Nissan Ariya Unveiled

The Nissan Ariya is a good-looking and compelling package! Let’s get the negative out of the way first, it is more than a year away from landing in the United States. Probably even slightly longer before we get them in quantity in Michigan, but it is destined to be sold in all 50 states. Now that we have that out of the way, its time to gush a little. The Ariya really carries over the look of the concept car from last year’s Tokyo Motor Show. I know styling is subjective, but I find it quite attractive. It will be offered with 2 battery pack sizes (65 kWh and 90 kWh), and 1 or 2 electric motors driving 2 or all 4 wheels. E-4orce all wheel drive was previewed on a dual motor Nissan Leaf prototype at this year’s CES show. The most powerful version will have the largest battery pack and dual motors for a total of 389 hp, and a range of 360 miles on the WLTP scale. I would guess the EPA will peg it closer to 320 or less miles per charge. If you want to go farther, get the big battery but only 1 electric motor, and it should see 379 WLTP miles, or around 350 EPA miles. The shortest range is found by combining the smaller battery with all-wheel drive, and that’s good for 267 miles on the WLTP scale, or hopefully 230 miles according to the EPA. Two ways in which it is very different from the Nissan Leaf, the Ariya will have a liquid cooled battery (finally! And like every other modern EV); and the models being sold in Europe and the US will use CCS rapid chargers, rather than the CHAdeMO style on said LEAF. It should also be able to tow 1,500 pounds, which will make it much more practical as an ICE replacement. The full reveal aired at 1am EST, so I am including it here, in case you missed it live. Enjoy!