New Nissan Ariya Nismo goes on sale in January with 0-62mph in 5.0sec
The new Nismo version of Nissan's Ariya electric SUV gets power, suspension and brake upgrades, sportier looks and a luxury-focused interior. Here's what we know so far...
On sale January 2025 Price from £65,000 (est)
From the Juke to the Skyline, Nissan's Nismo-branded road cars have always had two things in common in the UK: a focus on performance and a petrol engine. Until now.
The latest model to get the Japanese brand's Nismo treatment is the Nissan Ariya – an all-electric SUV that since its launch in 2021 has been all about offering practical family transport rather than thrilling performance and handling.
Nissan has confirmed the Ariya Nismo will go on sale in the UK in January 2025 and will be the new range-topping model, building on the current top-spec four-wheel-drive version of the car. The Japanese car maker says the Nismo version is aimed at buyers who need a practical electric SUV for day-to-day driving that can also offer a thrilling driving experience for spirited weekend road trips.
Power increases to a hefty 429bhp, for a 0-62mph sprint time of 5.0 seconds (50-70 mph in 2.4 seconds), and Nissan's design and engineering teams have made significant changes to the Ariya's underpinnings to deliver improved cornering and handling ability to match its rapid acceleration.
We don't have official pricing yet, but we'd expect the Nismo to costs several thousand pounds on top of the near-£60,000 price of the current most expensive Ariya. Fortunately, for your money you'll be getting much more than simply the red styling tweaks and custom 20in alloy wheels shown in our photographs.
Standard Ariya parts have been replaced with uprated Nismo performance kit – for example, the Ariya Nismo gets upgraded brakes and high-grip tyres on bespoke alloy wheels. A spoiler has been added to the boot lid, there's an air splitter below the front bump and the rear bumper has an F1-style diffuser.
Alongside those physical changes, the software that controls how acceleration is metered out is specifically designed to make the Ariya Nismo as fun to drive as possible, with a Nismo driving mode that maximises performance. There are also changes to the way power is sent to the front and rear wheels – again to try and give a sportier feel – and a setting called i-Booster to improve braking performance.
The red and black accents seen on the car's exterior are echoed inside: the interior is predominantly black, with red details including a striking Start button on the dashboard. At launch, the Ariya Nismo will be available in the Stealth Grey exterior paint colour previously seen on the Nissan GT-R.
What Car? had a chance to inspect the Ariya Nismo's interior after it went on display in Covent Garden ahead of the London E-Prix on July 20-21, 2024. We were impressed with the high-quality feel of the materials and comfortable seats.
The arrival of the Nismo means Ariya buyers will have a choice of four main versions: entry-level Engage, Advance, Evolve and the top-of-the-range Nismo.
All versions are available with a 63kWh or 87kWh battery except the Nismo, which is limited to the larger battery. Four-wheel drive (e-4orce) is available with 78kWh versions of the Advance and Evolve and is standard on the Nismo.
The Ariya is not the first electric SUV to get a performance version. When it goes on sale it will face competition from the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, the Skoda Enyaq vRS and the Tesla Model Y Performance. So far, we've only had chance to see a parked-up Ariya Nismo so it's too earlier to rate it against those, but we'll publish a full review as soon as we've driven it.
Read more: Nissan Ariya review
Read more: All the electric cars coming soon
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