Nissan Ariya - between Salzburg and Innsbruck
The Nissan ARIYA was named “best car for long journeys” in the eighth annual Auto Trader New Car Awards. Will our test on German and Austrian motorways confirm the verdict of the UK's zero-emission car owners?
The Auto Trader New Car Awards and other accolades
The British awards covered 23 categories, and the finalists and eventual winners were chosen on the basis of individual reviews from car owners in the UK.
The Auto Trader New Car Awards differ from other motoring awards in that the winners are chosen not by industry judges but by individual car owners - more than 200,000 of them this year. Respondents were asked to rate their cars in 16 categories, including reliability, performance, styling and running costs.
It is worth adding that the Nissan ARIYA has already won a number of awards. It was named Auto Express Car of the Year and was also recognised by the Caravan and Motorhome Club, Company Car & Van and The Car Expert. Most recently, the ARIYA was also honoured by the French motoring media association AMAM for the “best interior”, beating 21 other models. In this case, the 25 journalists stressed in their verdict that the driver and passengers travel “in surroundings reminiscent of an elegant, minimalist Japanese living room”.
Motorway test: comfort and range
When Nissan launched the model, it stressed that this was an elegant, fully electric crossover combining the practicality of a versatile SUV with the space, comfort and style of a compact premium car. The test confirmed that the Nissan ARIYA has a very spacious interior, legroom included, and a long range. These qualities are key to good results on a long motorway route. The panoramic roof adds to the sense of space. The electrically adjustable sliding centre console lets you adapt the interior to your own preferences. The ventilated seats, with three settings, deserve credit. They proved their worth on hot days. In winter you will make use of the three-level seat heating. The electric lumbar support adjustment worked very well - smoothly, in 4 directions.
The ARIYA can have two- or four-wheel drive and is offered in four trim levels, with several motor options (from 214 to 394 hp) and batteries of two capacities (63 and 87 kWh). The manufacturer claims a range of up to 533 km, and the test showed that covering 350 km at motorway speeds in this Japanese car is perfectly feasible. With cruise control set at 120 km/h and the air conditioning on at around 30 degrees outside, the car used 18 kWh/100 km. The test car had “e-4ORCE” four-wheel drive.
To sum up, the Nissan ARIYA is a spacious, elegant and comfortable zero-emission car that is well suited to long journeys. That was the verdict of car owners in the UK, and of jurors from other countries too. My own test led to a similar conclusion.
