Ariel Nomad 2 walkaround | New engine, same looks, sold out! | Autocar

The bonkers off-road Ariel is back for round two. The catchily named Ariel Nomad 2, in typical Ariel fashion, is different from its predecessor in almost every mechanical detail (including a new engine) but looks almost exactly the same.
In a world where off-roading supercars are almost becoming ten a penny, is the Ariel still special enough? Or would you go to Lamborghini or Porsche for your off-road thrills?
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[@desild5869]

The kind of car everyone who works for their money says they'd surely go for, even as a daily, but then immediately change their minds once faced with the realities of what it takes to maintain it (not just money but also time to keep it clean(ish) and to service it as a low volume car with a mumbo jumbo of parts). It would also take about one time of me getting rained and/or splashed on with mud and who knows what else can be found in roadside puddles, before I change my mind about how cool that exposure to the elements actually is. Of course, with infinite money all the problems go away and it's a cool toy to have.

[@HedgeCCL]

I had a SC Nomad - and everything you write here it spot on. I thought it would be brilliant to do skids in etc when the surface was slippery. Blah blah blah. The reality is you have to at least completely dry the car before you close the garage door down afterwards. And that, rest assured, is a mission. It takes - absolute minimum - an hour. If you don't do it properly each & every time it gets wet, you come back to rusting/ rusted suspension pieces. That gets "quite" annoying, believe me. I think the turnover rate on a Nomad is a matter of months. And 90% of them wouldn't have a clue what a green lane is, let alone where Sweet Lamb is..

[@jamesmansion2572]

Pretty sure I still won't fit in the wider seat. :-(

[@clintavo]

After putting 44K miles (and 13 sets of tires) on a K24-powered Exomotive Exocet, I can say it takes *dedication*. Sold mine last year, and still think it was the right time to move on.

[@karlc4352]

Why would you go from Honda power to ford

[@DanLMH]

could be a number of things Honda arent selling them anymore, honda want more ca$h per unit, ford are offering a nice fat discount for using their engines, weight distribution... need i go on :D

[@josephkelly4893]

Cost, ease of power with boost

[@stephenswift9868]

Lack of supply apparently. I think they would have kept Honda engine’s if they could.

[@djefferson02]

Honda 👎 FoMoCo 👍👍

[@TheImperfectGuy]

ask Red Bull

[@busharmann]

For a car video, I don't see very much of a car.

[@Cloxxki]

I'd love to try a Nomad. Seems a dream machine for various types of fun driving. I think the nature of its driving lnds itself well for a silent drivetrain. How nice would it be to quietly roll through sleepy villages well off the beaten path? I'd not do mud, but I'd love to explore dirt roads and rougher doubletrack. A silent drivetrain would be a lot less heteful to the surroundings. It's light so a big battery might ruin it, but it doesn't need a huge battery to be fun. With high end small motors, also up front, it becomes an AWD monster, a whole new beast for mild rock crawling and road sprints. Electric also lends itself to high peak power off the line and confident overtakes on the motorway, but a bunring battery in the middle of a forrest during a dry spell...perhaps more detrutive than on a ship full of cars or in the basement of an apartment building... Is a lightweight hybrid with decent e-range feasible? 5 kWh would open up short trail sections, but it would need to be mated to a much lighter engine to not affect the overall weight too much. Something like the 3-cyl Koenigsegg keeps threatening to make. Perhaps an even smaller version of that. Perhaps with their direct drive concept and a modest top speed to get all the revs down low. Save weight on the gearbox. Needed especially if you want to take the opportunity and unlock the front axle, perhaps ideally with two small front motors, 100 hp each or even less. Koenigsegg and the like are working on silly power density to keep it light, and low rpm to go without gear reduction.

[@gileswilson1980]

Another one for my Lottery list thanks Ariel.👍

[@urbanstrencan]

Great work they done on Nomad to bad they lost Honda engine, and would love to see in closed version for winter driving ❤❤❤

[@Cloxxki]

If a serious effort were put into an electric version, the cargo space could open up quite a lot. I'd already been sketching out large footprint Nomads, probably more extremely so than the Nomad Mk 2, to house a 40 kWh or so battery, perhaps even the smallest ~50-60 kWh Tesla Model 3 battery, and motors each wheel. A bespoke battery could live under the seats and in place of the central gear tunnel in other cars. How much weight would it be to turn the Mk 2 into an AWD via a prop shaft and front diff, assuming it would be made to fit?

[@reeceagland1980]

One of my lotto win cars!

[@gileswilson1980]

Same 👍

[@SlimScheibe]

Let the guy talk.

[@mbingham10]

Ooh Honda gone Ford engine thats put me right off may be faster questionable but it wont have the longevity I was considering getting one before I saw this video thanks Autocar you ave saved me a lot of heartbreak

[@Cloxxki]

If I'd get an Atom, I'd be naughty and run road-illegal rally tyres. Are there rally tyres for such a light vehicle? This Nomad is waayyyy lighter than any rally class, right? But oddly, the previous version wasn't even close in pace to a slower rally category. I'd like to see a Nomad be faster than a rally car, courtesy of its amazingly low weight.

[@joelsmith9311]

67 grand?! Jeez...

[@maltesephil]

I want one

[@FreestylerAlbert]

still no COC paper...

[@M4rkmcc21]

Bought an Atom4 and never again would I buy sich a niche car. You are really at the mercy of them. You really cant justify the price for them. Its a PITA to own. Car needs flat bedding to their 1 and only factory in the whole UK for servicing, repair work or modifying and then delivered back to your home£££. The factory is small, they dont have enough staff or space, service manager makes countless mistakes, the waiting list to get car booked in is months long and itll be with them for many months. My car came back with a broken camera even tho it was signed off as checked. Their priority is to build new cars as thats where the money is and keeping new customers coming in. Aftermarket services takes a back seat. Now they are bringing out new models they'll be stretched furthermore. Depreciation is a killer. No one can afford one 2nd hand and need finance so u struggle to find a buyer. Better of buying a Lotus or Porsche. Much easier to live with and maintain.

[@LeonvanRensburg]

How does the MD of a car company say "Newtons" and not Newton-metre!?

[@Jeninarmy]

It would be nice to see the car.

[@M4rkmcc21]

Bought an Atom4 and never again would I buy sich a niche car. You are really at the mercy of them. You really cant justify the price for them. Its a PITA to own. Car needs flat bedding to their 1 and only factory in the whole UK for servicing, repair work or modifying and then delivered back to your home£££. The factory is small, they dont have enough staff or space, service manager makes countless mistakes, the waiting list to get car booked in is months long and itll be with them for many months. My car came back with a broken camera even tho it was signed off as checked. Their priority is to build new cars as thats where the money is and keeping new customers coming in. Aftermarket services takes a back seat. Now they are bringing out new models they'll be stretched furthermore. Depreciation is a killer. No one can afford one 2nd hand and need finance so u struggle to find a buyer. Better of buying a Lotus or Porsche. Much easier to live with and maintain. The £ lost per mile driven is the absolute worst I've ever encountered. You also need a very well paid job to sustain the "joys" of owning it. Also bare in mind its a UK car for Spanish weather. UK is always cold and wet. The car need dry and warm.