Compare the2023 Nissan AriyaVS 2023 Hyundai Nexo

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Ariya have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Nexo doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Ariya are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Nexo doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Ariya has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Nexo doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Ariya Platinum+ has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Nexo doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Ariya has standard Rear Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Nexo doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Ariya offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Nexo doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Both the Ariya and the Nexo have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Ariya its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 67 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Nexo has not been fully tested, yet.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Ariya for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Nissan will pay for tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Hyundai only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Nexo.

There are over 30 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Ariya’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 8 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated lower.

The Ariya’s standard electric motor produces 53 more horsepower (214 vs. 161) than the Nexo’s electric motor. The Ariya +’s standard electric motor produces 77 more horsepower (238 vs. 161) than the Nexo’s electric motor. The Ariya’s optional electric motors produces 174 more horsepower (335 vs. 161) and 122 lbs.-ft. more torque (413 vs. 291) than the Nexo’s electric motor. The Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+’s standard electric motors produces 228 more horsepower (389 vs. 161) and 151 lbs.-ft. more torque (442 vs. 291) than the Nexo’s electric motor.

On the EPA test cycle the Ariya gets better mileage than the Nexo:

For better stopping power the Ariya’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Nexo:

The Ariya’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Nexo are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Ariya has larger standard tires than the Nexo (235/55R19 vs. 225/60R17). The Ariya Platinum+’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Nexo (255/45R20 vs. 245/45R19).

The Ariya’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Nexo’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Ariya has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Nexo. The Ariya Platinum+’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Nexo Limited.

The Ariya has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Nexo doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better maneuverability, the Ariya’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Nexo’s (35.4 feet vs. 36.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Nexo (6.7 vs. 6.4 inches), allowing the Ariya to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Ariya Engage’s minimum ground clearance is .5 inch higher than on the Nexo (6.9 vs. 6.4 inches).

The Ariya Platinum+ uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Nexo doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Ariya has .2 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more front hip room, .3 inches more rear headroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Nexo.

The Ariya has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Nexo with its rear seat folded (59.7 vs. 56.5 cubic feet).

The Ariya’s cargo area is larger than the Nexo’s in almost every dimension:

Maximum trailer towing in the Hyundai Nexo is limited to 0 pounds. The Ariya e-4ORCE AWD offers up to a 1500 lbs. towing capacity.

A maintenance reminder system is standard on the Ariya to save the owner time and money by calculating maintenance intervals for tire rotation, based on odometer mileage. This takes the guesswork out of keeping your vehicle in top condition and helps it last longer. Hyundai doesn’t offer a maintenance reminder on the Nexo.

When two different drivers share the Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+, the memory system makes it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver and front passenger’s seat positions, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster) and outside mirror angle. The Nexo doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Nexo doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Ariya’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Nexo’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

On a hot day the Ariya’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Nexo can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Ariya’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Nexo’s power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Ariya’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Nexo’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

When the Ariya Platinum+ is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Nexo’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Ariya and the Nexo offer available heated front seats. The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Nexo.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Nissan Ariya, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Ariya first among compact suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Nexo isn’t in the top three.