In the year 2010, Nissan was among the first automakers in the world to introduce viable commercial electric vehicles. Its debut electric vehicle was the Nissan Leaf. It’s a five-seater family car, and it was the first car in the world to feature over-the-air telematics. The Nissan Leaf started out with an EPA estimate of under 100 miles, but it has grown to managing an EPA-estimated 226 miles of range per charge with an optional DC quick charging, which could refill its 24 kilowatts battery from empty to 80 percent in 30 minutes. As a comeback to the segment, Nissan has unveiled its first all-electric crossover vehicle since the Nissan Leaf debut, the 2022 Nissan Ariya SUV.

The new SUV has solved most of the main flaws found in the prototype. Here is everything you need to know about the 2022 Nissan Ariya SUV thanks to MotorTrend in addition to some background on the Leaf.

The importance of the Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf, over the years, has had some notable flaws. Its original battery pack engineering was not the best; engineers used passive air cooling instead of active liquid cooling. This combined with its original cell chemistry, conspired to cause premature battery aging and subsequent capacity-induced range loss. This led to increased demand for the replacement of the batteries.

The second generation of the Nissan Leaf was introduced in 2018 but still had the same issues with quick battery degradation. The vehicles were only ideal in areas with low temperatures. There has been increased competition from rival automakers in many markets, which negatively affected Nissan’s leaf sales.

Up close with 2022 Nissan Ariya SUV

The 2022 Nissan Ariya is a compact crossover EV. In appearance, it is comparable to a midsize current Murano. The shoulders are a bit high with a tapered profile. Its dimensional footprint is slightly smaller than the Ford Mustang Mach-E or the Tesla Model Y and somewhat more extensive than the Audi A4 e-tron.

There have been no drastic changes made on the vehicle based on the 2019 concept’s exterior appearance. The SUV has thin LED lights that shine during the day and disappear at night. Also, it has a single horizon line, which replaces the fussy contours. The vehicle has a sloping rear roofline with one light bar along the rear.

The interior of the SUV looks futuristic and minimal. The dashboard has few buttons, and also, they are touch-sensitive keys for climate change controls. Other interior features include a 12.3-inch screen that provides a digital driver display and infotainment, an intelligent route planner, and hybrid voice recognition technology.

2022 Nissan Ariya range and power

The Nissan Ariya has two battery levels, which provides either an ‘e-4ORCE’ dual-motor all-wheel-drive system or a single motor and front-wheel drive. This is one of the notable upgrades from the prototype, which only had the single motor front-wheel drive. The batteries use an active liquid cooling system, which is predicted to improve battery life.

The single motor system provides 221 lb-ft of torque and 215 hp, while all-wheel drive delivers 413 lb-ft and 335 hp. Nissan indicated that Ariya will have two powertrains, the standard version with a 65-kWh battery (63-kWh reusable) and the long-range version with a 90-kWh battery (87-kWh reusable).

Nissan stated that the 2022 Ariya will offer up to 300 miles of driving per charge. This is also an improvement from the original Nissan Leaf, which offered 226 miles of driving per charge. The main rival offering this range of drive per charge is the Tesla Model Y. The vehicle provides quick charging, and according to the automakers, the battery can charge from 5 percent to 80 percent in about 45 minutes.

Another key feature of the SUV is its braking system. Nissan revealed that the Ariya comes with a regenerative braking system. With this system, the driver can stop the vehicle entirely without pressing the brake pedal.

2022 Nissan Ariya pricing

The base price for SUV has not yet been finalized. Nissan is expected to reveal the cost of the Ariya at the end of 2021, with an estimate of around $40,000. There are few non-Tesla EV SUVs selling at a price lower than $50,000, and because of this, it is expected that the 2022 Nissan Ariya will have huge sales. With over 10 years of experience in making EVs, Nissan’s vehicles will be much improved as compared to those from other automakers who are new to the market.