[voltenrock]

Steering wheel ? Cheap? Mine is leather wrap. With copper color thread.
would it be engage is lower trim even e-4orce?
All my windows tinted. Not sure factory or dealer did. But I look in from the back the window mostly obstructed with spoiler and angle.

Yes, this is the base trim - absolutely no extras except the AWD. I know Nissan claims it is leather-wrapped on the Engage trim, but it feels like urethane. It's not a big deal, just somewhat interesting given how plush the rest of the cabin is and especially the soft and comfortable seats. Maybe they make it a little more "supple" in the upper trims? And yes, also noticed the copper stitching, which is a nice touch.

 

[voltenrock]

Just wanted to update after my 140 mile ride in mixed driving from suburbs, highway, to city.

• First off -- and most important -- can't wait to drive it again. 'Nuff said, right?
• Super quiet. A very, very relaxing ride. This is a car that makes you want to sip coffee in it and chill.
• I put it in eco mode to stretch out the miles because I wasn't sure if I would get a level 2 charger at the hotel (and they offered to let me plug it in to a 120 volt in the garage if it was full). I also wanted to see what kind of kw/mile I could get -- answer: 3.8
• In terms of my hypermiling skills, I didn't do so well trying to get it to coast since I was in some unfamiliar terrain and was constantly misjudging how much time I could "coast" until the next stop sign or turn or, errr, circles even--so felt like I was hitting the brakes a bit too much to be effective. Energy screen claimed I regened 14 miles on the trip, though.
• In the city, I went SPORT/e-step. It seemed the best controlled for the unpredictable circumstances. However, I noticed at one rather short stop the front and back of the car oscillated like a boat. Will keep that in mind! Also, any way to turn that "sport" sound off?
• Power delivery is very linear, if not neck-snapping. Granted, I have the "weaker" of the AWD models with "only" 339? HP.
• Overall, it's a very interesting car that seems to beg me to drive it in a relaxed manner and not really worry much about the world around me. I can definitely get with this personality after the Mach-E.

 

[voltenrock]

It could also be a difference with what you're comparing it with. To me, it feels pretty much the same as the leather-wrapped steering wheel in my old Honda Pilot, and better than the one in the Ford Windstar - the only other car I've had with a leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Absolutely, maybe the best way to say it is that "The Mach-E steering wheel was more plush" and leave it at that -- although the Ariya's seats are much better.

 

[voltenrock]

3 years. Ford was offering a 3-year "options" contract for early adopters of the new model (I had a '21) -- this was basically a fancy "lease-to-own" offer that was set up with a balloon payment at the end of 3 years OR the option to turn it back in to Ford (or refinance the remaining balance). Ford no longer offers these contracts.

As the balloon payment approached, I kicked tires on other EVs given that it would have cost me $19K to keep the car, or about $550/month for 3 years to refinance it. There are also insane lease deals out there right now on new EVs, besides Nissan -- but the Ariya was by far the best one. Here are the deals I was offered:

• $329/month on base Subaru Solterra ($329 down)
• $356/month Blazer EV LT ($0 down) -- this car surprised me in how good it was
• $450/month 2023 Mach-E ($0 down) (not so great)
• $800/month F-150 Lightning XLT ($0 down)

All these were 10K miles/year; 36 months. There was also a sick Lyriq deal for like $450/month but I never pursued it just saw it advertised.

 

[voltenrock]

I forgot where you are but those deals look enticing. Don’t think I see much of those deals in TX. If my driveway is not so full, I’d like leasing a diff model.

I'm in the Northeast, so could be a regional incentive -- but I would definitely check out the factory websites or elektrek.com's lease deals roundup.

I should mention that the Solterra base trim is pretty sparse if that got your attention. The Ariya is so much better equipped for a better price. The Blazer EV LT was also well-equipped--and a smooth driving vehicle with mammoth interior room. I really liked it, but felt more intrigued by checking out Nissan's take on EVs since I had two Chevy Volts before and was not keen on losing Apple CarPlay.

 

[voltenrock]

On the way back from my long trip, I tried the different modes. Definitely a hit to range in "sport" when on the highway since both motors activated, but noticed standard seemed to just have the front -- similar to eco.

Anybody know if you can turn off the "space" sound in sport? It's cool for a minute, but otherwise unpleasant.

Sporty driving in pleasant temps (75+), got 3.5 kw/mi.

Really enjoyed the sport/e-step mode when trying to navigate traffic. What others have said about it being its best at 30-40+MPH is true.

With PP 1.5, I kept trying different hand combos on the wheel to eliminate the "hold steering wheel" warning. On long trips I like resting my hands on the bottom of the wheel. It seemed to like that some of the time, but not other times.

Overall, interesting and unique EV. The attention to detail in the cabin and the Japanese themes make this just a cool ride.

 

[voltenrock]

Yeah. The interior design, space, quiet, quality, and feel, are why we chose Ariya over EV6 and ID.4.

Though, the EV6 lets you choose what sound effect you want to use. It strikes me as pretty silly that Ariya doesn't at least let that sound be optional. FWD Ariyas don't play that sound in Sport mode.

It's an odd, dissonant sound. I wouldn't mind as much if the tone didn't often conflict with music I am playing, but it weirdly does. The Mach-E had an optional "artificial" noise that was fairly distinct in its version of sport mode. However, it was more like a low rumble and not entirely unpleasant (and you could turn it off).

I'll be quite pleased if an overly-aggressive "sport" noise ends up being the only complaint with the car.