The 2022 Nissan Ariya Is a True Course Correction

Intriguing Offering

In the U.S., those seeking a viable new electric vehicle don't exactly have a plethora to choose from. In the small crossover space, it's essentially the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model Y, Audi Q4 e-tron, Volkswagen ID.4, and little else at the moment, but there are several more on the way in the coming months and years, including the rather intriguing 2022 Nissan Ariya.

Photos: Nissan

Unique Offering

The Ariya will join the Leaf in Nissan's electric vehicle lineup when it goes on sale later this year, giving the automaker a proper EV crossover to compete in one of the market's hottest segments. What's immediately notable about the Ariya is that it doesn't look like anything else on the market, however, thanks to its sharp lines and sporty, low, wide stance.

Photos: Nissan

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Battery and Range

The Ariya will come equipped with a standard 63.0 kWh battery or an optional 87.0 kWh unit, and in both front- and all-wheel-drive configurations. Range is expected to crest 300 miles with the larger pack, which is competitive with other models like the Model Y and Mach-E and quite a bit higher than most of the rest of the competition.

Photos: Nissan

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Interesting Tech

What's particularly interesting is that the Ariya also utilizes tech from some of Nissan's sportier ICE vehicles, including the GT-R's torque-split system, offering optional all-wheel-drive using a dual-front/rear-electric-motor configuration. Acceleration, particularly for the all-wheel-drive model, should be competitive with other EVs in this class.

Photos: Nissan

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Charging and Self-Driving

Charging speeds haven't yet been announced, but the Ariya offers a number of options in that regard, including the ability to juice up via 110- or 240-volt outlets at home, or typical public chargers and DC fast chargers. It will also come equipped with ProPilot 2.0, Nissan's next-gen semi-autonomous driving feature as an option, which allows for some hands-free driving.

Photos: Nissan

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Interior Features

Inside the cabin, the Ariya uses 12.3-inch displays for the instrument cluster and infotainment system and follows Tesla's formula of eliminating buttons and physical controls for a simpler and more minimalist cabin. The concept also offered some interesting features that may or may not make it to production, including scheduled heating and cooling (like Tesla), as well as Remote Park, which works like Summon and allows owners to park the crossover automatically.

Photos: Nissan

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Pricing

Nissan hasn't yet revealed pricing for the Ariya with the larger battery pack, but the base model with the small pack and front-wheel-drive will start out at $40,000. That makes it quite competitive in this segment, and well under the ever-rising base price of the Model Y, which costs well over $10k more. Thus, it will be interesting to see how the Ariya stacks up to the competition once it arrives in the coming months.

Photos: Nissan

>>Join the conversation about the new Nissan Ariya right here in the Electric Vehicles Forums!