Ariel Nomad 2 2024 review: first drive of Ariel’s all-new off-road sports car

When the original Ariel Nomad launched in 2015, it was the sports car the world never knew it needed: an open-air two-seater capable of extreme off-road use, yet also uniquely brilliant fun on the road (and even on track). 

It captured customers’ imagination in a way even Ariel itself hadn’t anticipated. Now it’s time for the follow-up: the ground-up-redesigned Ariel Nomad 2.

This is the first time anybody outside of the Ariel Motor Company has got behind the Nomad 2’s removable steering wheel. You can read the full feature in the next issue of evo, out Wednesday 4 September. In the meantime, here’s a guide to the new car, and an overview of what it feels like to drive.

‘The evolution from Nomad 1 to Nomad 2 is similar to the step from Atom 3 to Atom 4,’ explains Ariel MD Henry Siebert-Saunders. To that end, while it looks very similar, it’s an almost entirely new car. Nomad 2 is easier to get into, more reliable, faster to build, able to carry items more easily, even more capable off-road, and much faster than before to boot. ‘But we’ve tried not to lose the Ariel-ness – the simplicity, the fun, the tactility,’ he emphasises.

The Nomad 2 has different proportions from the original but visually, it could still only be an Ariel. It’s an alluring thing to walk around and take in. Its neatly finished components are exposed like a cutaway drawing yet overall, it’s one shape that your eye reads as a cohesive whole.

Overall dimensions are very similar to the original Nomad but within that footprint there’s a longer wheelbase by 48mm, which benefits both cockpit space and handling stability. Track, however, is considerably wider, by 50mm.

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Whereas the original Nomad was based on the Ariel Atom 3, the new Nomad 2 is ‘more its own thing,’ Siebert-Saunders explains. Its front structure is very different from before, for example, with a 2.5 times bigger radiator for improved cooling. Its tubular frame comprises chassis and roll cage in one, as before, but it’s made from larger-diameter tubes than the original Nomad. Torsional stiffness is claimed to be increased by a full 60 per cent.

The engine is different from before, too. As with other Ariels before it, Nomad 1 was powered by a Honda engine but Nomad 2 marks a change of supplier, to Ford. The 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine is related to that used in the Focus ST and various US-market Fords. As per Ariel’s philosophy as being a car builder rather than an engine tuner, it doesn’t change anything mechanical in the engine but it does offer the option of a switchable ECU, with three different maps with corresponding levels of power and torque, up to a maximum of 305bhp/382lb ft.

Compared with the 2.4-litre Honda unit in the previous Nomad, the Ford motor develops more torque, and Ariel says it’s better suited to the Nomad’s characteristics.

It drives the rear wheels via a limited-slip differential and a six-speed manual transmission as standard. A Quaife paddle-shift is an option (as per Atom 4 and 4R). 

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With an options list running into the hundreds, no two Nomads are likely to be the same. You can still spec it to be an off-road specialist vehicle, with knobbly tyres, a WRC-spec air filter, the illuminated lightsaber-style aerials that were such a distinctive option on the original Nomad, and a hydraulic handbrake (remember to dip the clutch first, before you pull it…)

This car, Ariel’s development Nomad 2, is specced more as a ‘B-road brute and a trackday fun car,’ in Henry’s words. With that in mind, let’s take it for a drive, on some of North Wales’ best B-roads.

Clambering aboard is a much easier process than in the original Nomad (a car which I found easier to get in through the top of the rollcage rather than through the side). With a larger aperture to climb through, and the chassis side rails repositioned and re-angled, you can get in almost like a regular car: left leg in first, settle on the seat, then bring your right leg in. 

There’s a decent amount of space for two people, although you might find yourself brushing your passenger’s leg when you put the gear lever in reverse (this car’s currently equipped with the standard six-speed H-pattern gearbox).

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The dash layout behind the wheel is shared with the Ariel Atom 4, with a digital display in the centre flanked by neat and easily operated waterproof switches and buttons in carbonfibre housings either side. In the centre of the dash is a rotary control for the optional multi-level ABS system (with separate mapping for off-road use) – another separate option, along with traction control and, imminently, stability control too. 

The weather-proof seats are shared with the Atom 4 too, their position manually adjusted via bolts. The clutch is light and the unassisted steering – two turns lock-to-lock – likewise as you pull away, the all-terrain tyres easy to manipulate. Ariel offers three choices of tyres in different sizes and levels of knobbliness; this car’s 18-inch Yokohama Geolander tyres are the most road-focused. (Conventional road tyres were offered on the original Nomad, but very few customers took up the option.)

Initially, the Nomad 2 feels wide on the road and it’s harder to get a sense of its width than in the lower Atom, where you can more easily see what the front wheels are up to as you drive. The learning curve is a little steeper than a normal car, as you acclimatise to the extra tyre and suspension movement – not to mention being open to the elements. You don’t need a helmet to drive – a windscreen is standard (it was an option on the original Nomad) – but you might want to wear sunglasses as the wind can whip through the open sides at times.

After a few miles, everything begins to become second nature and the Nomad 2 is a truly user-friendly car to drive. All-round vision is superb, apart from at T-junctions where you may need to loosen the four-point harnesses’ straps to move your shoulders forward for a good look left and right. And all the while there’s the refreshing sense of perspective being out in the elements gives you. 

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The repositioned windscreen is better shielded from glare than before, and the distinctive baseball-cap style peak over the screen helps protect your eyes from both bright sun and the high-intensity spotlight option if fitted. Its blade surfaces help marshal airflow into the central intake (which does block a little of your rearward vision), which feeds both the intercooler and the engine itself. 

Driving the Nomad closer to its limits is a bit of a learning curve; despite the traction control and ABS, it’s a car that demands respect. It is a mid-engined car with a lot of suspension travel, after all, and its weight transfer characteristics can feel a little alien at first. But once you’ve tuned yourself into it, it’s a unique, rewarding experience. You anticipate and play with the car’s movement on its tyres and suspension, like a musician deliberately playing ahead of and behind the beat, and very soon you begin to trust it and then revel in it. The roll and movement is a key part of its appeal.

Ariel has comprehensively changed the suspension geometry and pick-up points since the first Nomad, and it now incorporates anti-squat and anti-dive. It still sits down at the back as you accelerate hard, a little like a speedboat, but it does so at higher speeds than before, and in a more controlled manner. 

This car is on the optional three-way Öhlins dampers, the top-spec option. Standard-fit will be non-adjustable K-Tech units, and there’ll be an adjustable Bilstein option in the middle. The Bilsteins will be relatively soft and suitable for ‘a UK green-lane-style expedition,’ Siebert-Saunders says, while the Öhlins are most suitable for both fast road and fast off-road use.

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The suspension revisions have been made partly because the Nomad is now faster than ever. This car has the optional three engine maps, selected via a toggle switch as per the Atom 4. 

In Mode 1, the gentlest, most tractable mode, it develops 260bhp and 284lb ft. It’s a docile, flexible setting that makes the Nomad easy to drive in traffic as well as in low-grip conditions, but it’s still an intense rush at the top end. If you start illuminating shift lights on the dash display, your eyes are likely widening at the same time: travelling quickly in this car is an intense experience. There are fewer sounds from the turbocharger than in the Civic Type R-engined Atom 4; fewer flutters and whooshes, but you still hear the twin-spool turbo breathing and gasping. There’s the occasional crack of unburnt fuel in the exhaust on upshifts, too. 

Ramp up to Mode 2 (302bhp/333lb ft) or Mode 3 (305bhp/382lb ft) and it’s more intense still. Particularly Mode 3, which spreads torque more broadly throughout the entire rev range and is superbly responsive. 

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You can read the full technical story and a more in-depth description of the Nomad 2’s dynamics in the magazine. Suffice to say, however, the Nomad 2 is just as unique, and exhilarating, an experience as the original – while also promising to be more usable, more reliable and capable of higher performance both on- and off-road than ever. 

Those upgrades come at a price. While the original Nomad had prices starting in the low £30k bracket (albeit without some near-essential options fitted), the new car starts in the mid 60s. This car, with options including bigger brakes, the Öhlins dampers, power upgrade with switchable maps, ABS, exhaust guard and many more extras besides, equates to around £85,000. That makes it an expensive toy – but there are few toys more fun. 

Ariel Nomad 2 specs