Tesla is dominating the EV market in 2020. Will Nissan's new Ariya coming in 2021 finally give the Tesla Model Y real competition? I believe it will and in this video discuss the specs and offer my opinion on how the Ariya will stack up against the Tesla Model Y.
The EV market is relatively small as a percentage of overall sales in the US. Of the 17 million vehicles sold in 2019, only 325,000 units were EVs (battery electric vehicles + plug in hybrid electric vehicles.)
Tesla sold 192,250 vehicles in the US in 2019 so they had a large chunk of the market. If you go by just battery electric vehicles sold, Tesla had over 80% market share in 2019. This is just an amazing number and shows Tesla’s complete dominance in electric cars.
Other manufacturers aren’t standing still watching Tesla eat their lunch. In today’s video, I’m going to discuss Nissan’s upcoming Ariya electric crossover and why it’s a legitimate competitor for the Tesla Model Y.
The 2022 Nissan Ariya is based on a brand new Alliance EV platform. It is not based on any current Nissan products which should give us a purpose built EV with less compromises.
Nissan’s calling the styling Timelss Japanese Futurism. I like that Nissan’s talking about being influenced by its heritage. I recall Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti saying the mid 2000s G35’s grill was inspired by Japanese samurai swords. You may disagree but I think the Ariya looks sleek. It’s recognizable as a Nissan but more restrained and futuristic.
The standard wheels are 19” and 20” wheels are available on higher trims. The wheels look proportional to the car.
There will be 9 two-tone color combinations and 5 full color combinations. Nissan’s going all in with the two tone paint scheme. You can even get the two tone paint in the subcompact crossover Nissan Kicks. This is a trend that I like.
Due to the EV specific architecture, Nissan was able to make the Ariya the most spacious cabin in its class. They don’t mention numbers for interior dimensions so we’ll have to wait for that as we get closer to the launch date which is summer of 2021 in Japan and sometime later in the US.
The climate control system resides under the hood to provide more interior space. Also the flat floor allows more space for passengers.
I do like the design of the Ariya’s dash. It looks expansive and clean. The instrument cluster straight ahead is nice compared to the Tesla Model Y’s not having one at all. There are two 12.3” displays side by side. It also has a large heads up display that shows relevant information so you can keep your eyes on the road.
Nissan’s renowned zero gravity seats should make the seating very comfortable.
Ariya will come in 4 different models. Two wheel drive with 63kWh of usable battery capacity and 87kWh battery capacity. All wheel drive models will also be available with the same battery capacities as the two wheel drive models. The two wheel drive models are front wheel drive which is a bit disappointing. Nissan claims that front wheel drive is easier to drive on snow.
The e-4ORCE all wheel drive system can send 100% of torque to the front or rear depending on available traction. That should make handling secure in a variety of terrain. The weight distribution is near 50:50 front to rear which should help with precise steering.
Nissan says that the battery will be liquid cooled. Finally, Nissan has had a bit of a problem losing range with the early air cooled batteries in the first generation Leaf. Liquid cooling is exciting to hear and should allow for longer battery life.
Using the 130kW charger, the Ariya can get up to 233 miles or 375km on a 30 minute charge. This doesn’t compare well with the Tesla’s V3 Supercharger which can do 250kW.
Ariya is equipped with ProPILOT 2.0 advanced driver assistance. ProPILOT 2.0 allows the driver to do hands-off the steering wheel driving under certain conditions. It is also able to perform highway driving tasks such as lane changes, passing, and highway exiting.
This system is quite capable and compares favorably to most manufacturers’ systems except for Tesla.
Just like Tesla, the Nissan Ariya promises over the air firmware updates! This is exciting news as one of the awesome features of owning a Tesla is the incremental updates and improvements your vehicle receives with over the air updates.
Nissan Ariya is slated to be available in Japan in mid-2021 with a starting price of around 5 million yen which is currently about $47,000 US. US pricing is expected to start at $40,000.
Let’s look at what the $40,000 base car brings. It’s 63kWh battery capacity is descent. The 215 horsepower motor with 221 lb-ft of torque is adequate for a family crossover. The 0 to 60 should be in the low 7 second range so pretty good.
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