Dongfeng Nissan ARIYA first test: Is this the ceiling for joint venture pure electric vehicles?

Written and photographed by: Zeng Zhaoqing@新车review

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< p>Everyone’s impression of the Nissan Ariya may still be based on its appearance at domestic auto shows in the past year or two, right? In fact, as early as the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show and before the concept car was released at the Nissan booth, Nissan had already revealed to us in advance that the production version of that car would come to China. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, I waited for almost three years before the Ariya's first test drive in China - but I also have to praise traditional manufacturers like Dongfeng Nissan. They are not good at playing. There were waves of static experiences or field test drives, but as soon as we started, we just drove the Ariya on the road. It seems that this time they are really ready.

If you look back at the Ariya concept car at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, you will find that the current production version has not changed much in design compared to that concept car. Basically At that time, all the "concept" designs were implemented. So when I look at this car today three years later, I still feel that it has a sci-fi feel that belongs to the future. But I think the most amazing thing about the appearance of this car is that it integrates many designs. For example, its overall lines feel sci-fi and sporty, and the "Mo Shadow" design of the China Open is very oriental. expression, the two long daytime running lights are a continuation of the V-MOTION of Nissan's fuel vehicles, and the spoiler on the bumper is a performance-first design...

To be honest, it takes so much It's quite difficult to put all the design ideas into one car, but Nissan's designers have done a good job in integrating them this time. For ordinary consumers, no matter whether you think this car is beautiful or not, at least it will not challenge your aesthetics like Toyota's BZ4X, and this car also conforms to what everyone now thinks "electric cars should look like" This is the general view of "future future", so I think Chinese consumers should be able to accept it more easily after seeing the actual car in offline stores, and they should also be very interested in getting into its cabin because of its appearance. Take a look.

The interior design of Ariya is actually more exciting than its appearance. I made a comment before when I first saw the interior of this car: This is the best interior among the electric cars produced by traditional joint venture fuel vehicle manufacturers so far. Now, in September 2022, I still stick to this comment.

The main reasons are as follows: First, the interior has a simple, oriental design style, which is consistent with the appearance; second, Nissan’s simplicity does not force you to do it like Tesla does To get used to a new form of interaction, use excellent designs such as hidden pop-up lockers, touch feedback air-conditioning control areas, etc. to improve the convenience of interaction while keeping the interior simple; third, it can The central armrest base that moves forward and backward is not a simple cool design, but a wonderful ergonomic design that can adapt to different driver sitting postures. This reflects the design heritage of Nissan, a traditional manufacturer; fourth, the materials used in the cabin , which can obviously give people a feeling of high positioning.

To sum it up, it can be summed up in one sentence: Ariya’s cabin is a model that combines the futuristic feel of new energy vehicles with the ease of use of traditional fuel vehicles.

As for the obvious shortcomings in the car, I believe many friends can guess it: the localized functions of the car are not enough, and the in-car voice function is not easy to use. These two points are the common disadvantages of electric vehicles produced by all major fuel manufacturers today compared to new electric vehicles, and Nissan is no exception this time.

Let me mention the cabin space: it is similar to the Xpeng G9 I just experienced some time ago, and slightly smaller than the NIO ES7. Moreover, the seat comfort of this car is better than that of the mid-to-low-end Xpeng G9.

In terms of mechanical specifications, the Chinese version of Ariya will be available in single-motor and dual-motor versions, both with 90-kilowatt-hour batteries. This time we drove a four-wheel drive, which is a dual-motor version. Let’s talk about the specific battery life figures after the car is officially launched or the specifications are announced. In fact, a lot of information and technical highlights about this car have not yet been fully released. Including Nissan told us: The electric excitation synchronous motor used in Ariya is a new motor they developed independently, which combines a permanent magnet synchronous motor and an induction asynchronous motor. The specific advantages of this motor will have to wait until Nissan releases it soon. Please introduce it to us slowly.

This time let’s talk about driving first. First of all, it is no surprise that this Ariya, like other electric vehicles produced by major fuel manufacturers, has a very good driving feel, such as the smoothness of power output and energy recovery, the linearity of the steering, the flexibility of the chassis, etc. In other aspects, it is all as expected.

Of course, there are several points about this car that need to be mentioned individually. The first is that the power performance of this dual-motor version is still very good. It should have an acceleration level of more than 5 seconds. It can be regarded as an EV car with relatively strong performance among a traditional large manufacturer.

The second is that this car has four driving modes, corresponding to different adjustments in power output, kinetic energy recovery intensity, steering wheel weight, etc., and its gearbox also has a B gear. That is, power recovery gear, coupled with an e-pedal single-pedal mode, the combination of these can have many different driving characteristics, corresponding to different drivers' preferences and needs. This is rare in electric vehicles from traditional manufacturers. Nissan does have some accumulation in the field of electric vehicles. It’s just that I think it would be better if it could provide a driving mode customization option like some new power trains do.

The third point is about Nissan’s image in everyone’s mind. The main impression given by these fuel vehicles currently sold by Nissan is that they put comfort first and do not pursue sportiness and controllability. Ariya is a car that is generally comfortable and quiet, and its steering and chassis settings are not as radical as those of Mach-E or Model Y. However, due to the low center of gravity brought by the large battery and the electric four-wheel drive, the handling performance of this car completely exceeds our expectations for a Nissan. During my test drive this time, I ran quite intensely on a mountain road. The stability and confidence this car gives people are definitely not comparable to the average daily fuel consumption. So this time electrification has actually brought Nissan a certain improvement in the control angle, which everyone can experience when they have the opportunity to test drive in the future.

After talking about the above, we inevitably have to talk about the market prospects of this car. According to the news we have received now, Dongfeng Nissan is still considering the pricing of this car internally. Because traditional joint venture fuel manufacturers are currently struggling on the new energy track, coupled with the price increase of batteries, chips and other components, Dongfeng Nissan is actually under great pressure and finds it very difficult to price Ariya.

Just like my evaluation of Ariya in various aspects above, I think this car does better than other joint venture brand products in many aspects. It still has a chance to break out among joint venture electric cars. of. But on the other hand, this car does not "break through the dimensional wall" and fails to compete with new power trains in terms of car-machine and voice interaction, which will limit its audience to a certain extent.

Therefore, Ariya’s opportunity should be in the future wave of new energy vehicles to try to win over a large number of relatively conservative people who have switched from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles and have never forgotten the driving experience of gasoline vehicles. of consumers. Of course, whether its pricing and configuration can exactly meet everyone's psychological expectations is also a key.

First test impression of Dongfeng Nissan Ariya

Outstanding advantages: a large number of novel and practical designs in the cabin; excellent overall driving feel; multiple kinetic energy recovery strengths to choose from.

Main shortcomings: the car phone and voice functions are not good enough in the tram; the driving mode lacks customization options.

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