2023 Nissan Ariya: Test drive, federal tax credit eligibility

The transition to electric vehicles is simultaneously torturously slow and dizzyingly fast.

Slow, if you’re an EV owner or shopper waiting for the convenience, availability and reliability of long-distance charging stations to rival gas stations. Dizzying, if you’re an automaker trying to keep up with competitors’ improvements.

The Nissan Ariya is a victim of the latter. A roomy and affordable EV offering front- or all-wheel drive and up to 389 horsepower and up to 442 pound-feet of torque, it made headlines when Nissan revealed it in the summer of 2020. But going on sale in 2023, the Ariya lacks any clear claim to leadership over vehicles that arrived since it was revealed.

The fanfare of trumpets Nissan expected became a sad trombone. Wah-waaah.

What I drove: 2023 Nissan Ariya Evolve+ e-4orce electric SUV. Front- or all-wheel drive.

Why you should consider it: Electric power, room, range.

What should be better: Lack of buttons or dials for frequently used functions, like climate control and level of regenerative braking.

How much does it cost? Base price $43,190 for front-wheel drive; $47,190 AWD, excluding $1,335 destination charge.

Price as tested: $54,790, excluding destination charge.

When can you buy it? On sale now.

Prices exclude $1,335 destination charge

Source: Nissan

Nissan — and probably all Ariya owners — consider the Ariya a compact SUV, but the EPA classifies it as a compact station wagon. That's a difference without a distinction unless byzantine questions of its qualification for federal tax credits arise. As it stands today, the Japanese-made Ariya is not eligible, so you’ll pay sticker price, or whatever you can negotiate.

Despite that, Ariya prices are not uncompetitive with vehicles like the Ford Mustang Mach-E; Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6; Kia EV6, and Volkswagen ID4, some of which qualify for all or part of the federal tax credit.

None of those EVs were available when Nissan revealed the Ariya, but they all beat it to the market, as production delays robbed Nissan of the first-mover advantage it sought among established automakers getting serious about EVs.

Projected driving ranges on a charge run from 205 to 304 miles, depending on battery size and drivetrain.

Nissan's claimed charging times are generally slower than the competition: 10%-80% takes 14 hours with the 240-volt charger most EV owners use overnight at home, 40 minutes with a 130 kWh (about 260 volts) DC fast charger and 90 minutes with one of the older 50 kWh DCFCs.

I tested an AWD Ariya Evolve+ e-4orce with an 87 kWh battery and an estimated cruising range of 272 miles — competitive with similarly equipped alternatives. It stickered at $54,790, excluding the $1,335 destination charge.

The Ariya's standard features deliver several welcome surprises, including heated steering wheel, front and rear seats. That's a big deal in an electric vehicle, where heated seats and steering wheel help offset the impact cold weather has on battery range. It takes less energy from the car's lithium-ion battery to provide heat to passengers through the seats and steering wheel than via forced air.

Those features, and others standard on the $43,190 base Ariya Engage, are missing from the $47,190 Venture+, which adds an 87kWh battery for more range but scrimps in other areas.

Other welcome features on the base Ariya, but not necessarily the Venture+ include:

The interior is roomy, with plentiful headroom and a useful cargo compartment.

A configurable gauge cluster is clear and provides plenty of information, including a detailed display of the Ariya's driver assistance and safety features. The audio system features subtle lighting behind speaker grilles in the doors and front footwell.

Nissan provides a dial for audio volume, but climate and several other functions are managed by capacitive touch points on the steering wheel, center console or dash.

That's less than ideal. The driver has to look away from the road to use them, and the diversion of gaze is more extreme than for the touch screen, which at least is in the same plane as the instrument cluster.

The Ariya's standard ProPilot Assist is a hands-on highway driving aid. It manages speed, flowing distance and lane centering as long as the driver keeps a hand on the wheel and is paying attention.

Nissan says a second-level system called ProPilot 2.0 allows hands-free highway driving. I did not have the opportunity to test an Ariya equipped with it.

The Ariya is attractive and understated. At just 65.5 inches tall and with 6.7 inches of ground clearance, it can pass as an SUV.

A long roofline emphasizes the impression of space, while a lighted Nissan badge and dramatic LED running lights draw attention to the gloss black panel that replaces a traditional grille.

The doors open wide for easy entrance and exit. My vehicle had two-tone paint with lustrous gray accented by gloss black fender flares, roof and window pillars. Its 19-inch wheels had fancy aerodynamic covers.

The base front-wheel-drive Ariya has 214 or 248 horsepower, 221 pound-feet of torque and a 63 or 87 kWh battery. All-wheel-drive models add a second motor to power the rear wheels for 389 hp and 442 pound-feet of torque.

My well-equipped AWD model was quick off the line and confident in highway driving. The AWD Ariya accelerates to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds.

The steering was direct, but the suspension a bit bouncy, with rebound in quick maneuvers and over bumps, as if Nissan had engineered it for more serious off-road challenges than Ariya owners seem likely to pose.

A touch point on the center console activates "e-step," a higher level of regenerative braking that slows the Ariya dramatically when you release the accelerator.

The deceleration is strong enough to provide the "one-pedal driving" feature popular on other EVs, but Nissan shuts it off before the Ariya comes to a stop. I like one-pedal driving, which maximizes energy regeneration and gives the driver an interesting extra level of control.

It's just a line of code, adding no cost or complexity that I’m aware of, so I fail to understand why any automaker doesn't offer the feature in its EVs.

An early leader in the EV revolution, Nissan fell behind over the 12 years since its Leaf debuted. The Ariya's features make it a player in the fast-growing class of five-seat EVs. Apparently ineligible for federal tax credits, it has its work cut out competing with EVs that do.

Base price: $43,190 (all prices exclude $1,355 destination charge)

Compact front- or all-wheel drive five-passenger electric SUV/wagon

On sale now

Specifications as tested:

Model tested: 2023 Nissan Ariya Evolve+ AWD

Price as tested: $54,790

Power: Two electric motors, one powering each axle.

Output: 389 hp, 442 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Estimated range on a charge: 272 miles

Charging time, 10%-80%: 14.5 hours @ 240v; 40 minutes @ 130 kWh; 90 minutes @ 50 kWh

0-60 time: 4.8 seconds

Wheelbase: 109.3 inches

Length: 182.9 inches

Width: 74.8 inches

Height: 65.4 inches

Passenger volume: NA

Cargo volume: 22.8 cubic feet with rear seat up, 59.7 cubic feet rear seat folded

Curb weight: 4,608 pounds

Assembled in Tochigi, Japan

Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.