Nissan Ariya electric SUV: pictures, specs and details

The Nissan Ariya has made its first public appearance on the streets of Monaco. Capable of up to 310 miles on a single charge, Nissan’s pure-electric ‘coupe crossover’ is set to go on sale in the UK in early 2022.

The Ariya made its debut as a concept car at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, but Nissan has now confirmed it'll go on sale; prices will be revealed in the coming months. UK buyers will get five versions of the electric crossover to choose from, with the flagship Performance variant boasting almost 400bhp and a four-wheel-drive system called 'e-4ORCE'.

The basic Ariya gets a 65kWh (63kWh usable capacity) battery, while its electric motor makes 214bhp and 300Nm of torque. It’ll do 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds and offer up to 223 miles of range. The same model is available with e-4ORCE all-wheel drive, with an additional motor boosting power to 274bhp. This improves performance (0-62mph takes 5.9 seconds), but chops 12 miles from the available range.

A larger 90kWh (87kWh usable) battery is also available at launch – with either two or four-wheel drive. The former offers the longest range of any Ariya (310 miles) and will do 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds. Add all-wheel drive and the range drops to 285 miles. The Performance variant, with 389bhp and 600Nm, does 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds with a range of 248 miles. All range figures have yet to be verified by the WLTP testing procedure.

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Entry-level cars feature a 7.4kW on-board charger, while the 87kWh versions support 22kW three-phase charging. In addition, customers will be able to use 130kW public rapid charge points; the Ariya ditches the Nissan Leaf’s CHAdeMO charger in favour of the more popular European CCS CCS connector. The maker hasn’t yet released charging times for the electric SUV.

Measuring almost 4,595mm nose to tail, the Ariya is longer than the petrol-powered Nissan Qashqai, but shorter than the seven-seat Nissan X-Trail. Height-wise, it sits in between the two, but is wider than both. The most important measurement is the wheelbase, however; it means the Ariya should offer more space inside than its SUV siblings, aided further by a completely flat floor.

Developing a design language first seen on the latest Nissan Juke, the Ariya gets a set of similarly sleek daytime running lights, flanking a blanked-out grille emblazoned with a redesigned Nissan badge. The sloping roofline ties in with the ‘coupe crossover’ theme, while the narrow rear window and full-width light bar are in-vogue features appearing on many new cars these days.

Elsewhere, the Ariya comes with either 19 or 20-inch wheels, plus a choice of six two-tone paint options. Nissan says the launch model’s copper colour scheme references “conductivity and the dawn of a new automotive era”.

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The cabin has been modelled around a “sleek cafe lounge”, with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s CMF-EV electric-car platform affording the Ariya best-in-class interior space – as well as a 466-litre (408 litres for all-wheel-drive models) boot. The same architecture will underpin the production version of the Renault Morphoz concept.

The Ariya’s minimalist dashboard is almost completely devoid of buttons and features a pair of 12.3-inch displays. The SUV also boasts, according to Nissan, “one of the largest full-colour head-up displays in the segment”, while customers will also benefit from voice recognition technology and over-the-air updates.

It’s thought that every Ariya will get an advanced version of Nissan’s ProPilot semi-autonomous drive system. The new setup uses navigation data to offer a “smoother ride during single-lane highway driving”. The system can adjust vehicle speed based on upcoming road conditions, as well as being able to slow the car sufficiently for approaching corners.

Prices have not yet been revealed, but it’s thought the production version of Nissan’s first all-electric SUV will start from less than £40,000. Order books should open later this year, with first deliveries in the early months of 2022.