Nissan Ariya - Practicality, comfort and boot space

Buyers shouldn’t be fooled by the Nissan Ariya’s sleek, modern form, because this all-electric family car offers loads of day-to-day functionality. Standard kit includes automatic headlights and wipers, a power tailgate and Intelligent Cruise Control, while passengers will appreciate the dual-zone climate control, rear privacy glass and a rear armrest. Those travelling in the back also get two USB ports, one of which is the faster USB-C version.

The sliding centre console — standard on the Evolve model — is a neat feature and allows you to prioritise space up front, with easy access to the twin-glove box storage arrangement in the lower section of the dash.

Size

The Ariya is 4,595mm long, 1,850mm wide and 1,660mm tall, which means it’s slightly bigger all-round than its Qashqai sibling. Compared to other successful family EVs, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is longer and wider than the Ariya, while the Skoda Enyaq also has a larger footprint.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

Rear passengers will welcome the generous space on offer in the Ariya; under-seat foot room is good, while we found the centre seat particularly comfortable compared to rivals such as the Volkswagen ID.5 and Genesis GV60. There are two ISOFIX points on the outer positions of the rear bench.

The Ariya’s minimalist interior design means that the driver and front passenger also benefit from plenty of space, while the sliding centre console, offered as standard on Advance models, adds more versatility.

Boot

At 466 litres for the regular front-wheel drive Ariya, the boot’s volume is merely okay. The Ariya has the same handy divider panel set-up as its smaller sibling, the Nissan Qashqai, which means you can separate items in the boot or stop them sliding towards the back seats. You can even raise the panels to create a flat boot floor to eliminate any annoying loading lip.

Overall volume isn’t far from that of the Kia EV6, but that car has the benefit of a front boot under the bonnet, which works as a great way of separating the potentially dirty charging cables from your clean luggage. All that’s under the bonnet of the Ariya is the front electric motor, a lot of wiring, and coolant hoses.

The four-wheel drive Ariya e-4ORCE has an even smaller boot at 408 litres. That’s because the rear-mounted electric motor powering the rear wheels lives beneath the luggage area, so the boot floor of e-4ORCE models has to be raised to accommodate it, thus reducing overall capacity. All versions come with a 60/40 split folding rear seat if you need maximum boot capacity, although that folding arrangement isn't as handy as the more flexible 40/20/40 you’ll find in the BMW iX1.

Towing

Front-wheel drive versions of the Ariya are rated to tow a braked trailer weight of 750kg, but this grows up to 1,500kg if you spring for the four-wheel drive e-4ORCE model. That should be enough to easily take a decent-size caravan on a family trip. If you need more capacity, a Volvo EX30 can pull up to 1,600kg.