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Originally Posted by Bonzo
It's a new design from the ground up for sure. But IMO its 90% glam and nothing to shout about. Why? It looks kinda cool inside, but nothing special compared to other electric offerings. But the features and how it works just aren't great. Like the air vents that look great but just aren't that well made. A tiny little glove box in what is a big car. The center console slides front to rear, but what the frack for? One of those things that's initially "cool", but after thinking about it, when will it ever be used or needed? Neither the dealer nor I could figure out how to get the large center console to open to allow storage. The top section has a top area with a phone charger inside that simply won't be very practical (it's angled backwards for some reason). My poor opinion was exasperated by the fact that the center console was in the slid back position, so placement was odd. There is a new material that is supposed to resemble wood with wood grain. Well I'm here to tell you my PVC vinyl fence in my back yard in dark gray and tan with fake wood grain looks just as good or better. In the Aria all the plastic squeaks, badly. Door panels, console, air vents .... everything I touched moved and squeaked to some extent or another (like a GM car). The only really nice upgrade thing about the Aria interior is the suede alacantra (sp?) leather on the dash. But the leather and leather seats in my old 2004 Murano were made from higher quality finished material. One new thing it appears many new cars are doing (like a big ugly BMW I saw at a car show) because they can, are making the window and door buttons electronic, like a smart phone. Well that may certainly look cool, but in actual use they will completely suck. Who wants to have to look down every time they want to open the window just to see where the button is? In direct comparison to my old 2004 Gen 1 Murano, the Aria is even more modern, and perhaps more plush. But its poorer made with lower quality leather and features that don't really work. There was a magazine review of the Gen 1 Murano many years ago that said something along the lines of "the interior of the Murano belongs in the museum of modern art --- it's simply stunning and a joy to use." The Aria is not that IMO. Its a glam mobile that lacks substance.
I don't think the Aria is a Nissan flop. I think it's a current generation of cars flop. It's simply too much money for what you get.
But then again, I'm not used to this modern new car era either, where even a small Chevy Bolt can cost you $45k. It's a shitty time to have to buy a car, that's for sure.
One more thing, about the outside. Like the new Cadillac I saw a few weeks ago, the *** end is all glam and huge, like a Kardashian ***. And like the Tesla 3 with its fugly black fan wheels, the wheels on the Aria I looked at were some of the most hideous wheels on a car I've ever seen. Just repugnant.
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Sounds like we sat in completely different cars, I didn't notice any cheap plastic squeaks. Either that or the USDM Aria production is not on par with the JDM one, though I'd expect both variants are produced in the same plant. The Aria isn't an Infiniti, so don't expect premium luxury on the interior, but the build quality, materials, and especially design language feel modern. The fake wood grain also has to house the HVAC control touch buttons, so it can't be the same type as your fence, and it's one of my favorite parts of the interior. When many newly designed interiors use full on displays to handle things like HVAC, the HVAC controls are a modern touch but they never move around like they do when controlled via digital displays. And there's a nice, large, physical volume knob right in the center of the dash.
I also can't stand when car mfg's turn car interiors into smart phones put everything in an iPad tablet style display. Drivers need fixed buttons for basic controls. Unfortunately the only alternative these days is an incredibly outdated interior where almost nothing has been updated. This one strikes a good balance.
Pricing stinks in just about all new cars these days..
As for the exterior styling, when I first saw one, I really thought I was looking at a Lexus NX. It just looks like a typical SUV these days with some fresh lines, although I'm a bit worried that copper color will not age well.