vike
New member
This is Vike in New Mexico - Alan pinged looking to add some voices to jump start the forum, happy to drop in.
Still driving a 2012 i-MiEV, but given some lease offers floating around that might not last. Practically, right now that likely means a Hyundai Kona EV, but still back and forth with local dealers, we'll see. I'm far from desperate, but looking at <$2k down for ~$200/mo on a 2 yr lease (after which I'm hoping we'll have some attractive options more to my "smaller is better" tastes), it might be time to move on to something I can actually take on a 200-mi. round trip (whoops, there goes the Mini and 500e) and emergency charge with something other than CHAdeMO (and incidentally that my wife will drive - she was never taken with the i-MiEV's frugal charms
). I imagine there are some LEAF owners out there that might be similarly disposed.
Alas, Nissan isn't being nearly as generous with Ariya leases from a corporate level, but one might luck into a decent deal depending on individual dealer circumstances. I'll post separately on this, but the inimitable Kyle Conner recently posted a video with a friend that's leased an Ariya against his advice, and hearing the deal she got he had to admit it was a pretty sweet ride:
My Friend Bought A Nissan Ariya Even Though I Advised Against It! Turns Out, She Was Right
So some love for Nissan's newish BEV.
That said, this was in light of a sweetheart lease deal, and the truth is that buying an Ariya remains a tough choice given the alternatives. Unlike some other legacy players, Nissan elected not to lean into its interior design expertise and decent switchgear and instead largely embraced the "let's have the driver swipe their hand around a featureless surface making random stuff happen" UI fiasco that VW now sorely regrets. On the other hand, they're not full-on Teslaesque in the one-big-screen-edness of it all, so like VW I'm not sure who they're trying to impress.
Price is the biggest problem, and that's most likely a symptom of the inadequate cost-engineering and supply arrangements bedeviling so many (especially Japanese) legacy players - I doubt they're gouging on these beasts so much as wincing in pain every time one leaves the factory floor trailing its losses. With Tesla and the Koreans out there (and even the Chinese, at least outside the U.S.), the Ariya seems a pretty but pricey thing, and a bit tough to justify as a rational purchase. Still, if you prefer its looks, enjoy e4orce's dynamics (at least if you're going for AWD), and just like it better than competitors, I wouldn't warn people off it with quite the intensity I think more appropriate for the bZ4X.
I do think the Ariya has a rough road to go, as it duplicates a mistake made by far too many legacy players. Seeing the outlandish success of Tesla's Model Y (at least back when decisions were being made) and looking at the shape of the ICE market, over-cautious product planners concluded "We need to make a mid-size crossover BEV", forgetting the old adage "Hit 'em where they ain't." For Toyota, this resulted in the laughably mediocre bZ4X, a car needlessly bulky for commuting or local errands, yet cursed with DCFC so crippled it's wholly inadequate for road trips. The Ariya at least showed up better aligned with segment norms.
But the error remains the same - going head to head with the Model Y instead of exploiting predictable openings. Admittedly, Tesla's price war came on faster and with greater intensity than most anticipated, but nobody expected that the "Model 2" was just around the proverbial corner, leaving that lane wide open. Instead of an Ariya destined for unflattering comparisons against Tesla offerings (including lack of access to Tesla's SC network), Nissan would have been much better served making modest updates to the LEAF with, e.g., LFP batteries (probably easier than adding active thermal management) and a CCS charge port, or even a bigger refresh to engineer out costs and seize the opening left by GM's abandoning of the value-forward Bolt with a less expensive entry-level LEAF well-suited to 2nd/3rd car duties. Instead, the LEAF is left practically unarmed in a fight with vehicles like the Kona and Niro EVs.
I'd like to see more genuine choice in the BEV market, so I'm rooting for the Japanese to come around. Given Toyota's misleadership, that seems unlikely any time soon. The Ariya might be the best Nissan is likely to bring us for now, so I hope it finds customers.
Still driving a 2012 i-MiEV, but given some lease offers floating around that might not last. Practically, right now that likely means a Hyundai Kona EV, but still back and forth with local dealers, we'll see. I'm far from desperate, but looking at <$2k down for ~$200/mo on a 2 yr lease (after which I'm hoping we'll have some attractive options more to my "smaller is better" tastes), it might be time to move on to something I can actually take on a 200-mi. round trip (whoops, there goes the Mini and 500e) and emergency charge with something other than CHAdeMO (and incidentally that my wife will drive - she was never taken with the i-MiEV's frugal charms
). I imagine there are some LEAF owners out there that might be similarly disposed.Alas, Nissan isn't being nearly as generous with Ariya leases from a corporate level, but one might luck into a decent deal depending on individual dealer circumstances. I'll post separately on this, but the inimitable Kyle Conner recently posted a video with a friend that's leased an Ariya against his advice, and hearing the deal she got he had to admit it was a pretty sweet ride:
My Friend Bought A Nissan Ariya Even Though I Advised Against It! Turns Out, She Was Right
So some love for Nissan's newish BEV.
That said, this was in light of a sweetheart lease deal, and the truth is that buying an Ariya remains a tough choice given the alternatives. Unlike some other legacy players, Nissan elected not to lean into its interior design expertise and decent switchgear and instead largely embraced the "let's have the driver swipe their hand around a featureless surface making random stuff happen" UI fiasco that VW now sorely regrets. On the other hand, they're not full-on Teslaesque in the one-big-screen-edness of it all, so like VW I'm not sure who they're trying to impress.
Price is the biggest problem, and that's most likely a symptom of the inadequate cost-engineering and supply arrangements bedeviling so many (especially Japanese) legacy players - I doubt they're gouging on these beasts so much as wincing in pain every time one leaves the factory floor trailing its losses. With Tesla and the Koreans out there (and even the Chinese, at least outside the U.S.), the Ariya seems a pretty but pricey thing, and a bit tough to justify as a rational purchase. Still, if you prefer its looks, enjoy e4orce's dynamics (at least if you're going for AWD), and just like it better than competitors, I wouldn't warn people off it with quite the intensity I think more appropriate for the bZ4X.
I do think the Ariya has a rough road to go, as it duplicates a mistake made by far too many legacy players. Seeing the outlandish success of Tesla's Model Y (at least back when decisions were being made) and looking at the shape of the ICE market, over-cautious product planners concluded "We need to make a mid-size crossover BEV", forgetting the old adage "Hit 'em where they ain't." For Toyota, this resulted in the laughably mediocre bZ4X, a car needlessly bulky for commuting or local errands, yet cursed with DCFC so crippled it's wholly inadequate for road trips. The Ariya at least showed up better aligned with segment norms.
But the error remains the same - going head to head with the Model Y instead of exploiting predictable openings. Admittedly, Tesla's price war came on faster and with greater intensity than most anticipated, but nobody expected that the "Model 2" was just around the proverbial corner, leaving that lane wide open. Instead of an Ariya destined for unflattering comparisons against Tesla offerings (including lack of access to Tesla's SC network), Nissan would have been much better served making modest updates to the LEAF with, e.g., LFP batteries (probably easier than adding active thermal management) and a CCS charge port, or even a bigger refresh to engineer out costs and seize the opening left by GM's abandoning of the value-forward Bolt with a less expensive entry-level LEAF well-suited to 2nd/3rd car duties. Instead, the LEAF is left practically unarmed in a fight with vehicles like the Kona and Niro EVs.
I'd like to see more genuine choice in the BEV market, so I'm rooting for the Japanese to come around. Given Toyota's misleadership, that seems unlikely any time soon. The Ariya might be the best Nissan is likely to bring us for now, so I hope it finds customers.
