Nissan was an early mover in the electric vehicle (EV) space, launching its ground-breaking Leaf in December 2010, but has failed to capitalise on that momentum by adding additional models since.

As at July this year, the Leaf had managed 287 sales year to date, versus 12,179 sales for its nearest Tesla rival the Model 3, with Tesla also racking up 17,332 sales of the Model Y SUV over the same period.

Globally, Tesla is showing most western brands a clean rear number plate when it comes to EV sales and Nissan’s new Ariya SUV is intended to wrest back some of that dominance.

First revealed in 2020, the Ariya has been on sale in Japan since mid-2021 and the United States since 2022, so it was hoped the new model might find its way to Australian shores sometime in 2023.

However, the Managing Director of Nissan Asia and Oceania, Guillaume Cartier, said at a recent prototype drive day of the new model that delays in the Australian homologation process and supply shortages meant the car’s local launch would be delayed until 2024.

This means that when the Ariya eventually does land here it will be more than four years old and halfway through its expected model cycle.

One possible upside to the protracted delay is that Australian models may benefit from the mid-life updates already sighted on overseas test models.

While Nissan Australia plays the waiting game, the Ariya’s mid-sized SUV rivals including the Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tesla Model Y are riding the gathering wave of EV sales in this country.

Based on its overseas specifications, the Ariya crossover has what it takes to compete with these models, featuring as it does either a 63kWh or 87kWh battery pack, two or all-wheel drive, DC fast charging up to 130kW, and a 530km driving range on the WLTP cycle.

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Other notable features of the Ariya, depending on variant, include Nissan’s e-4ORCE all-wheel-drive system and its ProPilot 2.0 advanced driver assistance systems, both of which have already been introduced here on Nissan’s current range of SUVs.

The European-spec Ariya we briefly sampled at RACQ’s Mount Cotton Mobility Centre was quiet, smooth and responsive, combining three different drive modes – normal, eco and sport.

With weight distribution close to 50/50, and a decently quick 14:1 steering ratio the Nissan EV felt suitably dynamic through the bends, although it’s positioned more as a family hauler than a performance model.

Nevertheless, the instant torque of its electric motors ensured it had ample acceleration and the overall combination felt lively and fun to drive.

Puzzlingly, despite being built on a dedicated EV skateboard platform with its battery weight sited low in the vehicle structure, the Ariya displayed quite a bit of body roll through bends.

This suggests it may have a high centre of gravity, or lacks sufficiently disciplined body control, something Nissan Australia will no doubt investigate before the vehicle’s local launch.

Stylistically, Nissan describes the Ariya’s design as “timeless Japanese futurism,” whatever that means.

Certainly, it’s an attractive-looking vehicle with distinctive styling that won accolades in the Auto Color Award 2021 Grand Prix in Japan and Germany’s prestigious Red Dot Design Award.

The impressively well-finished interior boasts plenty of tech including two 12.3-inch screens with customisable apps that can be moved from screen to screen.

Other notable features include head-up display, an electric sliding centre console, and both double-glazed windows and thick carpet for reduced road noise.

A series of haptic buttons for the HVAC system integrated into the panel below the touchscreen offer a nice compromise between physical switches and Tesla’s full touchscreen integration of most switches.

Our limited time at the wheel under controlled conditions means we will have to reserve final judgement on the Ariya until local tuning, specification and pricing are announced closer to the release date, but the initial impressions are very positive.

Meanwhile, Nissan announced in late July that its global sales of electric vehicles had surpassed the one-million-unit milestone.

The Nissan Leaf was the biggest contributor to that total, with the Ariya and the Japanese-market Sakura mini-vehicle also contributing to the total.

Under its Nissan Ambition 2030 long-term vision, Nissan plans to launch 19 EV models by fiscal year 2030.

The company also aims to launch EVs powered by solid-state batteries, developed in-house, by fiscal year 2028.

STORY BY ANDREW KIRK, GED BULMER