ARIYA & DRIVE (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Nissan's Ariya is an often-overlooked choice in the upper-mid-sized part of the EV market. Jonathan Crouch looks at the updated version.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 55

The Ariya, here lightly improved, has broadened Nissan's EV range up-market, an upper-mid-sized Coupe-Crossover that really seems to have the 'want one' factor missing from so many family-segment electric vehicles. It's boldly styled, has a cutting-edge cabin and offers a choice of battery sizes and drivetrain options. Think EV are dull? Check this one out.

Backgroundword count: 168

Every major brand has been developing Electric Vehicles over the last decade. But only a few have been doing so with actual customers, selling cars from actual showrooms. One of these brands is Nissan, who established the concept of an all-electric family car with the innovative LEAF all the way back in 2011. Before in 2022 bringing us a follow-up, that difficult second album, this car, the Ariya. Much of that time was spent creating the platform this car sits upon, the CMF-EV chassis that also underpins its very similar close cousin, the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric. That car is positioned in size and price very similarly to the current-day Nissan LEAF, so this one, its name based on the Japanese word for 'honourable', must be a slightly larger, slightly more aspirational, more up-market thing. A mid-sized Crossover aimed at entry-level Tesla territory and the EV market's most over-crowded segment. In Spring 2026, a package of updates were introduced, creating the car we're going to look at here.

Driving Experienceword count: 359

There aren't really any engineering changes to this lightly updated Ariya, though Nissan says it has updated the suspension tuning for improved stability, reduced vibrations and a smoother driving experience, particularly over long distances. That should help the unsettled ride over poor surfaces we noticed on the original model, a failing that characterises quite a few EVs in this class. The car sits on a bespoke CMF-EV platform primarily created for front-driven models like this Nissan's Renault Megane E-Tech Electric close cousin - which isn't ideal for this Ariya in a class where some rivals are more maturely propelled from the rear. Still, Nissan says it set out here to 'amplify the fun-to-drive aspect' of electric mobility. A heavy old EV; fun to drive? That might be a new concept for you. If so, the brand wants to change your mind. This car is certainly weighty, tipping the scales at between 1.9 and 2.2-tonnes, depending on spec. But it counters with sharp steering and near-perfect 50-50 weight distribution. You're reminded of the class below by the size of the volume model's battery pack - 63kWh of usable capacity, in a class where 70 to 80kWh-sized battery packs are more common. For a chunk more cash, an alternative 87kWh battery pack's available, boosting the base version's rather mediocre 250 mile range figure to a more reasonable 329 mile total. The front axle motor puts out 214hp in the 63kWh model, enough to get you to 62mph in 7.5s en route to a top speed that as usual in EVs is limited, in this case to 100mph. The heavier 87kWh battery requires a slightly higher motor power output of 238hp, negated of course by the extra kilos, so the rest to 62mph figure in that version is actually a tenth slower at 7.6s. To achieve this kind of acceleration, you'll need to ignore the full-travel resistance from the throttle pedal and, of course, select the most sprightly of the three available drive modes, 'Sport', the other two being 'Standard' and 'Eco'. All variants get an 'e-Pedal' brake regen system that's so powerful it can almost slow the car to a standstill.

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