If you’re shopping for an electric family car, you might find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer array of choices out there. From Tesla to Chevrolet to VinFast, it seems like every automaker is vying for a slice of the two-row electric crossover pie, meaning competition in this segment is absolutely ruthless. So, where does the 2024 Nissan Ariya Evolve+ E-4ORCE fit in this puzzle? As part of a special event, I logged some proper time behind the wheel to find out.
Yes, my time in this Ariya came as part of AJAC EcoRun, an annual event put on by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada where a handful of select journalists can drive the latest green vehicles back-to-back as they compete to see who can be the most efficient. While I took the mini-challenges seriously, I mostly treated the road drives as normal, in order to give you, dear readers, an accurate representation of each vehicle.
The Basics
As-Tested Price: $55,905 ($73,866 Canadian)
Battery: 87 kWh net capacity lithium-ion.
Drive: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive.
Horsepower: 389.
Torque: 442 lb.-ft.
EPA Range: 267 miles (438 km).
DC Fast Charging: 130 kW.
Curb Weight: 4,965 pounds.
Body Style: Two-row crossover.
Why Does It Exist?
Look, Nissan couldn’t keep coasting on the Leaf forever. While the second generation of that hatchback was competitive when it launched in 2018, the blistering pace of EV development left it relatively outmoded. CHAdeMO is effectively a dead DC fast charging protocol, 170 miles of range on the base battery pack isn’t brilliant, and besides, the people want crossovers. So, here’s the Ariya, a regular-sized two-row electric crossover doing battle with every automaker from Chevrolet to Volkswagen.
How Does It Look?
In a word, sharp. Short overhangs, distinctive lighting signatures, and complex surfacing combine with a wind-friendly fastback profile featuring a floating greenhouse punctuated by sculpted brightwork. The end result is a pretty slick-looking EV that really makes you wonder why the Murano is still around. On style alone, this could easily replace Nissan’s combustion-powered midsize crossover, especially since it has a certain muscularity to it.
How About The Inside?
As cars become more homogenous underneath, design is a sure way to stand out, and Nissan sure knows how to make a visual statement. From the suede-like textiles to the veneers to the fabulous indirect ambient lighting courtesy of a few elements meant to look like lanterns, the style and materials of the Ariya’s cabin punches far above its weight class.
Speaking of those ambient lights, the one under the dash uplights two of the most intriguing motorized pieces in any car today — a motorized drawer and a motorized center console. Let’s start with the drawer, which whirrs out from the center of the dashboard and comes with a lid to act as a table. Not only does it feel properly sturdy and offer loads of usable storage space, but it’s also a clever bit of packaging. Then there’s the motorized console, which is great because it always puts the armrest where you need it to be, and can come in handy in tight parking situations. Can’t get in or out of the driver’s door? Just slide the console back, then slide your butt across the passenger seat. Easy.
In fact, there’s only one issue with the non-tech bits of the interior — the driver’s armrest simply isn’t anywhere near where you’d expect it to be. Not only is it physically lower than the center armrest, it also feels further away from the driver, often leaving left elbows to fall into dead air. If you’re shaped in such a way that negates that issue, then all the power to you, because the Ariya genuinely has a visually beautiful interior.
How Does It Drive?
Out on the road, it doesn’t take long to get the sense that the Ariya is Nissan’s first shot at an entirely new EV in an exceptionally long amount of time. On the plus side, acceleration with the dual-motor all-wheel-drive system is reasonably brisk, the steering is expectedly numb but remarkably tight and fast, and the console-mounted electronic shifter feels nearly normal in a world of novelty. An EPA range of 267 miles isn’t bad either, and 130 kW DC fast charging should be plenty. On the minus side, the world has moved on so far since the second-generation Leaf launched that Nissan finds itself on the EV back foot in a few surprising ways.
The Ariya comes equipped with an enhanced regenerative braking function that Nissan calls e-Pedal, and it operates in a rather surprising fashion. As soon as full regen decides to kick in, the brake pedal automatically sinks to the point of friction brake engagement, doing an impressive simulation of pedal feel under sudden, catastrophic braking failure. It’s spooky, and despite using it plenty of times, I could never get comfortable with it. Add in the fact that e-Pedal won’t actually bring the Ariya to a complete stop, and you end up with a drive mode that’s a total miss.
The other big demerit is ride quality. I understand that Quebec’s roads aren’t the best in the world, but they aren’t dreadful, and the Ariya didn’t do a brilliant job of coping over bumps. There’s a crashiness over little bumps that makes it feel like the dampers could use another six months’ worth of tuning, but considering the delay this model saw upon introduction, there’s really no excuse for it. A Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Volkswagen ID.4, or even the updated Tesla Model 3 wouldn’t pop and buck over minor pavement imperfections like this Nissan.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
Oh buddy, does this thing ever have electronics. It all starts with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system set into the same bezel as a digital cluster, the two combining to offer plenty of information and entertainment. For the former, just about every metric you can possibly want is either displayed top-level on the gauge cluster or is easily brought up, including speed in both metric and imperial units, energy usage, driver assistance status, and how much go-power you’re summoning up at any given time. Add in a delightfully nostalgic native infotainment UX that gleefully dances on flat design’s grave, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, and all the luxury toys you can shake a stick at, and the Ariya has it going on.
Unfortunately, its tech does leave a bit to be desired in operation. The Ariya relies heavily on capacitive touch controls, and while they look neat sitting flush with the veneer, they do present some operational challenges. The Ariya does offer a volume knob and that ought to be a huge step up over the Volkswagen ID.4’s sliders, right? Well, if you try to adjust the volume knob while propping your pinky finger on the wood trim to combat the crashy ride, you turn the climate control off. Oof. On the flipside, if you’re poking around the capacitive touch controls, it might take a prod or two for a button to accept your input. While great design elements, these controls aren’t natural, and sometimes function is more important than form.
Three Things To Know About The 2024 Nissan Ariya
- The motorized drawer in the dashboard is seriously cool.
- It has some of the best ambient lighting in any car.
- The suspension tuning could use some work.
Does It Fulfill Its Purpose?
It comes very close. There’s lots I like about the Nissan Ariya Evolve+ E-4ORCE. The indirect cabin lighting is fun and novel, the motorized drawer is dope, the styling certainly isn’t bland, the front seats are properly comfortable, and the range and charging specs are properly competitive. Unfortunately, it’s also a vehicle filled with little annoyances that pile up, especially in the face of stiff competition. It’s a solid mid-pack contender, but when you’re spending north of $55,000 (north of $73,000 as-equipped in Canada) on a vehicle, wouldn’t you want something better than mid-pack? That being said, it wouldn’t be hard for Nissan to get back on the horse. With better suspension tuning, reshaped door cards, and a proper one-pedal drive mode, the Ariya could be right up in the mix.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2024 Nissan Ariya?
Like the first time, for the second time.
(Photo credits: Eamonn O’Connell)
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I see no reason to buy this over one of the Korean EV’s or a model Y. 130kw is half speed charging.
I see no reason to buy this over one of the Korean EV’s or a model Y. 130kw is half speed charging.
The person who named this thing deserves to be executed. Or at least thrown into the Sarlacc pit with the person who named the bz4x.
The person who named this thing deserves to be executed. Or at least thrown into the Sarlacc pit with the person who named the bz4x.
I must one of the few people that really dislikes the way these look. People make fun of certain crossovers for looking egg-shaped but this is literally an egg on wheels and I just can’t stand looking at it. It also doesn’t help that it shares almost no design language with the rest of the Nissan line up.
Not the first time for Nissan. Check out the NX2000. Its nickname was, literally, The Egg.
I must one of the few people that really dislikes the way these look. People make fun of certain crossovers for looking egg-shaped but this is literally an egg on wheels and I just can’t stand looking at it. It also doesn’t help that it shares almost no design language with the rest of the Nissan line up.
Not the first time for Nissan. Check out the NX2000. Its nickname was, literally, The Egg.
I get that this is the toppest of the line but jaaaysus $73k for a Nissan. Are they high?
They are all in the same price ranges. I just bought an EV and anything with awd and the 400kms(ish) range is basically between 60-70k cnd. I went with the Kia ev6 that was 65 and I added an extended warranty to get 200000km/5y and it cost over 4000. Batteries are expensive. With taxes and before the government rebates my car cost me 80000$
I get that this is the toppest of the line but jaaaysus $73k for a Nissan. Are they high?
They are all in the same price ranges. I just bought an EV and anything with awd and the 400kms(ish) range is basically between 60-70k cnd. I went with the Kia ev6 that was 65 and I added an extended warranty to get 200000km/5y and it cost over 4000. Batteries are expensive. With taxes and before the government rebates my car cost me 80000$
I see these around town, and they look pretty nice. I’m really surprised the range isn’t over 300 miles given the battery pack size and curb weight. They may be a bit conservative in their estimate though.
I see these around town, and they look pretty nice. I’m really surprised the range isn’t over 300 miles given the battery pack size and curb weight. They may be a bit conservative in their estimate though.
Wait really? Our 2018 Leaf with e-Pedal will bring it to a complete stop, that’s bizarre they didn’t do that on the Ariya.
One thing I admire about the Leaf is having easy-to-reach physical buttons/switches for things like driving mode and regen, and whatever you have set is preserved even when turning it off and on again. Don’t like one pedal drive? Toggle the switch right by the shifter and never think about it again. No digging through menus, no having to reset it every time you get back in the car (looking at you auto start-stop), etc.
Agreed on e-Pedal; the next EV to replace my Leaf needs to have that feature, otherwise it’s a no go. I’ve gotten addicted to one pedal driving. Reminds me of my childhood driving Popcars.
Wait really? Our 2018 Leaf with e-Pedal will bring it to a complete stop, that’s bizarre they didn’t do that on the Ariya.
One thing I admire about the Leaf is having easy-to-reach physical buttons/switches for things like driving mode and regen, and whatever you have set is preserved even when turning it off and on again. Don’t like one pedal drive? Toggle the switch right by the shifter and never think about it again. No digging through menus, no having to reset it every time you get back in the car (looking at you auto start-stop), etc.
Agreed on e-Pedal; the next EV to replace my Leaf needs to have that feature, otherwise it’s a no go. I’ve gotten addicted to one pedal driving. Reminds me of my childhood driving Popcars.
I had no idea that it wouldn’t stop the damn thing. I found it so off-putting that I turned it off without finding that out. It felt much more persnickety to me than other one pedal drives, and that seems even worse if it’s not actually one pedal driving.
I had no idea that it wouldn’t stop the damn thing. I found it so off-putting that I turned it off without finding that out. It felt much more persnickety to me than other one pedal drives, and that seems even worse if it’s not actually one pedal driving.
Nissan somehow managing to shit the bed on EVs after being one of the first manufacturers with a commercially viable one is one of the biggest automotive fuck ups of the 21st century so far. Whenever someone tries to tell you that CEOs are worth their ludicrous salaries all you have to say back is “Carlos Ghosn” and you’ve won the argument.
But only if you pronounce Ghosn correctly.
There have been a few times where I’ve felt like Nissan is Japan’s GM.
It beggars beleaf.
Nissan somehow managing to shit the bed on EVs after being one of the first manufacturers with a commercially viable one is one of the biggest automotive fuck ups of the 21st century so far. Whenever someone tries to tell you that CEOs are worth their ludicrous salaries all you have to say back is “Carlos Ghosn” and you’ve won the argument.
But only if you pronounce Ghosn correctly.
There have been a few times where I’ve felt like Nissan is Japan’s GM.
It beggars beleaf.
They have been blowing these out on leases. Lease Hackr has reports of under $100/month deals on 2023’s. I’d be down for an EV at that price. There was one guy who has acquired like 3-4 of them now for the whole family.
The house down the block from me just got two of these – one black, one white. I never even knew they existed before that and I can’t imagine a reason they’d have picked these up other than a spankin’ deal on the lease.
They have been blowing these out on leases. Lease Hackr has reports of under $100/month deals on 2023’s. I’d be down for an EV at that price. There was one guy who has acquired like 3-4 of them now for the whole family.
The house down the block from me just got two of these – one black, one white. I never even knew they existed before that and I can’t imagine a reason they’d have picked these up other than a spankin’ deal on the lease.
Nissan Ariya Evolve+ E-4ORCE
Did Dodge name this?
Is it supposed to be pronounced “ee-fourors”?
I’m not even sure how to pronounce Ariya. Could be pronounced like aria, could be uh-REE-uh or even uh-RYE-uh. I suspect the first option, but I really don’t know.
I’m pretending the 4 stands for an H, so I get to pronounce the AWD models as E-Horse models. And I’m going to actively avoid any sort of Nissan promotional videos that might insist otherwise.
Old McDonald had a farm,
E dash four orse e dash four orse e dash four orse-o
May the fourorce be with you.
Evolve Plus Eeeeyyy Minus Four Orce.
They should run that name through TinyURL or something. Or is that already the shortened name?
That URL redirects to goatse.
Nissan Ariya Evolve+ E-4ORCE
Did Dodge name this?
Is it supposed to be pronounced “ee-fourors”?
I’m not even sure how to pronounce Ariya. Could be pronounced like aria, could be uh-REE-uh or even uh-RYE-uh. I suspect the first option, but I really don’t know.
I’m pretending the 4 stands for an H, so I get to pronounce the AWD models as E-Horse models. And I’m going to actively avoid any sort of Nissan promotional videos that might insist otherwise.
Old McDonald had a farm,
E dash four orse e dash four orse e dash four orse-o
May the fourorce be with you.
Evolve Plus Eeeeyyy Minus Four Orce.
They should run that name through TinyURL or something. Or is that already the shortened name?
That URL redirects to goatse.
Yikes, no wonder nobody is buying these things. Also its a $56k Nissan two row crossover, these will be in the mid-20s used by 2027.
I hate to give Tesla credit, but a Model Y just stomps all over the Ariya, an MY Performance has more power, 12 mi more range, is 4k less expensive at sticker AND is eligible for the full 7500 tax credit, and can charge at superchargers. It is awfully generic looking though.
By “generic looking” you mean “weirdly proportioned,” right?
Yes thats true, but it’s also just a total blob, that really has no visual character and blends in like crazy, which some people want but its sooooo boring inside and out.
Yikes, no wonder nobody is buying these things. Also its a $56k Nissan two row crossover, these will be in the mid-20s used by 2027.
I hate to give Tesla credit, but a Model Y just stomps all over the Ariya, an MY Performance has more power, 12 mi more range, is 4k less expensive at sticker AND is eligible for the full 7500 tax credit, and can charge at superchargers. It is awfully generic looking though.
By “generic looking” you mean “weirdly proportioned,” right?
Yes thats true, but it’s also just a total blob, that really has no visual character and blends in like crazy, which some people want but its sooooo boring inside and out.