Here’s The Nissan Ariya Facelift That Won’t Reach The U.S.

The electric crossover has a new face that ditches the faux grille and multiple improvements throughout.

2026 Nissan Ariya

Photo by: Nissan

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Dec 26, 2025 at 11:00am ET

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The Nissan Airya has been given a facelift, which makes it look more like the new Leaf crossover.
It also gains vehicle-to-load (V2L) bidirectional charging and a brand-new Google-powered infotainment system.
The hot Nismo version of the Ariya will continue to be sold with the pre-facelift design, but it gets the other improvements.

The Nissa Ariya was never a bad EV, but the manufacturer deemed that it was not good enough to remain on sale in the U.S., where it won’t be coming back for the 2026 model year. However, it will stay on sale elsewhere and Nissan has improved and updated the model’s design to bring it more in line with its latest EVs, like the new Leaf that was our favorite new car of 2025.

The updated Ariya loses the large fake grille that made it look like a combustion car from a distance. Nissan fully embraced the EV aesthetic and just has a body-colored panel in its place, complemented by redesigned headlights and a simplified bumper design. All the changes add up and they make the Ariya look like a bigger version of the new Leaf.

Gallery: 2026 Nissan Ariya

2026 Nissan Ariya

Source: Nissan

The rear of the refreshed Ariya appears essentially unchanged, so it doesn’t get cool retro-inspired tail lights like the ones on the Leaf. There are also new 20-inch wheels and a new color choice called Plasma Green, which looks best when paired with the optional contrasting black roof. Nissan says it's also improved the suspension and made the vehicle more comfortable.

There’s also a new Google-powered infotainment system inside and the Ariya now supports vehicle-to-load (V2L) bidirectional charging, which allows it to supply up to 1.5 kW of power through its charge port via a special adapter. You can even lock the vehicle and it will continue to give power, which Nissan says is “useful not only for outdoor activities but also as an emergency power.”

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It doesn’t get any range or power improvements, though, and in Japan, where the facelift debuts, it’s still available with the same 66-kilowatt-hour and 91 kWh batteries. Base cars are still single-motor front-wheel drive, but a second motor and e-4ORCE all-wheel drive is available at extra cost.

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Interestingly, Nissan hasn’t applied the exterior changes to the hot 429-horsepower Nismo variant of the Ariya. That looks exactly the same as before, although it does have the new infotainment and V2L functionality. Since it has bespoke bumpers, Nissan would have had to redesign these for the Nismo, which would have been additional money that the automaker didn’t want to sink into this low-volume Ariya variant.

So far, the facelift has only been confirmed for Japan, but it will surely come to Europe and other markets in 2026. In Japan, the updated model is around $500 more expensive than before, so we could see this price increase reflected in other markets as well.