2023 Nissan Ariya First Impressions: Priced to Compete!
2023 Nissan Ariya First Impressions: Priced to Compete!
A first look at Nissan’s first full-size EV - because let’s be real, the Leaf is pint-sized.
Content
0 -> - All right, so a couple months ago
1.32 -> I remember I was watching the Super Bowl
2.64 -> and this was the first
year where I was like,
4.117 -> "Oh, there's actually
electric car commercials
6.93 -> in the Super Bowl now.
7.83 -> This is kind of a big moment for them,
9.9 -> at least spending and
getting awareness for them."
12.09 -> And so I was kind of counting
13.74 -> and looking at the ones that were notable
15.27 -> and I think one of the first ones
16.5 -> I remembered actually seeing was this.
19.73 -> This is the Nissan Ariya.
22.68 -> And now Nissan's got
one here in front of us.
25.05 -> This is a pre-production,
26.01 -> but one of the first ones
in the US straight up,
29.07 -> and I've been very interested
in actually checking it out.
32.1 -> I'm trying to figure out
which ones to compare it to.
34.11 -> I think the two that came to
mind are the Volkswagen ID.4,
38.22 -> wow, it looks like a render right now,
39.33 -> the Volkswagen ID.4 and
the Hyundai IONIQ 5.
43.05 -> You know, it's a long-wheelbase crossover.
45.3 -> It's got a lot of storage.
46.5 -> It's one of the first
EVs from these companies.
49.11 -> And spoiler alert,
51.69 -> I personally would pick either
of those two over this one,
55.32 -> which isn't to say that there's
nothing good about this.
57.21 -> There's actually some really
cool stuff I'm gonna show you.
59.04 -> But just from my first impressions
60.39 -> and what I can see about them,
62.16 -> now I see what Nissan's going for
64.05 -> and I'm gonna show you what I mean.
65.46 -> So first of all,
66.293 -> the whole thing is in this
like copper metallic color.
69.09 -> The wheels and the body of the car itself.
71.28 -> And this is the same color
72.27 -> that the Super Bowl commercial one was in.
74.28 -> I am not the biggest copper person,
75.9 -> but they are very consistent
with this sort of copper look
78.84 -> throughout the entire interior,
80.16 -> and apparently every Ariya
has copper on the interior.
84.3 -> So if I just go ahead
and pop the door open
86.37 -> and step inside here,
87.63 -> you'll immediately see,
88.83 -> look at that, copper floor mat.
90.33 -> You've got this whole
black interior in here,
92.49 -> but you do have the copper accents
94.44 -> around this spot where you
can put your phone in here
96.96 -> in this wireless charger.
97.92 -> You've got copper in here for
the air conditioning vents,
101.28 -> copper stitching on the front,
102.78 -> copper little door handles.
104.64 -> So they're really into
the copper for the Ariya.
106.77 -> So you might as well, I guess,
get the copper exterior too.
109.77 -> So this whole layout, if I
just, if I zoom back here,
112.59 -> is a extended wheelbase version
115.77 -> of maybe something like a Nissan Murano.
117.84 -> Same thing the IONIQ did.
119.01 -> They spaced the wheels out more
120.72 -> to give you more interior space
122.55 -> and so they decided not
to give you a front trunk,
125.37 -> but they do give you tons
of storage on the inside,
128.04 -> a lot of leg room for this back seat.
130.47 -> So I'm 6'3".
132.15 -> That's the normal spot where
I'm putting the driver's seat.
135.87 -> And that's pretty good.
138.87 -> It's reasonable for a road trip.
140.22 -> But then this is a good stuff
back here with the Ariya.
142.41 -> There's a camera here, but also
an automatic opening trunk.
145.71 -> Pop it open and a really,
really good size trunk.
149.31 -> They've evened out this floor here,
151.26 -> but there is a subtrunk
for even more storage
154.2 -> and the back seats fold down.
155.37 -> So it's a full-on hatchback.
157.02 -> Even though this sort
of slopes down a bit,
159.57 -> there's a lot of storage.
160.47 -> So in that sense, it's reminding
me of ID.4 and IONIQ 5.
164.1 -> And also, this gap up here
165.78 -> where they're having the
active aero come through
167.49 -> kind of reminds me of the Rivian.
169.11 -> You've got two antennas. Cool.
171.09 -> But yeah, a lot of active
aero coming down here.
173.82 -> And one more active aero bit
175.56 -> I'm gonna show you up at the front,
176.61 -> which I really like, is the face.
179.07 -> This is the face.
180.36 -> It's big, big daytime running lights here.
184.47 -> I'm gonna actually fire
those up with the key
186.18 -> so you can see them.
188.25 -> There you go.
189.083 -> Huge daytime running lights.
190.65 -> But also, this is real active aero.
193.26 -> There's a little slot here and
that goes through the tire.
196.02 -> So overall, got some
aerodynamics happening.
198.96 -> Overall, I don't know,
199.793 -> how do you feel about this design?
200.94 -> I am not the biggest copper person
203.25 -> so maybe I'm being swayed,
204.72 -> but I feel like I can give
this design in my head
208.02 -> like a 6 1/2, 7 out of 10.
211.71 -> It doesn't have to be
flashy or amazing looking,
213.96 -> but, you know, it's got some
decent features going on.
216.24 -> It doesn't have much chrome.
218.28 -> I'm going seven.
219.21 -> But really, the Ariya's interior
220.92 -> is I think where it's
gonna separate itself.
222.69 -> So let's pop in here and let
me just show you what I mean.
225.42 -> So this interior, it has
some really cool stuff
227.79 -> and it actually is, I
think, very well crafted,
230.31 -> but it does have two things.
231.84 -> One, it has some cool features,
234.63 -> and two, it has some
we-gotta-do-this-a-little-different-
238.23 -> because-it's-electric going on.
240.21 -> The number one place you'll
see that is right over here.
243.36 -> Check out these capacitive buttons.
246.45 -> There's some up here,
247.56 -> and this is just for your climate control,
249.84 -> and these have haptic feedback.
252.45 -> So I can feel when I'm
changing the temperature here.
255.39 -> But I mean, this is, I don't want,
259.11 -> when I'm driving, I want buttons
260.73 -> to just be able to reach over and hit them
261.93 -> 'cause this doesn't hit it,
263.94 -> this doesn't hit it,
265.32 -> this just barely gets there.
268.14 -> Climate controls are all haptic
buttons and it looks cool,
272.82 -> but I don't know if that's the way to go.
274.68 -> I think they felt the need
to do something sleek here.
277.14 -> This is on the same level
as what the IONIQ 5 did.
280.38 -> And then over here, you
have a couple other features
282.6 -> in this really cool
center storage section.
286.74 -> So center storage is, number
one, a place to put your phone
290.4 -> and, number two, a place to organize
291.96 -> whatever you're carrying,
293.07 -> if you have a bag or something like that.
294.66 -> And you'll notice there's
a lot of space down here
297.54 -> and then you've got this
center storage section.
299.52 -> So number one, this actually
is motorized and moves,
303.75 -> which is pretty sweet.
304.71 -> I kind of like that.
305.91 -> Number two, this is the gear selector.
308.34 -> It's in a fine spot.
310.08 -> I can get used to that.
311.43 -> Then you've got these
capacitive buttons right here,
313.62 -> which are going to be
to open and close this,
316.53 -> here, just watch this area.
317.73 -> I'm gonna hit the open button
321.21 -> and you've got this
little tray that pops out
323.79 -> and then the tray has some
storage underneath it.
327 -> But that's just a tray.
329.4 -> I don't know.
330.233 -> You're not gonna put your phone there.
331.38 -> It doesn't charge there.
332.31 -> It'll definitely slide around.
333.63 -> But maybe you're parked and
you wanna put something down,
336.18 -> that's a tray.
337.35 -> And then you have to
hold this to close it.
339.54 -> If you let go, it pauses.
341.97 -> So you have to keep holding
it to get it all the way shut.
344.91 -> Okay, fine.
345.75 -> But then you can switch your drive modes.
347.58 -> There are currently three.
348.66 -> When I hit the button, I
go from Standard to Sport.
352.47 -> I'm gonna keep it in,
yeah, let's go Standard.
354.99 -> But then the last thing over
here is e-Step and auto park.
359.4 -> And you can see this little
wireless charging indicator here
361.71 -> because your phone pops in here.
364.74 -> And I'll just grab my phone
real quick and pop it in there.
367.71 -> And it is a wireless charger
369.96 -> and it does have wireless Apple CarPlay.
373.47 -> Not sure about Android Auto,
374.91 -> but that's cool if you
pop your iPhone in there
376.68 -> and just put it away.
378.87 -> Just don't use your phone
screen while driving.
381.36 -> Wirelessly broadcast to the screen.
383.55 -> And then you have a little
bit of storage in here.
385.11 -> That's some cup holders.
386.28 -> Okay.
387.113 -> That, I think, is solid.
388.74 -> Then there's this whole
cavernous space down here.
391.59 -> So they told me,
392.97 -> Nissan told me they didn't
wanna do a front trunk.
395.34 -> Oh, hi, HUD. Great screen there.
397.443 -> They didn't wanna do a front trunk.
398.85 -> So they put all of the air conditioning
401.25 -> and the other electronics and stuff
403.02 -> that would normally be
in the center console
405.42 -> up in the front of the car.
406.98 -> So now you just have this
glowing lantern light box,
410.19 -> which looks cool at night,
411.75 -> and then this open space.
413.04 -> It kind of reminds me of older Teslas
415.44 -> where if you put a bag there,
417 -> if you put anything there
and then start driving,
419.43 -> it just starts sloshing around
in the whole front of the,
422.67 -> in the whole front of the car.
423.63 -> So you do have storage here,
425.88 -> and this is probably the best part.
428.52 -> This is another spot to charge
a device, USB-C or USB-A,
433.8 -> and then this is literally a cable wrap.
436.41 -> It's a cable wrap.
437.243 -> So you put your phone in
there, you cable wrap here,
440.07 -> and then you plug it in
440.903 -> so there's not a whole bunch going on.
442.59 -> That's really well thought out.
444 -> I just wish there was
some more organization
446.67 -> or division in here.
448.68 -> I think that's been
added back to some cars
450.66 -> that originally had all this open space.
453.03 -> Also, there are three cherry blossoms
455.04 -> in the interior of this car.
456.63 -> One of them is right here.
460.83 -> Second one, thanks to
Nissan, is right there.
466.56 -> And the third one, if I
just open this up again,
469.38 -> so you can see, right there.
471.18 -> Little Easter eggs in case it didn't know.
473.34 -> So I've driven this car for a couple days,
474.66 -> two days I've had this.
475.92 -> It drives very similar to the ID.4,
478.5 -> which is it's not the most exciting drive.
480.99 -> It's got enough pep to be a
totally normal, reasonable car.
485.07 -> Not anything extra.
486.36 -> The ID.4 was the same.
487.92 -> You floor it, the zero to
60's maybe seven seconds
490.62 -> or something like that.
491.453 -> But at least you have merging speed power.
494.19 -> But here's the reason that I
would pick IONIQ 5 over this.
498.99 -> Hyundai's IONIQ 5 has the edge in range,
502.59 -> has the edge in looks, in my opinion,
505.89 -> has the edge in storage space
and internal organization,
510.54 -> but most importantly, has
the edge in charging speed.
513.42 -> The REM maxes out at 130
kilowatt fast charging,
517.29 -> which it is faster than
you would charge at home.
520.44 -> But if I was to do a road trip,
522.21 -> this is not a car I would take
524.46 -> with 130 kilowatts max fast charging
527.25 -> and less than 300 max miles of range.
528.96 -> But yeah, I am glad to see
Nissan's spin on this interior.
533.1 -> There's not a whole lot of
Nissan cars I've been been in,
535.23 -> but it is well built.
536.31 -> Let's see what the window situation is.
537.93 -> You can see dual-pane glass,
if I can get it in focus.
541.41 -> But that's gonna help you
542.25 -> with the cabin isolation
and sounding good.
544.32 -> So it's a 12-inch screen
here in the middle
545.85 -> in the front of the steering wheel
546.9 -> right underneath an HUD.
548.921 -> The HUD is really high quality actually.
550.62 -> So that's good to see.
551.91 -> But then to the right, you
have another 12-inch screen,
554.94 -> which also has some capacitive
buttons flanking it,
557.28 -> and you can actually touch
them, touchscreen buttons,
559.02 -> but also capacitive button
to pop into your camera
561.66 -> or switch between daytime
and nighttime mode.
564.03 -> Cameras are pretty good.
565.5 -> This UI looks terrible to me.
569.97 -> I mean, I'm not even
gonna try to sugarcoat it.
572.73 -> Looks awful.
573.6 -> This is the part where I typically talk
575.43 -> about how most cars are
gonna have Android Auto
578.01 -> or Apple CarPlay,
578.97 -> and this is one of those cars.
580.59 -> But again, when you want
to navigate to a charger,
583.11 -> you have to rely on the
car's built-in maps.
585.21 -> So I opened a map and
it is fairly responsive,
588.45 -> but I just don't want to look at this.
591.75 -> And also, if I just wanted to plug in
593.88 -> or pop into a nearby location,
596.55 -> this whole UI is not the most
intuitive thing in the world.
599.31 -> If I wanna navigate home
or navigate somewhere,
602.19 -> pick a new destination,
604.184 -> there's not a whole lot of-
606.12 -> - [Voice Assistant] The route
calculation is complete.
608.25 -> Proceed to the nearest road.
610.29 -> - I'm not a fan.
611.37 -> I'm not a fan of this.
612.95 -> So that's why I'm happy that
there's wireless CarPlay.
615.36 -> But if there's Android Auto
too, sounds pretty good.
617.94 -> Also, fun fact, you can
see once this is closed,
620.7 -> this lights up to let you know
622.29 -> that there is a phone in
there wireless charging.
624.48 -> If you pop it out, then it
doesn't light up anymore.
627.15 -> Overall, as an electric car,
628.32 -> I'm gonna give the Ariya
a sort of a middling score
631.65 -> because I feel like it is,
633.66 -> just because it's 50 grand,
635.1 -> it is middling around
like the IONIQ 5 and ID.4.
638.22 -> And this is not Nissan's first rodeo.
640.02 -> They've had an electric car.
641.37 -> They've had the Leaf out for a long time.
643.41 -> They've had chances to work on EV stuff.
645.87 -> And so I do expect to
see more from Nissan.
648.27 -> But yeah, it's an interesting
little pseudo luxury
651.42 -> happening with this car here
653.4 -> and I'm curious how it's
received by Nissan fans,
656.25 -> by people considering others,
657.78 -> like cross-shopping like Model Y
659.52 -> around the same price with this.
661.98 -> I know what I would pick,
663.36 -> but I'm curious what your comments are.
664.86 -> Either way, that's my
first look at Nissan Ariya.
667.47 -> There's a lot more stuff coming,
668.79 -> like you probably expected.
670.92 -> When I said I had a lot
of thoughts on cars,
672.75 -> I meant it.
674.01 -> Also, I've seen a lot of cool comments
675.51 -> about people I should
collaborate with on this channel.
677.88 -> Like obviously there's the Doug DeMuros
680.07 -> and Sandy Munros of the world.
681.72 -> We should definitely make that happen.
683.67 -> But even more so, plenty of others.
685.14 -> The Kilowatts have reached out.
686.61 -> We'll figure something out.
687.51 -> Either way, okay, that's been the Ariya.
689.43 -> Thanks for watching.
690.42 -> Catch you guys later. Peace.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG4L_tQKwvQ