That more powerful e-Power engine may also translate into a better fit for the U.S., especially if Nissan can market e-4orce as a unique safety and performance technology.
Engineers say e-4orce is especially well-suited for heavier vehicles such as crossovers, which can be sluggish and harder to control. The Ariya, for instance, weighs around 2 tons.
That’s one reason, on top of the added cost, that Nissan has not yet rolled out e-4orce on smaller e-Power vehicles in Japan, such as the Kicks compact crossover or Note hatchback.
In the U.S., e-4orce is listed as available on the 63-kilowatt-hour battery version of the Ariya starting at $47,190, before shipping and handling, while the 87-kWh version tops out at $60,190.
And that’s if a shopper can get their hands on one — Nissan stopped taking orders for the Ariya in the U.S. last May. U.S. deliveries of the front-wheel-drive Ariya began in December. Through the end of 2022, Nissan delivered only 201 units of its flagship EV.
The company began delivering the e-4orce-equipped Ariya to customers in Japan in December. A Nissan spokesperson said the e-4orce variant is expected to reach U.S. customers in early 2023.
