First of all, it should be noted how the new Nissan Ariya can assert itself in driving practice. In the present case, an Ariya with front-wheel drive in the Evolve Pack equipment and the combination of an electric motor with an output of 178 kW (242 hp) and a high-voltage battery with 87 kWh.
What was already to be expected following the positive experiences with the smaller Renault Megane e-Tech is also evident when driving the Nissan Ariya. Although more mass (unladen weight 2,055 kg) and a large body (vehicle height 1.66 m) are moved, the advantages of the new platform become apparent here very quickly. The particularly flat battery leaves plenty of room for passengers and trunk, and the efficient electric motor skimps on the electricity it consumes without making any major compromises in terms of driving performance. The good aerodynamics of the body also ensure that this can be implemented in considerable practical ranges. In which one nevertheless – thanks to the designers – has dispensed with experiments with largely unwieldy extendable door handles.
Considerable consumption cut
As the test in late autumn temperatures over almost 1,000 km in mixed operation (city traffic, country roads, long-distance motorways) showed, the academic standard consumption value of 18.5 kWh / 100 km is by no means unfounded. The real test average over the entire route was 20.9 kWh. However, the Ariya completed the journey from Carinthia to Vienna via Neumarkt and Semming with an average of 18.6 kWh. In economy mode using the sailing function (use of momentum instead of recuperation), cuts with 17 before the decimal point were also possible without becoming a traffic obstacle.
Translated into range, this means a practical value of around 400 km with a fully charged battery on long journeys. The on-board computer automatically suggests the cheapest charging stop along the route when the navigation system destination is entered in this distance, so that you don’t have to arrive at the destination with the last bit of power left in the battery.
So if the Ariya can clearly score in this core discipline of every electric car (consumption / range), it doesn’t cut a bad figure in the driving dynamics section either. Designed as a comfortable, spacious SUV, it’s not intended to take corners. If necessary, however, it can still be pulled around corners quickly and on track, if a certain body inclination is accepted.
On the subject of recuperation, the spectrum ranges from the already mentioned coasting to two different levels of automatic gradation (D / B) that can be activated via the selector lever, to single-pedal driving, which can be activated separately at the push of a button.
Beauty must suffer
Which brings us to the usability. In practice, this unfortunately takes a back seat here and there and lets the admittedly great look of the interior take precedence. Motto: Beauty must suffer.
The buttons on the center console next to the gear knob, which are completely integrated into the surface, look very elegant, but cannot be located purely by touch. For example, to change the driving mode, you need to look down to distract yourself from the road in order to hit the right button.
The same applies if, for example, the middle storage compartment under the dashboard should be opened while driving. It only swings on electrically at the push of a button, which seems questionable enough in an e-car struggling to consume every watt. The fact that the two buttons are also embedded in the center support next to the gear lever does not make things any better.
As much as the designers of the interior, in their quest for cool elegance, have scraped by vile practicality, they have put a lot of thought into this point when designing the trunk. Not only that the tiresome issue of accommodating the charging cable has been efficiently solved with space-saving side compartments. The trick of providing the trunk floor with two lids creates the welcome opportunity to divide the loading area with a flick of the wrist to secure smaller items from slipping.
The bottom line is that the Nissan Ariya is a modern electric SUV of the smarter kind, which is technically state-of-the-art and can score points with respectable consumption values in view of what is on offer.
The Nissan Ariya is available from us from €57,000 (160 kW / 218 hp, battery 63 kW/h). The purchase price for the tested variant (178 kW / 242 hp, battery 87 kW/h) is €67,500. An additional €4,500 is due for the Evolve Pack equipment variant.
