Automotive News test drives the Nissan Ariya

TOKYO — The Nissan Ariya Concept appeared practically production-ready when it debuted in 2019. But after some false starts and a long wait, the electric crossover is finally here.

Or almost, at least.

Deliveries of a limited edition Ariya have begun in Japan. But the highly anticipated electric vehicle won't start reaching overseas customers until the summer, and it won't land at U.S. dealerships until the fall — nearly three years after its debut at the Tokyo Motor Show.

After being delayed from a late March release, the base Ariya will go on sale in Japan on May 12. That is the same day Toyota Motor Corp. starts leasing its rival bZ4X EV here, even though Toyota unveiled its crossover in concept form just last year.

Birthing the Ariya was drawn out by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global semiconductor shortage. Those factors broadsided not only product development but also the preparation of Nissan's Intelligent Factory, the assembly line in Tochigi, Japan, that it built to make EVs.

But with the U.S. launch around the corner, Automotive News had a first drive. Here are some impressions.

Standout exterior: The Ariya channels a look Nissan calls Timeless Japanese Futurism. Its short overhangs and functional front air vents along with its long wheelbase and sleek rear light bar signal a new direction for the automaker's EV styling.

Walk-through front row: Because the battery allows the Ariya to have a flat floor, designers maximized front seat room by uncoupling the center armrest from the dashboard. The result is a pass-through loungelike driver's space. The armrest can move back and forth more than 9 inches to make the front more open.

Chic haptic controls: The faux wood trim on the dash and center console lends a sophisticated upscale ambiance to the cabin. That vibe is accentuated by flush haptic buttons for controls such as fan, rear defrost and temperature. The bump-back after pressing them feels reassuringly physical, even if the response time seems to lag that of old-school buttons.

Slide screens: The dual-screen setup lets drivers slide the contents of the center screen onto the meter gauge screen with just a two-fingertip swipe. Amazon's Alexa digital assistant can be summoned with a button on the steering wheel.

Blind-spot relief: The massive C-pillars make for wretched rear visibility. But Nissan has addressed this with a digital Intelligent Mirror supplied by Panasonic that uses a camera to beam live video into the cockpit.

On a rainy, dark day, the digital mirror provides a brighter, clearer, all-seeing view.

Quiet: The Ariya accelerates with silent ease, an other-worldly sensation heightened only by the activation of Nissan's e-Pedal function, which ratchets up brake regeneration.

Engineers achieved this with sound- absorbing tires, carpeting, glass and wheel arches.

An eight-pole electrically excited synchronous motor ditches the use of permanent magnets, which cuts motor noise by more than half compared with the Nissan Leaf EV.

Smart packaging: The Ariya is shorter and squatter than the hot-selling Nissan Rogue crossover. But it has a longer wheelbase, more cabin space and a tighter turning radius.

That's made possible, in part, by compacting the motor, inverter, air conditioning and charging setup into a motor bay of the size used in standard Japanese minicars.

By saving room up front, Nissan made the cabin bigger and delivered more turning angle for the front tires, even the 20-inch options.

Finish: The Ariya exudes a well-polished, upmarket aura, for the most part.

The copper accent strip elegantly bisecting the dash is one such detail. But in the vehicle Automotive News tested, the strip joints didn't quite line up around the hazard light button, making for gaps.

Boxed in: There are two glove boxes, one in front of the passenger seat, the other under the center touch screen. But they are small. The middle box barely has enough room to store a reporter's notebook.

When the outing started, in the base front-wheel-drive, 66-kilowatt-hour- battery version, the Ariya had 96 percent of its battery still on tap and a range of 230 miles.

After two hours of mostly highway driving, some 72 percent of the juice remained in the CATL-supplied battery, enough — the computer said — for 175 miles still.

That performance didn't directly translate into the U.S. EPA range rating, which is 265 to 300 miles, depending on configuration. But it was enough to make a good first impression, with enough left over to keep on giving.