Nissan Ariya review

You’ve got four trims, two batteries and a choice of front-wheel or four-wheel drive powertrains to choose from, starting at £39,655 for the entry-level Engage model and topping out at £56,620 for the Nismo with its perky twin motors. 

As an example on Nissan's own finance scheme, you'd be looking at around £590 a month for the Ariya in Advance trim with the bigger battery over three years/10,000 miles and a £4,500 deposit.

What are the trims like? 

The £39,655 Engage squeaks under the £40k threshold for the Expensive Car Supplement that comes with your VED bill. It offers the small 63kWh battery, 19in alloys, LED headlights, a heat pump, dual zone aircon, auto lights and wipers, rear parking camera and Apple/Android connectivity as standard. It’s an extra £5k for the bigger 87kWh battery.

Advance trim starts at £43,155 and adds a powered tailgate, heated front seats and windscreen, wireless phone charging, fancy ProPilot cruise control and 360-degree parking cameras. Again, it’s £5k for the bigger battery and this time you can add another £2.7k on top for AWD.

Evolve spec comes in from £47,150 with the same jumps for the bigger battery and extra motor on the rear wheels, this trim adding a panoramic sunroof, ventilated front seats and heated rear seats, the power sliding centre console, Bose sound system and the head-up display.

The £56,630 Nismo car has some exterior styling tweaks, light drivetrain upgrades and the bootful of extra power, as well as 20in alloys and some further styling upgrades on the inside.

The Ariya looked pricey compared to some of its competitors when it was launched, but recent reductions have actually brought the entry price down below a few of its main rivals.

Which one should I go for?

Range is the thing here – if it was our money, it would be going on the £48k Advance trim car with the bigger battery, for 329 miles of range and some choice equipment additions over the entry-level car (we love our heated seats).

If you want to, you can add the panoramic sunroof (£1,295) and a Bose tech pack (£1,750) that features a 10-speaker sound system, head-up display and digital rearview mirror, but save it and go on a nice holiday instead.

If you’re after a performance EV and are eying up the £56k Nismo version, perhaps we could interest you in the infinitely more entertaining £65k Hyundai Ioniq 5 N? Or perhaps the £40k entry car plus a second-hand Caterham for sunny weekends. You know it makes sense.