Technology
The Ariya and the EV6 are both crammed to the absolute rafters with some of the newest and greatest automotive tech.
It’s really one of the best things about leasing – you’ll always have access to the latest technologies, especially if you switch your car every three years. Particularly when it comes to electric leasing, where the innovations just don’t seem to stop hitting us year after year.
But as the technology stands right now, the Kia EV6 and Nissan Ariya are at the top of their game.
Both feature dual 12.3in screens – one a digital instrument panel, one a touchscreen infotainment system – that dominate their respective dashboards, and neither dash is overly cluttered with buttons and knobs to make it feel more like you’re in the cockpit of a fighter jet over a very nice family EV.
Handily though, the Nissan Ariya hasn’t hidden absolutely everything in the multimedia screen, so you don’t need to go swiping to find the controls you’re looking for. The dual screens sit on top of a veneer that carries the climate controls, though Nissan have opted for switches that light up through this veneer, that give a very satisfying little haptic click when they’re pressed.
Visually, it’s very nice, and it does feel a little bit more magical than your run of the mill button.
There’s also a nice head-up display that augments the driver screen and projects all the important info onto the windscreen in front of you, though this only comes as standard on the higher specs (you can add it as an option to the lower specs though, if it’s something you’re interested in).
And – unusually compared to many rivals – Nissan offer the Ariya as standard with an energy-efficient heat pump, which heats the cabin more efficiently and helps to preserve the range of your car.
Kia does only offer the top-spec EV6 GT with this heat pump as standard, though it is an option on the lower spec models.
However, the rest of the tech in the EV6 is very good.
It has the same dual screen set up as the Ariya, with crisp graphics and intuitive menus that make finding the info you need easy as pie. As standard, the EV6 comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, WiFi hotspot, wireless phone charging, automatic climate control and front heated seats.
The EV6 also has a heads-up display, along with the Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) technology which allows you to power other devices with a three-pin plug. While you could use your car just to power your laptop on the go, if you’re parked up and fancy getting a little work done (or playing The Sims), it’s also handy if you’ve gone off camping and need to blow up an airbed or power an electric cooker.