The all-electric Nissan Ariya is a big leap forward from it’s first EV, the Nissan Leaf. With its distinctive styling, roomy interior, and reasonably generous range, the new Nissan Ariya caught a lot of attention when it went on sale earlier this year. Competing with Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Tesla Model Y, and Volkswagen ID.4, the Ariya is now dialling things up with the debut of the e-4ORCE (pronounced “e-force”) AWD package.
2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce
The dual-motor, all-wheel drive e-4ORCE system uses torque vectoring, rear-wheel recuperation independent from the front, and a bunch of other dynamics to tame body movements. It offers a more comfortable ride quality and helps reduce motion sickness in passengers too.
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There’s a lot to like about the 2023 Nissan Ariya, especially when equipped with the e-4orce system. While not offering quite the thrills of a Mach-E GT, it’s fun to drive and handled quite well on both well-paved highways and the broken pavement I frequently ran into on the twisty, mountain back roads through Napa and Sonoma valleys.
It’s too bad Nissan hadn’t brought Ariya to market as early as it originally intended. Earlier in the decade it would have had a head start over players like Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen, and been better positioned to give a challenge to Tesla.
Overall, the Ariya e-4orce promises great handling, and it delivers that, but even more so, Nissan’s strategy results in an exceptionally comfortable ride—one that goes perfectly with the Ariya’s posh yet no-fuss interior.
The 2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce reminds us that smoother can be faster, and smoother is always better. This is a rare exception on the market, in which the model with lots more power has the more comfortable ride. If you like moving quickly but feeling composed all the way, check that box.
Nissan’s packaging of the Ariya e-4orce, with a minimalist, highly stylized cabin interior and calm driving manner edges the car into luxury terrain. At issue is whether its pricing will feel too steep against competition like the Mach-E and ID.4, which can qualify for tax breaks. The short-term picture looks positive for Nissan, filling up backorders, but there’s no way higher interest-rate loans and more competition at lower price tiers aren’t going to challenge the automaker to make the Ariya and EVs that come after it faster at charging and less pricey.
Autoblog » 2023 Nissan Ariya gives the top EVs a run for their money