The all-electric Nissan Ariya is a very important vehicle for the car manufacturer and while we’ve not yet had the opportunity to drive it, it appears to have quite a lot going for it.
Not only does the Ariya have a very attractive exterior design, but its interior is very modern and seems like a significant upgrade over all other current Nissan models. But, how does it perform in the dreaded moose test?
To find out, km77 jumped behind the wheel of the Ariya and set about answering that question. The example it tested was equipped with the available 20-inch wheels with 255/45 Michelin Primacy tires and had the small 64 kWh battery pack and a single 218 hp electric motor driving the front wheels.
Read: Nissan Offers Free Charging, Maintenance, And Roadside Assistance With EV Carefree+
The first attempt saw the driver attempt to complete the moose test at 77 km/h (47.8 mph). While the electric SUV performed well, it did experience a touch of understeer and clipped a cone on the first attempt. However, in a second attempt at 77 km/h, the Nissan passed with flying colors, navigating its way through the cones without hitting any of them and remaining easy to control.
The Spanish publication then proceeded to test the Ariya through a slalom course. The electric SUV completed its run with a best time of 25.5 seconds. To put that time into perspective, it is much slower than a Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor Performance Pack with its time of 22.8 seconds but slightly quicker than a Toyota Aygo X Cross Play and a 1.0-liter Skoda Fabia Ambition. It was also just 0.2 seconds off matching the all-electric Peugeot e-2008.