• 3 months ago
The Electric Show! All about EV and much more!.
Film and edit by William Ranieri
Transcript
00:00Hello. Hello, how is it? Another lovely car. I mean, what is it with us? Well, what is
00:23it with you and these cars? Well, I'll tell you what, it's a combined effort. So we are
00:27here with the fabulous Nissan Ariya and it is genuinely a very good car.
00:57It's an upgrade from the Leaf. I can tell you that. I've had two Leafs for two years.
01:05I can see where they've improved on, but it's a lovely car. It's stunning. I mean, you've
01:11dragged your eye past territory. I think so. I think what they've done is they've looked
01:16at the Model Y, they've looked at all the things the Y does and they've done it just
01:21a little bit cheaper maybe. Some of the finish is more flimsy than you might like. I mean,
01:27the Tesla interior isn't the best as we've talked about in the past, but I think this
01:31car shows that Nissan have intentions to provide bigger cars, more longer range cars. I mean,
01:38this car comes in a four-wheel drive variant. This is the 63 kilowatt battery. So that's
01:47the base now. This is the entry level. So that's interesting. Going from the current
01:53Leaf on the market, the highest spec is a 63 kilowatt hour. The lowest is a 40. So they
01:58are starting to slowly improve that range. It's evolution. And this has evolved beautifully.
02:03It's got the funny characteristics of the Leaf. I didn't know they did that bird's eye
02:08camera. I'm such a philistine. I didn't realise that was the case. When I first got in it
02:13with you, you were blown away by this camera. I was like, I think I had that on my 2013
02:17Leaf. It is a revolution. I haven't driven that many Nissans. It was luxury, but not
02:23really filled with tech. And I think it's opened your eyes for the cars that have got
02:27a lot more tech in them now. Yeah. I mean, I'm loving the tech. I'm loving the fact you
02:31get in and it heats you. The whole thing's heated. It's a wonderful experience. The steering
02:37wheel warms you. The seats warm your bottom beautifully. And it automatically clears the
02:42cabin. The I-PACE, I was washing with a towel. I used to drive past and go, what's he doing
02:49in there? It's soaking wet. This is modern. It hasn't got the racing aspirations that
02:56the Jaguar has. So it's a modest speed. I don't think they should have done that. I
03:00don't think people want that speed, especially someone that's buying this type of car. They
03:03just want a comfortable car that can do the distance. And by not having crazy acceleration,
03:08you're getting that extra range out of the battery. Because the I-PACE had a much bigger
03:12battery than this, but you never really got to see the range out of the battery because
03:16you've got so much torque and horsepower that you're just churning through that battery
03:19all the time. That's exactly it. This preserves what you've got. This is really lovely. Fast
03:23charging. You can get to 80% in about 40 minutes. What have you got in there? We've got the
03:28full... Finally, so Nissan have finally ditched the CHAdeMO charging and put in the standard
03:33now that would be across all charging stations, CCS. CCS is great. About time. It's the industry
03:38standard. It is the VHS as opposed to the Betamax, I'd like to put it. I mean, just
03:43look at the road presence of it. This is not like a Nissan. You see this coming towards
03:47you at night, you would think, what is that? It's impressive. And the same from the back.
03:51From the sides, it looks like an F-PACE. From the back, it looks like, I have no idea. But
03:55the front is just something completely different and it's refreshing. Even the matte finish
03:59on the badging, they've gone for a different... This is a new brand. Their EV has evolved
04:06into a brand in its own right. And I think that's really clever. They've distinguished
04:10what they've done in the past to what they do now. And it's really clever how they've
04:14integrated their technology into a user-friendly platform. And I think a lot of other companies
04:20like Hyundai, the IONIQ 5, the IONIQ 6, they don't look like Hyundais. They look like £70,000-80,000
04:26Mercedes. Same for Ford. You've got the Ford Mustang now, the Mach-E. They're like completely
04:32different cars to the normal brand. An MG ZS EV, a petrol version, to be honest, I think
04:39is a horrible car. But the EV version is a lovely car. And I think car manufacturers
04:45are using that to shift their brand to a new image. Yeah, I think you're right. I think
04:50what I love about Nissan is they are for the people. So they've been evolved over time.
04:56They were making fantastic cars in their 50s and 60s through Datsun, their original company.
05:01The 260Z, the 240Z, some of the greatest... I mean, that was the E-Type replacement.
05:06Far too old for me. Far too old for me. You lost me at 2015 when they released the Leaf.
05:10They have history. They have history. I am a different generation that respects that
05:15history. But what I love about you is that you come in with a fresh pair of eyes and
05:19you say, I love the technology. I love the touchscreen. Although it's not all touchscreen.
05:23Like you say, the buttons feel like buttons still. And it's interesting for me having
05:27the first ever Nissan Leaf coming into this and just seeing how far Nissan have come.
05:31But I don't think Tesla would have really happened if Nissan didn't come in with an
05:36affordable car. At the time, it was expensive, but it was more affordable than a £200,000
05:40Roadster, for example. I totally agree. I think it's actually done incredibly well.
05:44I think what we're looking at here is a very, very capable electric vehicle. The range on
05:50this is about 240 miles. So I'm, you know, I'm well placed on the motorway. It sits comfortably.
05:56It's quiet. The acceleration is there if you want it. The regenerative braking on this
06:00is something to behold. It's like no other, is it? That e-pedal is incredible. Compared
06:04to the Tesla, compared to everything, the e-pedal is so fierce. And at first, it takes
06:09so much getting used to. I'm sure you've figured it out. It's a different driving style. But
06:12once you use it, if you don't have it on when you get in the car, you think, well, what's
06:16wrong with the car? I know. It feels so weird without that. I'm going to have to brake.
06:19This one, I barely touch the brake pedals. I do worry that the brake pedals, when it's
06:23regenerative, does the brake, I haven't seen the brake light come on yet. They do come
06:27on. But one thing to note is that the brake pads tend to seize up. So when it's wet, you'll
06:32hear a horrible grinding noise because they haven't been used for ages. So you do need
06:35to occasionally use the brakes. Yeah, I did hear that already. And this car is a day or
06:40so old. So we are, we are treating it very carefully. But look, overall, I've got to
06:45say Nissan, thank you. You've created something which Autocar have given it car of the year
06:51for 2022. You know, high accolade indeed. And I do believe the whole thing is going
06:56to be set up around this wonderful array of Nissan models coming because there's going
07:02to be a slew of Nissan smaller cars. There's talk of a luxury brand that's going to come
07:07around the corner soon. But they've nailed it with this car. I love it. Amazing. Should
07:12we take it for a spin? Yeah.
07:13And we're off. We're off indeed. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Oh, have you put my heated
07:23seat on? Oh, that is so nice. Oh, that is nice. It's just got that lovely, I mean, how
07:30smooth is this? Do you know what I've just noticed? In the leaf, it has a really high
07:36pitch pedestrian warning sound. Oh, really? You can hear it from ages away. And it's,
07:40they've had it ever since the first leaf and they've never changed it. And it gets really,
07:44it's really grinding the noise. But this, it doesn't have it. It has some sort of pedestrian
07:49sound, but I can't hear. It's not like the leaf and the leaf one is so annoying. Really?
07:54Yeah, that's nice. It's got all the right notifications, but they've kind of just taken
08:00the edges off it. They feel like they've understood that you don't want to be annoyed. You want
08:05nothing to get in the way of the driving experience. And this is close to a driving experience at
08:10the moment that you can get from most TVs. I think the fact that it is incredibly smooth,
08:16it is incredibly well-adjusted. Front parking sensors. Front parking sensors and the camera,
08:22of course. And you just feel like it's, it's got purpose. I know what you mean and that's
08:30what I try and say about the Jaguar and no one understands. The Jaguar is the car that
08:34I remember driving. Yeah. Whereas a Mercedes EQC, an Audi e-tron, I don't remember driving
08:41them. They're just, they're nice whilst you're in them, but it's not a rememberable driving
08:45experience. And this has that, you know, I will remember driving this or being a passenger
08:49in it because it's, it's hard to describe, but it's something different. You know, it's
08:53not in your face, but it's, you know, it's comfortable and it's nice. And I feel like
08:58you could go really long distance in it comfortably. Quick start buttons are great because you
09:03can turn the heating on in seconds. Whereas going into in-depth heating, it's a bit more
09:09tap, tap, tap. What I spoke about earlier, which, which frustrates me slightly, but as
09:14long as you've got those quick set buttons, it's not as bad as it could be. No, cause
09:18you preset it and then you don't have to worry about anything other than just where, you
09:22know, where the heat's going really. Um, it does drain the battery and I can see, you
09:27know, it winces as you put the heating on. They all do really, they don't know. That's
09:32the, it's, it's, that's the thing. But what I do love is, is this, it's the perfect cabin.
09:38It maintains the perfect cabin. So you don't feel like I've got to be fiddling with getting,
09:44getting the screen clear. I've got to be fiddling with the rear screen and it comes
09:47with a rear wiper. Oh God, I need that. I need it. Why don't they put them on? I just,
09:53no idea. I don't understand that. That's kind of like an EV no-go. It's a struggle isn't
09:58it? Yeah. To not be able to see, you know, and you don't want to use your heating as
10:01much if you're in an EV. No. So you're having to defrost the rear window screen all the
10:06time to try and see a bit better. And I like the driving position. I think this, this has
10:11got a really lovely elevated position, especially you don't need it so much Harrison being six
10:16foot six. I don't know because getting in and out of low cars is a, is a killer for
10:20me, especially that test. As you're getting in a higher car. Yeah. It's, it's much nicer,
10:24but especially for you, you definitely need a higher car. I do like a higher car. Thank
10:29you very much for reminding me. That's alright. You've got your booster seat in. I've got
10:32my booster seat in and I've got everything that's, that's elevating me so I can see the
10:36road itself. But I do, I don't have, I don't climb into this car. I feel like I can step
10:41into it. Um, I'd imagine the four wheel drive system on this car is particularly good. Um,
10:46when you do put it into sport mode and pull away, you can get the occasional wheel slip
10:51and it just feels like it's a bit too quick for the front wheels at times. But it's, it's
10:55very, very rare that you'll get into that position. Proper off-roading now. Here we
11:00go. That's it. No need for a four wheel drive version. But who do you imagine driving this
11:07car normally on a day to day basis? Who is this car built for in your opinion? Mums and
11:12dads on school runs. This is absolutely perfect. I agree. It's got that nice visibility so
11:17the kids can see out the back windows. Okay. I guess if you had the sky pack, they'll really
11:22feel like they've got plenty of things to look at. Especially for babies. Babies I think
11:27good and you can still reach the car seats and good to get the car seats in and out.
11:31Well I cannot get over how much space, no car I sit in, in the back, I can't fit in
11:35comfortably. No. And even with my, even with my seating position all the way back for me,
11:39I could sit behind myself. And that's unheard of in a car for like, for tall people. Yeah.
11:44So for a tall driver, it is really comfortable. Yeah. And it's important. I have to be comfortable
11:49in a car otherwise it's, yeah, it just doesn't work. So unlike normal electric cars, annoyingly
11:55this doesn't have a front boot and it's also not gas lifted. So it does feel like they've
11:59cheaped out under here. Understandably because you're not going in there all the time because
12:03there is no front boot. But to me it feels like a waste of space. I don't understand
12:07what half of this stuff is, but all I know is most electric cars, you can't see it.
12:15So Bill, thank you for showing me and our lovely viewers around your stunning new car.
12:20I don't think you're going to miss the Jaguar after looking around it. Do you know, I do
12:24really love this car. I think what they've done very cleverly is combined luxury elements
12:29with a bit of Datsun history. So they put in some motoring pedigree. It feels responsive.
12:35It feels more driver-like than maybe a Tesla might at times. And it sits on the motorway
12:40purring along. And at the end of the day, it's a normal car for normal people. You know,
12:44if someone doesn't want a flashy car. No. Well, I would say this is flashy. I'm not
12:48saying that, but it is also, it's stylish, but it's normal. Yeah. It's a £40,000, around
12:53the £45,000 mark. I mean, they do go up to about £60,000. So you are edging that
12:59kind of luxury territory. The £60,000 comes with a lovely sky pack where you can see the
13:03sky as you glide through countryside. It is rather lovely and well done Nissan for creating
13:10something so beautiful. So lovely. Got a lovely car. See you later guys. Thank you very much.