The Nissan Ariya is the second “volume” electric vehicle from the Japanese manufacturer after the Leaf. Posted for a few months at fairly high rents, Nissan is now offering its Ariya from 359 euros per month, which looks like a good deal for an SUV of this type. But is it really one? Decryption.
The Nissan Ariya is a model that we are starting to get to know well at Frandroid, since we have already tried it with its two different batteries: 63 and 87 kWh. Overall, it is clear that it is of one of the most successful general-purpose electric SUVs in its segmentespecially since it sometimes borders on premium, thanks in particular to a fairly flattering presentation.
And to top it off, Nissan is taking advantage of a catalog that has just been expanded in France to offer a very attractive call price for its SUV: from 359 euros per month. These are rents that we generally find on well-optioned electric city cars, or even on compact ones, but in no case on electric C-segment SUVs.
Is there a wolf? Certainly not on this kind of offer, but we will see, to arrive at these monthly payments, we will have to make some concessions.
The Nissan Ariya offered at 359 euros per month
As with virtually all “from” financing offers, this is the basic model. At Nissan, it’s the ‘Engage’ trim level that takes on this role, and as you can see from the list of main equipment below, it’s quite comprehensive enough for an entry-level model.
- Reversing camera;
- 19-inch alloy wheels;
- LED front and rear lights;
- Nissan Connect Services;
- Inductive smartphone charger;
- 12.3-inch dual-screen digital instrument cluster;
- Heat pump.
The Nissan Ariya offers three other finishes above, “Advance”, “Evolve” and “Evolve+”. These versions are not affected by the offer at 359 euros per month. They incorporate some interesting elements, such as heated seats, the ProPilot semi-autonomous driving system or the panoramic sunroof.
Aesthetically, for a basic model, the Ariya in “Engage” finish is enticing, with its large 19-inch rims. On the other hand, concerning the color, it will be a little more consensual with a “Grey Clay”, the free shade for this model. If you choose another color, such as the launch two-tone Akatsuki Copper/Roof and black metallic mirrors, you will be out of the offer and the monthly payments will increase.
At this price, it is the Nissan Ariya with its battery capacity of 63 kWh and its autonomy 404km according to the WLTP cycle. The engine of the version concerned is that of 218 hpwith a single block located at the rear axle.
The Ariya is also available with a larger 87 kWh battery, giving it, depending on the version, up to 536 km of autonomy. With this battery, the Japanese SUV is also available in rear-wheel drive, but with an engine that climbs to 242 hp. There are also four-wheel drive variants with two electric motors, for powers of 306 hp, and up to 394 hp for the “Evolve+” version.
Regarding charging, the Ariya that interests us has a 130 kW fast charger, and a trickle charge of 7.4 kW. As an option, it is also possible to opt for 22 kW, but again, you will leave the offer.
What are the conditions to be eligible for the Nissan Ariya LLD offer?
This is a long-term rental offer on 37 months and 10,000 kilometers per year, i.e. 30,000 km in total. Nissan indicates that the offer at 359 euros per month is subject to a contribution of 13,500 euros, from which the ecological bonus of 5,000 euros can be deducted since the car does not exceed the eligibility threshold of 47,000 euros. The contribution therefore falls to 8,500 euros.
The contribution is important that’s why the car is displayed at such advantageous monthly paymentsbut the Ariya still benefits from the ecological bonus, which allows it to reduce the contribution quite considerably, even if it remains particularly high for this type of financing.
How much will the Nissan Ariya LLD cost you?
Over three years of long-term rental, your Ariya will cost you €21,424. Nissan displays its car from 45,800 euros on its site, excluding any commercial discount. But these practices are less and less common among dealerships, especially in this period when demand is strong, and supply more scarce due to component shortages and logistical concerns encountered by manufacturers. Once the bonus has been deducted, the price drops to 40,800 euros.
Starting from this price, you will pay over the three years of the rental, 52.5% of the price of your car. This is much more than the discount over three years for this type of car (in general, this oscillates around 30 to 35%), especially in electric where demand continues to increase, thus implying a certain price stability. As the offer is not an LOA, there is no option to buy back the vehicle. It will therefore be necessary to return the car at the end of the LLD.
Beware of repair costs, these can be high at the time of return. We advise you to do it before at a bodybuilder, it will cost you less than at your dealer in general. If you take a vehicle back to your dealer after your LLD, he will also be a little less careful about the costs of repairs.
Things to remember
With such low monthly payments for this type of vehicle, Nissan probably wanted to make an impression with a very aggressive offer, even if it means upsetting the order of prices a little. Except that, of course, there are a few subtleties, starting with this rather indigestible contribution for a lease over only three years. And fortunately the ecological bonus comes to soften the first rent, otherwise the offer would be completely above ground.
Besides the first rent, there is a second point that made us wince, this is the residual value of the car. Over three years, you’ll pay 52.5% of the price of a car that doesn’t belong to you at the end. It’s far too high for a car of this type which, moreover, is bound to hold its own rather well and therefore easily resell afterwards.
From a financial point of view, conventional credit in a bank is not necessarily the best short-term solution, since the monthly payments are almost three times higher compared to the LLD offered by Nissan.
The difference is explained by the fact that with a conventional loan, you finance the entire car and, at the end of 37 months, this one belongs to you. You can keep it, or resell it. And you have no mileage limit. When it comes to LLD, you are really only paying for part of the car and at the end of the four years you have to return the car and pay a fee if you go over the mileage limit.
The LLD is interesting if you do not have too much visibility regarding the used price of your car and you already know that you are going to resell it. With this type of financing, you know in advance the total cost of ownership of your vehicle. In this case, for the Nissan Ariya, even if the product offered is very interesting, the overall cost is too high in our view.
On the other hand, in cash or on credit, you cannot know this price, since it will depend on the resale value. Nevertheless, the demand for electric cars being on the rise, prices should not discount as quickly as a thermal modelespecially with the restrictions of circulation of certain old diesels and gasoline in certain agglomerations.
In our opinion, if you want an Ariya, favor an LLD offer that is slightly out of the nails, with less contribution and higher rents, or go through traditional bank financing. And if you want to resell the car after three or four years, you will surely lose less compared to what you paid for the LLD over three years.
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