxury-like delivery. 

Smoothing the Way

On the road, the Ariya is absolutely a smooth customer. Set it up for one-pedal driving, where lifting off the throttle can induce a herky-jerky push-pull in other EVs and you get…none of that. Perhaps ideally you’d have enough deceleration to get all the way down to a full stop with no brake input, and the Ariya doesn’t quite offer that, however, the trade-off is definitely less fore-aft jarring. If the chassis dynamics aren’t quite as sporty as you get from a Mach-E, it’s a far less tiring car to drive over several hours, especially when the road isn’t buttery smooth, and the suspension, if not quite sporty, is more lively and responsive than VW’s ID.4.

Testing the top-end Ariya with its 442 pound-feet of torque clearly makes a difference versus the VW’s 339 pound-feet, too, where 40 to 70 mph snaps feel especially quick, and, yes, you can tell that the Ariya’s acceleration is calibrated for reducing side-to-side motion if you’re hard into the accelerator around corners. 

Nissan could be on to something: There’s a rush to get to electrification, with Nissan’s own target of 40% of U.S. vehicles by 2030, but once the present demand spike has been fulfilled, you’re going to have to court reluctant buyers who will have to be convinced an electric crossover is right for them. So far, Nissan says 62% of Ariya sales have been going to buyers new to the brand, and clearly Nissan will have to continue to make that pitch, since while the Ariya is pretty revolutionary for the carmaker they’re fighting at a luxury car tier. 

Airy Ariya 

Here the Nissan is pretty spot on within the segment. The Ariya’s 42.3 inches of front legroom and 37 inches rear legroom bests Ford’s 41.6 inches front legroom, but slightly trails the Mach-E’s 38 inches rear. The Ioniq 5’s 38.1 inches of front headroom narrowly edges out the Nissan, and the Ioniq 5’s 39.4 inches of second-row legroom are also superior—including besting VW’s 37.6 inches of second-row legroom, too. 

This, mind you, is all a bit of quibbling. The Nissan feels roomy inside because it is. Most 6-footers can sit comfortably in the second row of the Ariya, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and ID.4, in part because the packaging is generous on all three. On the Nissan, however, there is a minor compromise, since designers clearly gave up some base cargo room in order to make the second row feel roomier. 

Nissan’s 22.8 cubic-feet of hatch space with the rear seats upright gets bested by the Mach-E’s 34.4, VW’s 30.3, and the Hyundai’s 27.2. Fold those seats forward and the Nissan’s nearly catching up to some of the competition: 59.7 cubic-feet of cargo lags the VW’s 64.2, edges the Ford’s 59.6 and Ioniq 5’s 59.3 cubic-feet. 

The Volkswagen is the “wagon-iest” of the set, but all these cars are crossovers in the best sense, offering reasonable versatility and passenger comfort. 

Pokey Power-Up

Nissan PR made the point that most customers charge their EVs at home. This is an argument we hear from all carmakers, but in case you need to charge your Ariya in the wild, its maximum 130 kW charging speed is going to feel pokey. You can re-juice from 10% to 80% in about 40 minutes, but both the Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 can be topped at speeds up to 350 kW, so they’ll jump from 10% to 80% in a mere 18 minutes. 

The fastest charging speed for a Mach-E is 150 kW, and for VW, 170 kW, so Nissan’s slower speed isn’t completely off what’s standard, but considering they’re the latest EV to market in the segment it is surprising they’re not closer to Kia and Hyundai. It is possible this will lead to longer battery life, since charging speed is a trade-off with battery preservation, but there’s a solution for that, too—software, to monitor the health of the overall system and reduce charging speeds as needed. 

How Much does the Ariya e-4orce Cost? 

Nissan went to great pains to argue this Ariya is packing more tech and goodies than similar-segment rivals, but the price is still steep and because it’s (for now) being produced in Japan, the car is ineligible for revamped tax incentives. The least expensive e-4orce Ariya, the Engage trim with the smaller 63 kWh battery, runs $48,525. The estimated range on that model is a mere 205 miles. If you want an AWD Volkswagen ID.4 and are willing to spend roughly the same amount the EPA says you’ll see 255 miles of range. You can get into an AWD Hyundai Ioniq 5 within the same price slot and also get 256 miles of range.

The kick in the teeth for Nissan is that VW customers (according to the IRS, which is still interpreting the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act) are likely to receive up to $7,500 back on the ID.4 in the form of a federal tax credit, because that car is made in the U.S., while Nissan customers miss out on that, since the Ariya is produced in Japan. Even if a base AWD Mustang Mach-E only manages 224 miles of range, similar to the smaller-battery Ariya e-4orce, it’s also made domestically, and so its similar sticker is going to get discounted.

Nissan would certainly argue that stepping up to the 87 kWh battery gets you back near the top of the segment in range, to 272 miles per charge—and with better power than the likes of the VW—and for a relatively minimal price jump to $52,525 at the lowest Engage+ trim. And they even have a price advantage—until, once again—you bring up those tax credits.

The Evolve+ and Platinum+ both include the bigger battery, starting at $54,190 and $60,190, respectively (without fees). Both the standard Ariya and e-4orce in all trims are available to configure on Nissan’s website.

Bottom Line

Nissan’s packaging of the Ariya e-4orce, with a minimalist, highly stylized cabin interior and calm driving manner edges the car into luxury terrain. At issue is whether its pricing will feel too steep against competition like the Mach-E and ID.4, which can qualify for tax breaks. The short-term picture looks positive for Nissan, filling up backorders, but there’s no way higher interest-rate loans and more competition at lower price tiers aren’t going to challenge the automaker to make the Ariya and EVs that come after it faster at charging and less pricey. 

Nissan provided lodging, meals and travel to enable us to bring you this first-person report. Although Forbes Wheels sometimes participates in manufacturer-hosted events, our coverage is independent, unbiased and aimed at offering consumers an objective view of every vehicle we test.