We love to hear from our customers. Connect with us today and let’s start a conversation.
Ariel Nomad review: A road-legal hooligan that’s perfect for British potholes
30/07/2024
Join Gordon Shedden and Vicki Butler-Henderson as they throw caution to the wind in Ariel’s addictive Nomad. Is this the most fun you can have on four wheels?
Car? Buggy? Off-road toy? It’s hard to say what the Nomad truly is — other than a whole lot of gravel-spitting mayhem. Thankfully though, DriverReviews are here to help make sense of this British-built beast.
Best known for their Atom track car — you might remember one rather comically rearranging Jeremy Clarkson’s face on early Top Gear — Ariel’s latest project takes the same low weight, high power philosophy and applies it to an off-road machine.
That exoskeleton-style body will be familiar to Atom fans, but Gordon and Vicki quickly notice a raft of upgrades that point towards the Nomad’s entirely different agenda. Up front, the beefy-looking winch, exposed coilover suspension with enormous travel, and four roof-mounted spot lamps, all hint at the Nomad’s incredible turn of cross-country pace.
Need new performance tyres?
Enter your registration and postcode and we’ll show you the best tyres for your car
The tyres are another dead giveaway. Where the track car uses semi-slick rubber, the Nomad wears Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain boots over modest 15-inch wheels — a tall sidewall offers further cushioning over the roughest ground.
Image credit: DriverReviews
But what’s it like to drive? Manic, to say the least. With a 235 bhp, 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine nestled behind the driver and just 800kg to its name, the Nomad boasts vicious acceleration. From rest, 60 mph appears in a scant 3.4 seconds, while a top speed of 130 mph should feel suitably terrifying on unpaved dirt and sand trails.
As the DriverReviews ambassadors discover, agility and playfulness define the Nomad experience. A quick dab of the optional hydraulic handbrake — Gordon prefers the term “giggle stick” — flicks the tail out like an angry salmon. There’s even a switch that allows drivers to adjust brake bias on the fly — handy for fine-tuning your setup on tricky terrain.
Clearly the Nomad is a riot to pilot at ten tenths, but you’ll need to watch the video to find out why Vicki thinks it’s like “a real-life version of a remote-control toy.”
Blackcircles.com is partnering with DriverReviews to bring you more great motoring content and the latest new car reviews.