I Test Drive A Nissan Ariya & Marvel At Some Year-End Deals – CleanTechnica

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I was driving past a grocery store and noticed they had a station to test drive the Nissan Ariya a little north of Denver, Colorado. I stopped by and took it for a spin.

I drove the top-of-the-line all-wheel-drive Platinum trim. This has the power liftgate, heated and cooled leather seats, a premium Bose sound system, and the larger battery for almost 300 miles of range. It costs about $10,000 more than the base front-wheel-drive model with much less range. For many, the extra $10,000 is worth it; for others who live in areas without snow and who don’t mind charging more often, it isn’t.

It seemed similar to the top-of-the-line Chevy Equinox I drove earlier this year. I got to push the car to its limits on a roundabout and it was surprisingly neutral. It felt slightly more composed than the Equinox, but not as nice as the twice as expensive Polestar 3 I drove earlier. I found the acceleration was brisk, but there is a slight lag compared to my Tesla Model Y, which has instant throttle response. It also has creep that can’t be turned off, and the regen is quite mild. None of these things will bother a person coming from a gas car, but they could irritate a person coming from an EV.

I loved the heads-up display, and the interior materials felt more premium than in the Chevy or my Tesla, and nearly as nice as the Polestar! We at CleanTechnica have written a lot on the Ariya — see here for hundreds of articles that mention it.

I like to occasionally camp in my cars, so I like to test out the back area. It was a bit short, but it is easy to put something in that covers the gap between the front seats and the back seats if you want to camp back there. It seemed a bit wider than my Model Y, so more room for two people if you buy a mattress. I found the front seats comfortable, and the rear seats were surprising roomy for a large person like me (230 pounds and 6 foot 2 inches).

The person at the event said the top model leases for $299 a month (in Colorado, where there is a $5,350 lease credit plus the $7,500 federal tax credit). As you can see above, there are some very aggressive lease deals in Colorado. $29 a month for a Nissan Leaf would be a great city car, while the $119 Ariya with all-wheel drive is a great deal, especially as the Ariya is expected to get access to most Tesla Superchargers by the end of this year!

At the end of the test drive, they asked me to take a 2 minute survey and gave me a $10 gift card to the grocery store. There was no pressure to buy at this time.

Tesla Is Also Rolling Out The Discounts

As you can see in the above video, Tesla is expected by my friend Dennis to offer a wide range of incentive between now and the end of the year in hopes of making their sales targets. They may get an extra boost from people who want to get the $7,500 federal tax credit before it is potentially cancelled. Some of the things Dennis predicts are listed below. Some of those discounts are available today, some will likely come in the next few weeks, and some will probably not come at all.

• 3 to 6 months of free supercharging
• Free transfer of free Supercharging from existing vehicle
• Free FSD for up to 3 years
• Leasing discounts as low at $199 a month on the Model 3 and $299 a month on the Model Y
• 0% financing for up to 72 months
• Inventory discounts of up to $8,000 in selected locations

Of course, we know Tesla will likely announce enhanced and more affordable options next year, so be aware of that so you don’t have buyer’s remorse when something better comes along.

Conclusion

Now is a great time to buy or lease an electric vehicle. Chevrolet, Kia, and Hyundai are also offering a lot of promotions. Of course, there will always be something better coming in the future, but with the tax credit policy more uncertain than ever, this might be the best deal you will find in a while.

If you want to take advantage of my Tesla referral link to get Reward Credits, here’s the link: https://ts.la/paul92237 — but as I have said before, if another owner helped you more, please use their link instead of mine. If you want to learn more about Tesla’s new referral program (August 2024), Chris Boylan has written an excellent article on it.

Disclosure: I am a shareholder in Tesla [TSLA], BYD [BYDDY], Nio [NIO], XPeng [XPEV], NextEra Energy [NEP], and several ARK ETFs. But I offer no investment advice of any sort here.