Oh, Nissan Ariya. We hardly knew ye.
Introduced as Nissan’s second-ever ground-up mass-produced electric car, she was—on paper, anyway—a promising follow-up to the Nissan Leaf; a car that pioneered cheap EV motoring, but never really got a strong follow-up. (At least, until recently.)
The Ariya looked to be the answer to everyone’s prayers. It was a crossover, necessary in a market that had increasingly shunned sedans and hatchbacks. It had a “normal” charging port instead of the CHAdeMO stuff that never really caught on outside of Japan. It was quick enough, it looked pretty good, the range was reasonable, and it seemed to be priced just right.
Photo by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs
Surely, the automaker that had so much EV experience under its belt could deliver a mega-hit, the thinking went. Plus, the Tesla Model Y had captured the hearts of millions around the globe; emulating that form factor should be just right, no?
No, it wasn’t.
Two years after its introduction, seemingly right on time to scoop up the loads of buyers insatiated by Tesla, the Ariya is gone from this world, with little pomp and circumstance. Apparently, she’s still going on in other parts of the world, with a smoother face and some minor under-the-skin upgrades. But here in the United States, her cause of death was tariffs.
And to the Ariya, I say, from the bottom of my heart: good riddance.
I had the Ariya as a press loaner twice: once before I joined the team here at InsideEVs, and a second time this year, around March. Both times, I struggled to find anything that stood out about the car. Even now, I am having a hard time coming up with any sort of words that convey just how middle-of-the-road a car the Ariya was.
And this isn’t me saying that the Ariya is a bad car—there’s a difference between “meh” and “bad.” In terms of driving dynamics, range, technology and the overall vibe, it was mostly competent, yet as forgettable as they come.
Somehow, even a bZ4X delivers a more memorable experience.
Photo by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs
Before I lay into the Ariya as a car, let me say what went right. The interior is spacious and airy, and the power delivery is smooth and calm. Range and efficiency numbers are fine, touching 300 miles in some trims well before that was normal.
Yet, while behind the wheel, I struggled to connect to the Ariya. It was quick, but had no personality. It sort of aspired to be sporty, but the ride was too soft, the steering too slow, and the brakes too soft with weirdly long travel to feel comfortable to be driven with any verve. The once-good one-pedal driving pioneered by the original Leaf, called ePedal, was replaced with eStep.
Nissan says this is better, but it automatically depresses the brake pedal instead of letting the car modulate regenerative braking without doing that. It also doesn’t bring the car to a complete stop. That made city driving frustrating, because the setup feels so unnatural, partially because it’s too slow to react.
Photo by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs
I suppose that’s silly to ask the Ariya to be able to do either of those things. But it didn’t feel all that exceptional as a comfort device or tech device, either. Sure, it was smooth riding and quiet, but the generally smooth ride was constantly betrayed by springs that almost felt too short for their damping; big bumps were surprisingly inelegant and a little stiff-legged, and it was shocking how little grace the car showed in handling them. In the grand scheme of things, the car wasn’t as quiet as it could have been, either. It just felt like I had a car that wasn’t all that great at anything.
Then there was the technology aspect. Sure, the Ariya could deserve some praise for physical buttons and hard keys for some functions, but they weren’t even intuitive or easy to press. The haptic feedback buttons integrated into the faux wood trim were hard to press and slow to react, only acknowledging every other press that I had.
Photo by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs
And then we get to the software. While functional, it didn’t feel special or new or all that responsive. It was menu-heavy and had no apps, although that’s not such a big deal for folks who are very much into their Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. I don’t care much about either, to be honest.
But the Ariya arrived at a time when EVs were still making a case for themselves in America—a time when they needed to be more than just “here’s our crossover, without all the gas.” The Ariya didn’t wow, and it didn’t convince. It didn’t excel in any particular area. It didn’t feel like an effort that proved that EVs could be the future, or Nissan’s future. It was just… there. And it wasn’t cheap, either.
The Platinum+ AWD top-of-the-line units I got both times were in the $55,000 range. The Ariya felt like everything I hate about modern U.S.-market EVs: dull, behind on tech, made with a little bit of contempt, and kind of expensive. If Nissan thought this was going to be a challenger to dethrone Tesla, challenge Rivian and stave off Chinese cars, then they were delusional. That, or it was a glorified compliance car. Hard to say.
Photo by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs
Maybe I should switch my critique from “US-market” to “Legacy Auto,” because I do think there’s promise shown from automakers like Rivian and Lucid. These brands have such clear forms of purpose, with very well-considered driving dynamics and super technologically advanced software suites. Rivian in particular, with its willingness to integrate popular apps into its homegrown software, while still preserving the look, feel, and functionality that it’s made people fall in love with. If Rivian and Lucid can figure out a way to port that experience to their cheaper R2 and R3 models and midsize vehicle project, respectively, they’ll have a hit on their hands.
My experiences elsewhere in the world have turned me into a carmudgeon. Editor-in-Chief Patrick George has told me that perhaps my perspective is skewed; my specialty here is Chinese cars, and for the most part, they’re all good, even if some of them are as dynamically exciting as wallpaper paste. The rest of the world will take a while to catch up, and it’s frustrating to know what you cannot have—including for literally half the price.
Photo by: Kevin Williams/InsideEVs
Of course, there will always be issues of taste between the two markets. Not every Chinese car that makes it out of China and into the West will be successful; some aren’t all that great. For many buyers, the Ariya is a great car; I don’t contest that at all. Everyone I know who has an Ariya got one via a crazy lease deal, with one person claiming they were able to get one for $99 a month, with less than $2,000 down. Used, they’re one of the best EV deals on the market, too, often tracking cheaper than a Volkswagen ID.4, Kia EV6, or Ford Mustang Mach-E with fewer miles.
If you’ve got one and you’re happy, then I’m happy for you.
But by now, automakers have to realize that if they’re going to compete globally, they have to give people better EVs than whatever Nissan gave us with the Ariya. But I know that isn’t easy.
Until then, rest in peace, Nissan Ariya. Maybe one of your batteries will be recycled into a better car.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
