Inside it’s also refreshingly modern. Like with a lot of electric cars, there’s a tonne of space in here and it feels almost bare at times. There’s a large gap between the centre console and dash which realistically I’ll never do anything with. But I like the idea of it.
I adore the camera button. A very minor thing, I know, but it lets you, the driver, tell the car that you’d like to see the front or rear cameras. Rather than you have to rely on the brain guessing if you’d like to see one.
Heating controls not on the screen is a bonus too. Although they are a bit weird. More on that in another update.
In posher versions of the Ariya the centre console is electrically adjustable. Ours is the 63kWh Advance model. This is the second cheapest and not quite upmarket enough for me to be able to do this, which is sad because it really is peak over-engineering and such an enjoyable gimmick.
Despite our car’s lowly status among the Ariya species it’s hardly lacking in kit though. It has 19-inch alloys, Nissan’s easy-to-use semi-autonomous tech, a12.3in infotainment screen and front and rear parking cameras.
One thing our model does have – and something I remember while trying to ape James Hunt on track – is lush carpets. The extra thick covering is really noticeable when you step in. Sure, it’s used because of its sound-deadening qualities rather than an attempt to make it like a Rolls-Royce. But that’s the sort of thing us car bores would say. Regular people, my mum for example, notice these small things.