Nissan Ariya

Eleven years after the original Leaf, Nissan releases its tricky second electric album The market for mid-sized family EVs is already impressively diverse, but while several players within it are positioned for a premium price, few have used what you might think of as traditional luxury car values to justify that price quite like the subject of this test: the Nissan Ariya coupé-SUV.Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 are fast and rangy. Audi’s Q4 twins are edgy-looking and tech-laden. The Ford Mustang Mach-E offers range, handling dynamism and design cachet – as, each somewhat differently, do the Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Genesis GV60. Is there an opening, then, for a premium family EV that puts comfort, refinement, cabin appeal and on-board space uppermost among its reasons for being? Nissan is banking that there is with this week’s road test subject.This is only the Japanese brand’s second ‘proper’ all-electric passenger car. The smaller Nissan Leaf has been with us since 2011, and 11 years is plenty of time for Nissan to have thought long and hard about how it would expand its zero-emissions range (beyond the reach of the e-NV200 van, needless to say), and possibly even to have aborted an attempt or two.So why wait so long? Perhaps the Ariya’s new platform explains it. This is the first car to adopt the new CMF-EV platform, which by 2030 will be serving under as many as 15 electric cars across the Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi brands. Stay tuned to find out what kind of upmarket family car it can make for right now in 2022.Range at a glanceThe Ariya is offered in a choice of three equipment grades, with two drive battery capacities and in either single-motor front-wheel drive or twin-motor four-wheel drive.The trim levels – Advance, Evolve and Performance – are separated mainly by on-board technology. Evolve trim adds a head-up display, Bose premium audio, a panoramic sunroof and synthetic leather seats.EnginesPowerNissan Ariya 63kWH Advance215bhpNissan Ariya 87kWh Advance239bhpNissan Ariya 87kWH e-4orce AWD Advance302bhpNissan Ariya 87kwh e-4orce AWD Performance389bhp