Compare the2023 BMW iXVS 2023 Nissan Ariya

The iX’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Ariya doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the iX and Ariya have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The iX has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Ariya’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The iX’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the front seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Ariya doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The iX has a standard PostCrash iBrake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Ariya doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the iX. But it costs extra on the Ariya.

Both the iX and Ariya have rear cross-traffic warning, but the iX has Cross Traffic Warning with braking function (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Ariya’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the iX and the Ariya have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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.

The BMW iX weighs 602 to 1446 pounds more than the Nissan Ariya. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The iX comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Ariya’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The iX’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Ariya’s (12 vs. 5 years).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that BMW vehicles are better in initial quality than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in initial quality. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is rated lower.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks BMW above average in long-term dependability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Nissan is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that BMW vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks BMW third in overall reliability. Nissan is ranked 15th.

The iX has more powerful engines than the Ariya:

As tested in Car and Driver the iX xDrive50 is faster than the Ariya + electric motor:

The iX can travel longer on a full charge than the Ariya on a full charge:

The iX’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s at 60 in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Ariya doesn’t offer launch control.

The iX stops much shorter than the Ariya:

For better traction, the iX’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Ariya (275/40R22 vs. 255/45R20).

The iX’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ariya Platinum+’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the iX has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the Ariya. The iX’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Ariya Platinum+.

The iX offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Ariya’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The iX has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The iX’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Ariya doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the iX’s wheelbase is 8.8 inches longer than on the Ariya (118.1 inches vs. 109.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the iX is 1.6 inches wider in the front and 2.8 inches wider in the rear than on the Ariya.

The iX xDrive50 handles at .88 G’s, while the Ariya Empower+ pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the iX has a 2.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ (8.8 vs. 6.7 inches), allowing the iX to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The iX’s minimum ground clearance is 1.9 inches higher than on the Ariya Engage (8.8 vs. 6.9 inches).

The design of the BMW iX amounts to more than styling. The iX offers aerodynamic coefficients of drag from .25 to .26 Cd (depending on bodystyle and options). That is significantly lower than the Ariya (.3 to .33) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the iX get better fuel mileage.

The front grille of the iX uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Ariya doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The iX has 1.9 inches more front headroom, 4.4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.2 inches more rear headroom, 1.9 inches more rear legroom and 2.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Ariya.

The iX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Ariya with its rear seat up (35.5 vs. 22.8 cubic feet). The iX has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Ariya with its rear seat folded (77.9 vs. 59.7 cubic feet).

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

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the iX’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Ariya doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that BMW service is better than Nissan. J.D. Power ranks BMW 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 17% lower rating, Nissan is ranked 18th.

The iX has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Ariya doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

If the windows are left open on the iX the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Ariya can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The iX’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Ariya’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Laser headlights, optional on the iX, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Ariya’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the iX has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Ariya doesn’t offer cornering lights. The iX also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The iX’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Ariya offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The iX has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+.

The iX offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Ariya.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the BMW iX has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Ariya Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ offers wireless charging.

The BMW iX outsold the Nissan Ariya by over 28 to one during 2022.