The Nissan Ariya concept previews the long-mooted ‘Leaf SUV’, which is expected to arrive by 2022. Revealed at the Tokyo motor show late last year, the Ariya was described by chief designer Giovanny Arroba as a “realistic vision of our future”. He added: “It’s not a blue-sky concept car, so everything there is tangible to bring to the market in the hopefully near future.”
Explaining that Nissan had pioneered the crossover segment, first with the Nissan Qashqai and then with the Nissan Juke, Arroba said: “We’ve always been on the cutting edge of introducing new segments. In this case, we wanted to have an electric crossover which is beautiful, functional and realistic for now.”
Update: the Nissan Ariya has now been revealed. Click here to see it
We discussed some highlights of the Ariya with Arroba below.
Brand name on tailgate, rather than logo
Nissan has followed its rivals by spelling its brand name across the tailgate rather than using its logo. The word is integrated into the horizontal light blade, which Arroba described as “very simple yet very iconic”. Expect to see it on a Nissan production car soon.
Interior rejig
The Ariya’s roomy interior is thanks to Nissan’s new EVP platform; for example, it has allowed the air-con unit to be moved from in the centre console to under the bonnet. It’s a dramatic step up from the Nissan Leaf, but Arroba said none of it is unattainable for production. While there’s a glass panel that leads from the digital instruments to the touchscreen, switches and haptic touch-sensitive icons remain.“Everything we have done is for approachability,” said Arroba.
