Road Trip: Cambridge to Paris in a 2024 Nissan Ariya

Article content

There’s something about Europe in the spring – driving from Cambridge to Hamburg to Lisbon, Stratford to London, Sparta to Copenhagen to Vienna, and then to Paris. And especially in an all-electric 2024 Nissan Ariya, and doing it all in one day and on a single charge.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Road Trip: Cambridge to Paris in a 2024 Nissan Ariya Back to video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

And yes, of course there’s more to it. In addition to the European versions, these are all towns in Ontario, and it was 301 kilometres to drive to all of them. Yes, the route was a bit of fun with the names — Nissan called it the Ariya European Tour — but it was also an interesting road trip and a chance to stretch the Ariya’s electric legs.

What’s the Nissan Ariya all about?

Nissan started its battery journey with the Leaf, the first mass-produced modern electric car when it debuted for 2010. It received a makeover for 2017 and was joined by the Ariya crossover/SUV for 2023.

The Ariya starts out in front-wheel drive (FWD), with one motor that makes 238 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel drive (AWD) models add a second motor, which combine to churn out 389 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque. The AWD versions are dubbed e-4orce, pronounced “e-force.” Beyond that, both the FWD and AWD offer a standard or long-range battery, the latter indicated by a “+” in the name. Within those variables of motors and batteries, the lineup’s overall driving range on a charge stretches from 330 to 465 kilometres.

The Ariya starts with the Engage FWD with standard battery at $52,998 (all trims qualify for the federal $5,000 “green” rebate, along with any applicable provincial rebates). But one must experience Europe in style, and so I was in the top-trim Evolve+ e-4orce with Platinum+ Package at $69,998. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) rates it at 428 km, more than enough for my trek through Britain and Europe.

The first leg: Cambridge to Stratford

I set out from Cambridge with my co-driver, Quebec-based auto writer Dominic Boucher. The route was primarily secondary highways, most with a maximum speed of 80 km/h. There were several journalists on the route, and there was a friendly competition to see who could drive the most efficiently. We never held up traffic, but we did employ the habits that work on all vehicles, gas or electric, including accelerating and braking smoothly; looking ahead to anticipate issues, so you’re not sitting behind the stopped truck hoping someone will let you in; and maintaining a steady speed, instead of on-the-throttle, off-the-throttle (which is not only inefficient, but very annoying for your passengers).

As with all electric vehicles (EVs), the Ariya uses regenerative braking, capturing energy otherwise lost during deceleration and feeding it back into the battery as electricity. It can be decreased or increased, and will bring the Ariya to almost a full stop, but you do have to use the brake to do so completely, rather than the true “one-pedal” driving on some EVs where you only need to use the throttle. That’s a surprising omission on a car that’s geared toward city driving.

Our tour first took us to New Hamburg, as opposed to the older Hamburg in Germany. If we’d been here 108 years ago, we might have continued north to Berlin, but that Ontario city was renamed Kitchener due to anti-German sentiment during the First World War. We could have been in an electric car back then too, although that early era of EVs was almost over. Their rudimentary batteries didn’t have a lot of range, but they started instantly, while gasoline cars had to be cranked. That could be difficult and potentially dangerous, and for a while, electric cars were very popular. But Cadillac came out with a self-starter in 1912, and before long, gas had knocked electricity off the map. Meanwhile, our map took us to Lisbon — a city in Portugal, a small community in Ontario — and then on to Stratford.

The second leg: Stratford to London

Stratford is famous for its annual Shakespearean festival, and is also the hometown of Justin Bieber. While my tastes run more to the Bard than the Bieb, there’s enough room in the city for both.

Speaking of room, the Ariya has that, and legroom is generous in both the front and rear seats. Nissan calls its chairs “anti-gravity” and they’re comfortable and supportive, including on a full day’s drive. Cargo capacity is 646 litres with the rear seats up, and up to 1,691 litres when they’re folded. I don’t golf and have never packed clubs into a vehicle — I figure if I wanted that little ball enough to chase it, I wouldn’t have knocked it away in the first place — so I’ll take Nissan’s word on it that the Ariya can get three golf bags to the links.

The third leg: London to Vienna

I drove from Britain to Austria via Greece and Denmark, as this leg included passing through Sparta, founded by a Quaker in 1837; and Copenhagen, not far from the shore of Lake Erie.

The Ariya’s 442 lb-ft of torque will move it smartly off the line as needed, but this model isn’t about pure grunt. Instead, it’s a smooth operator that works well as an everyday commuter. A light foot on the throttle produces linear acceleration, and the ride is quiet and composed, with a tight turning circle and decent steering feel.

The AWD system includes torque vectoring, distributing power between the individual wheels. My drive was on a dry day, but on a previous event I was encouraged to turn an Ariya hard on a water-soaked course, and the system helped to keep it under control instead of spinning out.

The fourth leg: Vienna to Paris

One of Thomas Edison’s grandfathers was born in Ontario’s Vienna, and young Thomas often visited the family farm there. Later on, Edison famously clashed with Nikola Tesla over the merits of alternating current (AC), which Tesla championed; or direct current (DC), which was Edison’s preference. Tesla’s AC won for households, but both types are used today, of course, and like virtually all electric cars, the Ariya can take both. It will fill up on a 240-volt charger in about 10 to 14 hours; or on a public DC fast charger, that drops to about half an hour for the battery to go from 10 to 80 per cent.

Vienna is home to an Edison Museum, and while it wasn’t yet open for the season (it does on May 16, Wednesdays through Sundays), I’m hoping to get back there soon to check it out. It will be open, but otherwise, the town’s main street, obviously once a busy place with numerous stores and businesses, now mostly sits empty, as is the case now with many small communities that have been bypassed by highways and big-box stores.

“Empty” doesn’t describe the Ariya, especially at this top trim level. Features include a curved screen housing dual 12-inch gauge cluster and infotainment displays, parking assist, panoramic sunroof, wireless charger, head-up display, digital camera mirror, premium audio, and heated front and rear seats and steering wheel. Those may seem odd on an EV, but you tend to turn down the cabin heat if your hands and butt are warm, which saves even more battery power.

The Ariya includes ProPilot Assist, Nissan’s highway driving assist feature that combines adaptive cruise control and lane centring. U.S. buyers can opt for a hands-free version, but it involves pre-mapped roads and that hasn’t been done in Canada yet, so there’s no estimate on when it’ll be offered up here.

There’s a volume dial for the stereo, and the on-screen icons are easy to figure out, but I’m less enamoured with other controls. For climate or drive functions, you press icons on the woodgrain-style dash and centre console. This requires eyes off the road to find the right spot, and a firm press to make things happen. The centre console also slides electrically forward or back. It seems a needless add-on, and when it’s forward, the armrest isn’t in line with the door rests, as those who like to rest their elbows will find out. A corresponding drawer also slides out electrically from the lower dash.

Toggle full screen modePrevious Gallery Image

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

Next Gallery ImageToggle gallery captions

View All 22 Photos

1 of 22

All 22 Photos for Gallery

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 

Function Not Available

Full Screen is not supported on this browser version.

You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen.

OK

The end of the journey

There is an Eiffel Tower, but it’s inexplicably in Straffordville, about 70 km south of Paris. It’s also only about seven feet tall, wrapped in Christmas lights in someone’s driveway. Paris itself is a lovely town of about 15,000 people, with a beautiful historic downtown. Our European tour ended at the Dog-Eared Café, so named because it’s a combination coffee shop and secondhand bookstore, where I bought a couple of volumes for my bookshelves.

My co-driver Dominic and I spent equal time behind the wheel, and we ended up in third place for efficiency at 16.9 kWh/100 km, and with 157 km remaining on our battery. It was a tight race, as first and second went to 16.6 and 16.7 kWh, respectively; others came in as high as 20.4 kWh. We couldn’t have done it all in one day between the better-known versions of all those cities, but this closer-to-home version was a fun and fuel-free trip.