View Photos of the 2023 Nissan Ariya

The Nissan Ariya is a crossover EV promised to offer more performance and style than the brand’s existing Leaf hatchback.

Nissan will offer both front- and all-wheel-drive versions of the Ariya, with peak power outputs ranging from 214 to 389 horsepower. We drove a Europe-spec front-drive version exclusively on a racetrack in Spain.

The AWD version will feature Nissan’s e-4ORCE system, which can vary the output between both axles and help combat squat and dive motions.

The Ariya sits on Nissan’s CMF-EV platform, which, as part of the company’s technical alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, also underpins the recently launched Renault Megane E-Tech.

We’ll have to wait for EPA range estimates, but Nissan says it is chasing a 300-mile rating for models with the larger of the two available battery packs.

Distinctive design features include heavily contoured flanks and a sizable black panel at the front end, although only a small amount of the grille’s area is actually used for cooling.

The Ariya’s cab-forward design means the vehicle has an impressively spacious cabin given its 182.9-inch overall length.

Haptic control surfaces are integrated into the dashboard and center console, with the Ariya also featuring a motorized storage compartment that deploys from underneath its dashboard.

Sales in the United States will begin in the fall, with confirmed base prices for models with the larger battery ranging from $47,125 to $60,125. The estimated price of the standard-range model is about $40,000.