It was June 8th in the afternoon when the call came in from Nissan, “Your platinum white Ariya just arrived, want to come drive it?” Absolutely! It was our first glimpse in person of the blue Nappa leather seats with blue suede accents on the dash and doors. Wow! What a gorgeous color! We were a bit disappointed that they replaced the bronze hubcaps with grey, but we can order those later.
We hopped in and drover her up part of the Mount Rose highway. Way more power then the FWD version! The AWD e4ORCE makes a big difference and we look forward to seeing how she handles in snow. The Ariya is higher clearance by nearly 2 inches over the Ioniq. Scott loves sitting higher up and immediately set up his seat and steering wheel position just as he wanted. It’s great to have adjustments in all directions. He looked completely at home instantly. When I asked him how it felt he said, “Like the Highlander only just my size.”
We pulled into a trailhead parking area and played with buttons and features, checked out the awesome turn radius. It’s much easier to learn the Ariya after mastering the Ioniq. They have many of the same options and thoughtful, innovative design. But the Ariya is much more Scott and I found it thrilling to watch him get excited about his new car!
We went back to the dealership and said we wanted it. As always seems the case, it was not good timing as our nephew was visiting from NYC. We asked if we could wait a few days to do the paperwork. The manager at United Nissan Reno said no problem, as long as we put down a $500 deposit. When we returned home we realized that we had committed to the car at 6:30 p.m., the exact time one year ago when we last said “good night” to Scott’s father. He passed that night. Wide-eyed, we wondered if he’d pulled some magic strings for Scott to get this Ariya months before we thought it would arrive. We toasted him and said a “thank you” to his spirit.
We returned to United Nissan a few days later and completed the transaction. Everything about the process was easy and relaxed. They now have a price set by Nissan and a small margin of profit included for them. There is no negotiating, no gouging, no pressure. We traded in our 2016 Nissan LEAF and they gave us a decent price for it. It was a great little starter EV and I’m sure it will still be for its next owner.
I had originally intended for Scott to have the Inoiq for his 60th Birthday. But it wasn’t a good fit for him and he gave it to me, taking the LEAF instead. I think I always felt guilty about trading his beautiful Highlander for my Ioniq. How fitting that his Ariya, which truly does fit him better than the Highlander, should come in time for his 61st!
The Numbers
The MSRP on the Platinum Ariya is $63,715. The tradein for the LEAF was $6,500. Typically there are about 10% of additional fees and taxes (in NV) added on to the purchase.
The most comparable gas car to the Ariya is the Murano, which has an MSRP of $51,640. I wanted to do a comparison for this blog of what it would cost to own the ICE vs. the EV and I will use these numbers in my annual blogs to see how long the savings of driving the EV will take to make up the price difference. EVs are 50-65% cheaper to maintain over their lives than ICEs.
2023 Platinum Nissan Ariya
MSRP $63,715
Plus 10% fees and taxes $6,372
Total Cost: $70,087
2023 Platinum Nissan Murano
MSRP $51,640
Plus 10% fees and taxes $5,164
Total Cost: $56,804
Difference Between EV and ICE $13,283
NOTE: Sadly, the new Inflation Reduction Act removed the tax credit for the Nissan Ariya as of August 17, 2022 because final assembly is still in Japan. Nissan plans to move final assembly to the USA to qualify for the credit in 2026.
Video Tours of the Inside
Cargo Area
What Scott Loves About the Ariya
It’s solid and it has great acceleration. I don’t have to charge it all the time like the LEAF. It’s comfortable and easy to drive, not too overwhelming.
Is There Anything You Don’t Like?
I can’t think of anything, other than I wish it had a little less shiny black on the exterior.