Nissan Ariya Nismo Review & Prices

The Nissan Ariya Nismo is a high-performance electric SUV which trades heavily on Nissan’s legendary Nismo models of old, including the mighty GT-R coupe. It’s kind of like a Nismo tribute band, but one that plays only electronic keyboards.

The Ariya on its own is a good car — a handsome, spacious, almost futuristic-looking electric family SUV which comes with a decent range and a relaxing driving experience. This Nismo version really gives the styling a good kick in the pants, with a gloss-black bodykit, 20-inch alloys, and red highlights that announce its high-performance intentions from a mile away. There’s even a Formula One-style foglight built into the rear bumper, in spite of the fact that Nissan doesn’t have an F1 team. Frankly, it looks great.

Power comes from two electric motors, one front and one rear, using Nissan’s e4ORCE four-wheel drive setup. The two motors together produce 429hp, and a little more power goes to the rear wheels than the fronts — 60% in fact — to try to give the Ariya more of a classical sports car balance. The power distribution between the front and rear wheels is apparently monitored and changed as much as 10,000 times per second.

Inside, there are some sporty upgrades for the Nismo model, including a slim red pinstripe detail that runs across the whole width of the dashboard, a red starter button, and a red 12-o’clock marker for the flat-bottom steering wheel — as if anyone is going to be opposite-locking their Ariya Nismo down a rally stage…

There’s also artificial suede upholstery all across the dashboard and doors, with contrasting red stitching, and deeper bucket seats in the front.

The rest of the Ariya’s interior has been left pretty much untouched, and that’s a good thing. It’s still a great-looking cabin, and the touch-sensitive buttons built into the dashboard’s dark wood trim look cool and work well on the standard car and should do so here too.

There’s plenty of space on offer too, with stretch-out room for those in the back seats, although the boot space shrinks to just 408 litres thanks to the extra electric motor in the back. That definitely makes the Ariya Nismo less practical than it ought to be, especially considering the Tesla Model Y Performance has a massive 854-litre boot.

Still, there are some nice touches inside, including special digital instrument graphics for the big display screen behind the steering wheel, and there are also engine-like sounds which the Ariya can play through the stereo to make you feel more like you’re driving a car with a real engine.

Performance is… fine. The Ariya Nismo accelerates from 0-62mph in 5.0 seconds, which is certainly not slow, but it’s well behind the likes of the Tesla Model Y Performance which can do the same sprint in just 3.5 seconds. It’s faster than a VW ID.5 GTX or Skoda Enyaq Coupe vRS though, and Nissan points out that the fast-responding electric motors can shove the Ariya Nismo from 50-70mph in just 2.4 seconds, which is faster than the petrol-powered Nissan Z Nismo sports car.

As well as the revised e4ORCE four-wheel drive, the Ariya Nismo gets tuned suspension with firmer springs and dampers (stiffer by 10% at the rear), along with lightweight alloy wheels from the specialists at Enkei, and retuned anti-lock brakes (even though the brakes themselves aren’t any bigger nor more powerful than standard). There’s also a special Nismo driving mode in the on-screen menu, to turn everything up to 11 when you want to really enjoy yourself.

If you’re interested in this good-looking electric SUV, check out our best Nissan Ariya Nismo deals here. You can find a used Nissan Ariya for sale here, or check out other used Nissans for sale here. And remember that when the time comes to shift your old car, Carwow can help you get the best price by selling your car through our network of trusted dealers.

The Ariya Nismo is actually quite well priced for an overtly sporty electric SUV. It might be slower than a Tesla Model Y Performance but it’s also around £3,000 cheaper. Likewise, while the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and Kia EV6 GT might be far more powerful and much quicker, the Ariya costs as much as £10,000 less.

It kind of occupies an interesting middle ground, between the humble everyday models, but more affordable than other faster, more overt performance cars. It’s pricier than a Skoda Enyaq vRS, but then it’s also a good bit quicker.