Nissan officially unveils the all-new 2021 Ariya electric SUV to the world. The new crossover represents a new beginning for the company. It is also the first new vehicle to wear Nissan’s new company logo (more on this later). Here is everything we know so far about this newest EV.
Nissan Ariya
The new five-person two-row SUV is built on a new architecture. The new thermally controlled battery pack is located in the floor of the vehicle. The wheels are pushed out to the corners to create a large and spacious cabin.
The Ariya will be available in four configurations. It starts with a FWD (front-wheel-drive) Ariya with a smaller 65 kWh battery. The FWD model will also be available with a 90 kWh battery. The maximum Ariya driving range is listed at 300 miles. Presumably, this is for the FWD model with the bigger battery.
Ariya FWD:
- 214 hp & 221 lb-ft of torque from the front-mounted electric motor.
Next up is the AWD (all-wheel-drive) version of the SUV with two electric motors. Nissan calls the new electric AWD system “e-4ORCE” (aka. “eforce”). Nissan says the engineers took everything they know from the high performance GR-T all-wheel-drive system and the 4×4 system in the Nissan Patrol and rolled all the know-how into the Ariya e-4ORCE system. This AWD system can also be configured with either 65 kWh or 90 kWh battery systems.
Ariya e-4ORCE AWD
- 388 hp & 443 lb-ft of torque from front and rear electric motors.
Nissan lists maximum 0-62 MPH acceleration at 5.1 seconds. The 0-60 MPH acceleration could be listed at 5 seconds flat or less when the Ariya reaches our shores. Nissan says that approximately 200+ miles of range could be replenished in about 30 minutes, using a fast 130 kW charger. Level-2 7.2 kW charger is also available.
Ariya uses one-pedal “ePedal” driving with available Co-Pilot 2.0 adaptive cruse system that can support hands-free driving on pre-mapped highways. Driver attention will still be required during this semi-autonomous driving.
The new Ariya will use over-the-air (OTA) updates to get new features or software fixes. The car is Amazon Alexa connected. This allows you to check your car status from your home device or phone. You can send a driving route to your Ariya remotely before you get into the car. You can also check on some of your home status from the car.
Nissan USA says the Ariya will go on sale in the United States near the end of 2021 with a starting price of around $40,000.
As promised, the new Ariya is the first new Nissan to wear the company’s new logo. It still says NISSAN, but it is executed in a new way. Nissan says it’s futuristic. This is not the first time Nissan has updated their company logo. The company does this to mark a new chapter of their history. On the Ariya the new logo that is mounted on the front is backlit by LEDs.