Meet Nissan’s Qashqai for the electric age
Not just another EV crossover, 2021’s new Ariya is the car that Nissan’s banking on for its global resurrection.
From the darkness, a ray of light. The Ariya – an electric crossover majoring on intelligent technology and all-wheel-drive dynamic prowess – is the figurehead of Nissan’s plan to emerge from the gloom of financial losses, shrinking sales, and plant closures in Spain and Indonesia.
‘The Ariya opens a new chapter in our history, starting a journey of transformation in our business, product and culture,’ vowed company chairman Makoto Uchida as he revealed the production car. It needs to succeed. Global sales slumped by 10 per cent in the last financial year, as the firm slipped to a Y40bn (£300m) operating loss. The years of ferocious expansion under CEO Carlos Ghosn came to a dramatic halt following his 2018 arrest for alleged financial misconduct.
The Ariya breaks new ground for Nissan in EV performance, connectivity, cabin ambience and driver aids, chief operating ocer Ashwani Gupta tells CAR. ‘It’s the perfect fusion of our crossovers and [electrification]. In Europe, the Qashqai and Juke created the crossover segment; on the electric side we’ve made more than 150,000 Leafs in our Sunderland plant.’
But the Ariya appears to come from a different planet to its electric forebear. The Leaf is a trad hatchback that hit every branch of the ugly tree on its way down. The Ariya is a zeitgeisty crossover with superior proportions thanks to a new platform that exiles the wheels to the corners, an arcing roofline and clean, classy sides. But it’s performance and dynamics that Gupta wants to discuss. The Ariya comes with a choice of frontor ‘e-4orce’ all-wheel drive, one or two e-motors for a spread of power outputs, and two battery sizes: 63kWh and 87kWh.
Rear wheels are independently controlled by their own electric motor, offering a lot of sophistication in how power ⊲
is transferred to the road. The flagship 87kWh Performance deploys 389bhp – almost double the punch of the quickest front-drive Leaf e+ (and the base 214bhp Ariya).
‘With Ariya, [the goal] started from driving excitement; we didn’t start from driving range,’ says Gupta. ‘How can we bring acceleration which is equivalent to a sports car? How we can bring that excitement, that performance of 0-62mph in 5.1seconds, is by using the experience we have on GT-R.’
A week before the unveil, Gupta drove the Ariya Performance on Nissan’s test track to see for himself how the engineers had met their dynamic brief. His priority was to assess e-motor control, believing that the ability to control torque flow to each axle and brake individual wheels should endow the Ariya with smooth, one-pedal acceleration and deceleration, enabling a settled ride. Could he detect which wheels were driven? ‘I know what you’re looking for, can you make out whether it’s a frontor rear-drive car? Because the twin motors are not connected, you don’t really feel the rear or the front, it’s more balanced.’
Next thing on the checklist: acceleration. He’s happy with its 370Z-rivalling 5.1 seconds 0-62mph. ‘A sports car has its own passion with the sound: with Ariya, you don’t hear any sound, but you do feel the exhilaration.’
Despite this lively performance, the Ariya is competitive on range. Unlike the Leaf, which is left to its own thermal devices, the crossover has liquid-cooled batteries to keep them at optimum temperature, packaged between the wheels for a near 50:50 weight distribution. Lowest range is 211 miles with the 63kWh e-4orce model; you’ll go the furthest – up to 310 miles – with the 87kWh front-drive version.
The Leaf is wedded to the Japanese-standard Chademo charging socket, but European Ariyas will be equipped for this continent’s prevalent Combined Charging System (CCS). Nissan expects the EV to recover 186 miles of range from 30 minutes on a 130kW rapid charger, and cover 500 motorway miles with three quick charges.
Owners will do so in a cockpit offering a lounge-like vibe, says Nissan. The Ariya is shorter than an X-Trail but gives interior space comparable to a BMW X5, thanks to the long wheelbase, flat floor and a centre console that powers backwards. Twin, Mercedes-style 12.3-inch screens dominate the dashboard, underscored by modernist wood adorned with haptic switches rather than trad buttons. It’s so tasteful you can forget everything you know about Nissan interiors – but then it will cost circa £40,000 when it arrives in the second half of 2021.
‘We started from driving excitement. We didn’t start from range’ Ashwani Gupta, Nissan COO
The final piece in the jigsaw is the Ariya’s integration in the Internet of Things. At home, ask your Amazon Echo for the car’s charging status, or get a prompt to leave the house earlier due to congestion on your scheduled route. In the car, use ‘Hey Nissan’ voice prompts to turn on the household heating or lights on the commute home. Wireless Apple CarPlay is supported too, and software upgrades will be made over the air.
It has the latest version of Nissan’s Pro Pilot semi-autonomous driver assistance. The car can react to changing speed limits and automatically slow for sharp corners too.
The Ariya looks like a giant leap forward, as Nissan tries to overhaul a brand image it admits is damaged.
Europe will play second fiddle to Japan, the US and China as Nissan prioritises its investments in regions with greater market share and prospective profits. ‘It doesn’t mean Europe is a noncore market,’ vows Gupta. ‘But our market share is 2.5 per cent and that’s a shame for us. So we will focus on our competencies: crossover SUVs and the latest technology, which is electric, autonomous and connected.’ And the intersection of all those trends is the all-new Ariya.