***Our in-depth 2022 Nissan Ariya review is now live***
Keep reading for all the info on Nissan's most exciting family car since the original Nissan Qashqai. Rivals for the Nissan Ariya will include electric SUVs like the Volkswagen ID.4, Volvo XC40 Recharge, Kia e-Niro and the Mercedes EQA.
The Nissan Ariya starts at £42,845 and that buys you a basic front-wheel-drive Advance model with 218PS and a 63kWh battery – it gets from 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds and has a 220-mile range.
Advance models come with equipment such as two 12.3-inch infotainment screens, dual-zone climate control, autonomous driving aids and a 360-degree parking camera. Pay another £1295 and you can have an electric glass roof which opens.
The Nissan Ariya Evolve is the mid-range trim level. Prices start from £52,090 for a 242PS front-wheel-drive model with 242PS, a 310-mile range and acceleration of 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds.
Ariya Evolve models add equipment such as suede leather seats that are heated and cooled, keyless entry and a 10-speaker Bose stereo. They have an opening glass roof fitted as standard.
Upping your budget to £54,790 is enough to secure you a 306PS version with all-wheel drive, a 285-mile range and a 0-62mph time of 5.7 seconds. Called the E-4ORCE Evolve, it keeps the 87kWh battery of lesser versions but gets from 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds.
The Nissan Ariya follows the blueprint for a new electric SUV to the letter. Up front, it has a sealed grille and headlights that look more like illuminated slashes. A coupe-style roofline means the car cuts through the air more efficiently, you get aero-friendly wheels and black plastic cladding which disguises the large battery hidden in the floor.
Around the back, the boot-mounted spoiler is another sacrifice to the aero gods and you also get pretty LED lighting. The Ariya's hatchback-style boot means you get a large opening for loading.
The 2022 Nissan Ariya has been built from the ground up to be an electric car so there's no need for a transmission tunnel to run down the centre of the car and the car's ventilation system can be housed under the bonnet where you would usually find a petrol or diesel engine. The result is a cabin that feels very roomy.
And very modern. Lighting below the dashboard makes it look like it is floating from the bulkhead and you get two 12.3-inch infotainment displays that are detailed and colourful backed up by haptic buttons that only appear from behind wooden trims when the car is on. Voice activation can be used to control almost anything, and the car can download updates from the cloud using its embedded 4G. Expect Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to be fitted as standard.
Passenger space should be better than in the Nissan Qashqai with plenty of room up front for tall adults and a back seat that will happily accommodate three people. Two-wheel drive models have a 466-litre boot – bigger than the Qashqai's 430-litre load bay – but all-wheel-drive models only have room for 408-litres worth of luggage because the extra motor is stored under the boot.
You can have your 2022 Nissan Ariya either as a two-wheel drive – with 217PS or 242PS – or as a four-wheel drive with 306PS.
Both models can be had with a 63kWh or an 87kWh battery, allowing for a range of between 211 and 310 miles and acceleration from 0-62mph between 7.5 (217PS two-wheel drive) and 5.7 seconds 306PS four-wheel drive). Two-wheel drive models have a top speed of 100mph, while all-wheel-drive cars max out at 124mph. The Ariya can also tow up to 1500kg.
If you want a long-range Nissan Ariya, you'll want the 242PS two-wheel-drive model combined with the larger 87kWh battery – it travels up to 310 miles on a single charge in this configuration. The shortest range goes to the front-wheel drive model with the 63kWh battery, which will travel 223 miles from a charge.
Nissan has yet to reveal charging times but you can expect to charge the battery from 0-80% in less than 1 hour using a 130kW public fast charger.
With the new Nissan Ariya set to grab the EV limelight, now's an excellent time to buy an example of the company's first electric car – the Nissan Leaf.
High-mileage examples of the original Nissan Leaf for less than £5000, which buys you a 2012 car with more than 100,000 miles on the clock. At the other end of the scale, less than £25,000 is enough to get you a 2020 version of the current model with less than 5000 miles on the clock.
We have the latest 2022 new car news on upcoming models such as the new Polestar 3 electric SUV, the latest BMW X1 and electric iX1 and the new generation Range Rover Sport.
The Nissan Ariya will be built at Nissan's Tochigi plant in Japan, which will supply cars to the US and Europe.
The Nissan Ariya has a starting price of £42,845 when it goes on sale in the second half of 2022.