Top 3 things you need to know about the Nissan Ariya

The Nissan Leaf was the first successful, high-volume electric car to be sold globally. The first generation could barely do 140 km, before the battery needed topping up. But its range was acceptable at the time, since very few owners travel farther than 60 km each day.

 

The Electric Decade

Nissan and Elon Musk’s Tesla became the catalysts of an electric resolution that swept the world and changed the very concept of personal mobility. In 2012 Tesla stunned the world with its Model S, which was introduced to the market with a range of about 400 km. Its retail price of close to $100 000 (about R1m at the time) allowed for expensive, high-capacity cells that made long-distance driving possible. At the same time, Tesla was quickly building a network of fast chargers, making the switch to electric mobility even easier for those who could afford cars from what was then a premium brand.

Related: How suitable are electric cars to South African conditions?

 

 

Ariya slays the opposition

When the second-generation Nissan Leaf arrived in 2017, its battery capacity of 40 kWh and a range of approximately 250 km came as a disappointment. Especially because the Leaf’s cute little cousin, the Renault Zoe, was cheaper to buy and had a better range. Nissan addressed the issue by launching the 62-kWh Leaf e+, with a range of around 350 km, but it was clear that the people’s pioneer had lost its lustre.

This all changed almost overnight when Nissan unveiled its Ariya crossover this week. Here are the top three things you have to know about it.

Related: Low pricing structure a key to the new all-electric VW ID.3’s success

 

1. It just about ends range anxiety

One of just a few things engines and batteries have in common, is that they generate heat while moving a vehicle forward. If you can manage their cooling efficiently, you can extract better performance from the car. Nissan was criticised for not using liquid-cooling on the batteries of Leaf 1 and Leaf 2, because of concerns over reliability and battery performance.

With the Ariya, Nissan introduces liquid-cooling for the Ariya’s big-capacity cells. The car is available with a 65-kWh battery or a 90-kWh battery. That is massive when compared to the 2010 Leaf’s 24 kWh and the 2017 Leaf’s 40 kWh, of which neither had liquid-cooling.

As you can see below, the 90 kWh 2WD Ariya will easily exceed 500 km in mixed use.

 

Japan-market specifications	Ariya (2WD) with front motor		Ariya (AWD) with front and rear motors
Battery capacity Estimated, subject to homologation	65 kWh (nominal) 63 kWh (usable)	90 kWh (nominal) 87 kWh (usable)	65 kWh (nominal) 63 kWh (usable)	90 kWh (nominal) 87 kWh (usable)
Output	160 kW	178 kW	250 kW	290 kW
Torque	300 Nm	300 Nm	560 Nm	600 Nm
Acceleration (0-100 Km)	7.5 sec.	7.6 sec.	5.4 sec.	5.1 sec.
Top speed	160 km/h	160 km/h	200 km/h	200 km/h
Estimated range Based on WLTC Japan cycle; subject to homologation	Up to 450 km	Up to 610 km	Up to 430 km	Up to 580 km

 

2. It gets its moves from the GT-R and Patrol

The twin electric motor, all-wheel-drive Ariya models will have Nissan’s most advanced all-wheel control technology, called e-4ORCE. The “e” in e-4ORCE stands for Nissan’s 100 percent electric motor drive system. “4ORCE” alludes to the car’s physical power and energy, with “4” representing all-wheel control. Born from Nissan’s proud history of building iconic all-terrain vehicles and sports cars, e-4ORCE is “the spiritual offspring of the Nissan GT-R’s torque split system and the Nissan Patrol’s intelligent 4X4 system,” the company says.

Related: 5 Nissan GT-R accessories you didn’t know you needed

It’s not just marketing-speak either. Nissan takes its all-wheel-drive prowess and marries it to the ease and accuracy that electric motors allow.

By specifically managing power output and braking performance for smoothness and stability, e-4ORCE enhances driver confidence by tracing the intended driving line over almost any road surface, while never needing to change driving style or input, the company explains. “When cornering on snow-covered roads, for example, the vehicle can faithfully trace the driver's intended line, thanks to ultra-high-precision motor and brake control. With the confidence to handle such a variety of road surfaces, driving becomes more enjoyable,” a statement reads.

 

3. It copied the best features of its rivals

The company’s all-new EV platform allows the Ariya to offer what seems to be a truly spacious cabin. A flat, open floor – made possible by fitting the battery at the base of the chassis – and the Ariya’s slim profile seats result in vast amounts of legroom and easy interaction between front- and rear-seat passengers. Nissan says rear-seat passengers have an abundance of headroom and legroom, with the flat cabin floor allowing them to easily cross their legs and relax.

The 65-kWh Ariya versions carry 7.4 kW chargers for domestic use, while the 90-kWh cars include 22 kW 3-phase chargers for home charging. The Ariya can also support quick charging up to 130 kW at commercial chargers.

Similar to cars in the Mercedes family, the Ariya’s display interface features both a 12.3-inch instrument monitor and 12.3-inch centre display along a single horizon.

ProPILOT with Navi-link offers smooth highway driving. By connecting with the navigation system and using road map data, the driver assistance system can help adjust vehicle speed based on upcoming road conditions, such as smoothly slowing the vehicle before a sharp corner. This is similar to the Predictive Powertrain Control of the Mercedes-Benz Actros, already available in South Africa.

Nissan’s intelligent personal assistance technology has voice recognition with advanced natural language understanding technology, to handle in-vehicle assistance without the driver taking their eyes off the road. For example, by saying “Hello Nissan” or “Hey Nissan”, occupants can ask for vehicle information and manage the route, including searching for points of interest, verbally. Sound familiar?

Finally, using Tesla’s approach, the Ariya is the first Nissan with over-the-air firmware updates. This updates various software inside the vehicle, with no need to visit a service centre.

 

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