New 2023 Nissan Ariya ( Overview ). HIGHS
– Spacious inside, quiet around town, decent driving range.
LOWS
– Poky acceleration with front-wheel drive configuration, styling is polarizing, lacks driving excitement.
VERDICT
– The Ariya impresses as a follow up to the Leaf hatchback, but rival EV SUVs offer more fun behind the wheel.
What is the Ariya?
Nissan pioneered the affordable EV with its Leaf hatchback that launched for the 2011 model year. But a lot has changed since, with newer EVs becoming larger, quicker and capable of considerably longer range. Now Nissan finally has a rival to the likes of the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Toyota bZ4X and Volkswagen ID.4: the 2023 Nissan Ariya.
What are the Ariya’s power and range?
Many electric SUVs give you two choices for battery size, and the Ariya follows that trend. The base version of the Ariya has a 63-kWh battery pack. This is similar in capacity to the standard battery packs in the Mustang Mach-E and Hyundai Ioniq 5. It can be paired with either a single electric motor for front-wheel drive (214 horsepower) or a dual-motor setup that provides all-wheel drive (335 hp).
How does the Ariya drive?
We’ve driven an Ariya Premiere, or the single-motor front-wheel-drive version with the extended 87-kWh battery pack. Dual-motor all-wheel-drive versions won’t be available in 2023. This Ariya Premiere is certainly not a performance model. However, acceleration feels good from a start, and punching it to change lanes is nice and easy.
How long does it take to charge the Ariya?
Nissan says the Ariya can DC fast-charge up to a rate of 130 kW on a fast charger, which is enough to go from 20% to 80% capacity in 40 minutes with the extended-range battery. This is a little slower than the times quoted for most rivals, including the Mustang Mach-E and ID.4. The Ioniq 5 (and related Kia EV6) is the speedster of the group and can charge in less than half this time assuming you’ve got a powerful enough station to support it. At-home 240-volt charging times for the Ariya are also underwhelming. In both cases, we don’t take issue with the Ariya’s charging times. For the way most people use their EVs, they’re sufficient. Just know some rival EVs can charge a little quicker.
