Nissan Reveals Ariya Electric Crossover: 300 Mile Range, $40,000 Base Price

Out with CHAdeMO and in with CCS.

Nissan has just revealed its much-anticipated Ariya electric crossover. It has a range of up to 300 miles (EPA estimate in 2wd trim with the biggest battery) and an estimated starting base price of $40,000. Additionally, Nissan has chosen to drop CHAdeMO in favor of CCS in the US and Europe for DC fast charging.

While it seems the Ariya is a big improvement over the current Nissan LEAF, there are some elements of the Ariya that we aren’t particularly fond of including its 7.2 kWh home-charging limitation and a base price that seems a little high when compared to say the Tesla Model 3 or even a Volkswagen ID.4, which should be a head-to-head competitor for the Ariya.

However, there’s also a lot to like with the Ariya. For starters, there are several versions to choose from and performance is actually very strong if you opt for certain versions of the car. Additionally, you get two battery choices, which makes the Ariya more suitable for a wider audience of buyers.

Battery

Looking at the spec sheet we can see the gross capacity of the two battery sizes available are 65 kWh and 90 kWh. On those packs, Nissan is opening up 63 kWh and 87 kWh, respectively, to be accessed for use. That’s an extremely high percentage of the pack compared to most competitors. We wonder if Nissan will allow owners to set a charge limit so charging can shut off below 100% for daily charging. 

The 90 kWh battery pack is expected to deliver 300 miles of driving range. We’d expect the 65 kWh standard pack to return roughly 225 miles of range, based on Nissan’s 300-mile estimate for the larger pack. 

We also learned that Nissan will be sourcing their battery cells from Chinese battery giant CATL, and that they will be prismatic NMC (Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt-Oxide) cells, and not pouch cells like the LEAF uses. 

Gallery: 2021 Nissan Ariya


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Driver Assist Features

Nissan also told us that Nissan’s ProPilot will be standard on the Aryia, and ProPilot Assist 2.0 will be optional. ProPilot Assist 2.0 offers hands-off single-lane highway operation. As with the LEAF, the Ariya will have Nissan’s e-Pedal, which allows the driver to operate the vehicle in most conditions with a single pedal by offering strong lift-off regenerative braking. 

Also standard on all Ariyas are safety features including Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Rear Automatic Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, and High Beam Assist. The Ariya will also feature Nissan’s Intelligent Around View Monitor and Nissan’s Intelligent Forward Collision Warning.

Charging

Nissan’s departure from CHAdeMO to CCS with the Ariya should strike a deathblow to CHAdeMO in the US and Europe, as Nissan was really the only OEM making CHAdeMO-capable EVs in any real volume. The Ariya will charge at speeds up to 130 kW on a DC Fast charger. We were told by Nissan that the Ariya can accept 350 amps at 400 volts, and hold its high charging rate for a long period, allowing for 175 miles of range to be added in 30 minutes. 

As for AC Charging, the Ariya will have a 7.2 kW onboard charger which is OK, but not great. Most of the new electric vehicles coming out with large batteries are opting for 9.6 kW AC charging, which can significantly reduce the charge time. I asked Nissan for comment on the decision to restrict the AC charging to 7.2 kW and was told that they believe most customers won’t notice the difference since people typically charge overnight, and in that case, the slightly slower speed isn’t a factor. 

Interior

The Ariya will feature Amazon Alexa to “simplify and organize their lives”, as Nissan puts it. There’s also wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto standard on all Ariya. There’s a flat floor to offer a more spacious interior look and feel, as well as Zero-Gravity seats wrapped up in Nissan’s new “Timeless Japanese Futurism” design language.

Towing – Yes!

The Ariya will have a towing capacity of up to 1,500lbs in the US. For the European market, Nissan representatives said the Ariya will have a slightly higher towing capability than it does in the US, but didn’t divulge the actually towing capacity the Ariya will have there. 

Thermal Management

With a decision that will make most Nissan fans exhale in relief, yes the Ariya will have a proper thermal management system. We don’t know too many details about it but we were told it will be a proper liquid thermal management system. With a proper TMS, we can only hope that the Ariya will not suffer from the same battery degradation problems that have plagued the LEAF from its inception. 

The Ariya appears to have ample cargo space, yet the official capacity offered by Nissan is only 16.5 cu ft