. But in order to get that clean effect on the dashboard and the centre console, the ‘buttons’ are touch sensitive with haptic feedback. You tap the ones on the dashboard, but have to push the ones on the centre console, which’ll be confusing when you take your eyes off the road to use them the first few times.
Rear legroom is great for adults, but that concept car silhouette comes back to limit stretching room for adult-size passengers thanks to a lack of headroom. The boot is a good size, too, but is outdone in terms of volume by the ID.4 and Mach-E – two of the Ariya’s closest rivals.There are two battery sizes , the option of front- or all-wheel drive over a range of three trims in the UK: Advance, Evolve and Performance.
Go for front-wheel drive and you can pick either battery pack size . Opt for e-4ORCE and it’ll give you up to 310 miles. It comes with just the larger of the two battery sizes. The Ariya uses a CCS charger port in Europe and can cope with up to 130kW charging speeds, with the 63kWh battery capable of charging from 10-80 per cent in half an hour.It’s hard not to come away impressed from a first drive in the Ariya. It turbocharges Nissan’s EV proposition, vaulting the worthy but dull Leaf by several generations, and looks set for a battle royal at the top-end of the class.
As for its performance, it’s respectable enough to leave us wanting more. Ride and handling are on the pace of rivals, and overall refinement is where it needs to be. In terms of where exactly it slots into the EV pecking order, we’ll leave that decision for the upcoming Giant Test, but based on our brief drives so far, and its overall desirability, it may well leave Hyundai-Kia and the Volkswagen Group with more than a little to think about.