Compare the2023 Nissan AriyaVS 2024 BMW iX

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 BMW iX doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Ariya are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW iX doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 iX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 iX doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Ariya and the iX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 iX has not been tested, yet.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Ariya 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than BMW covers the iX. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the iX ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 3 times as many Nissan dealers as there are BMW dealers, which makes it much 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 BMW vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles, BMW is rated lower.

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

For better stopping power the Ariya + e-4ORCE’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the iX:

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 iX’s standard 60 series tires.

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 iX doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Ariya Platinum+ handles at .86 G’s, while the iX xDrive50 pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Ariya’s turning circle is 5 feet tighter than the iX M60’s (35.4 feet vs. 40.4 feet). The Ariya’s turning circle is 7.4 feet tighter than the iX xDrive50’s (35.4 feet vs. 42.8 feet).

The Nissan Ariya may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 700 to 1350 pounds less than the BMW iX.

The Ariya is 1 foot shorter than the iX, making the Ariya easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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 iX doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Ariya’s rear seats recline. The iX’s rear seats don’t recline.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the iX, the Ariya Platinum+ has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster) and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Ariya has standard extendable sun visors. The iX doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Ariya is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The iX doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

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