WATCH: Electric Nissan Ariya winter testing

A new video has been released showing the pure-electric Nissan Ariya undergoing final testing at the car-maker's Hokkaido proving ground in northern Japan, ahead of its launch later this year.

During winter testing, as part of the final shakedown of the 2021 Nissan Ariya, engineers claimed that the upcoming SUV has been developed to top its class for comfort without sacrificing its fun-to-drive credentials.

As well as being perfect for cold weather testing, Nissan's Hokkaido test facility is said to be ideal for replicating all kinds of different road surfaces and conditions, although local market testing will also take place ahead of the Tesla Model Y rival's launch in a few months' time.

Fully revealed back in July last year, we already know plenty of what could be a crucial breakthrough car for Nissan.

Set to land in Australia in the third quarter of 2021, the Ariya is tipped to kick off at around $60,000, making it significantly cheaper than the Tesla Model Y that's set to cost from $100,000.

In Japan, the new Nissan SUV will be available with either a 65kWh or 90kWh battery, with a 2WD single motor or an AWD dual-motor powertrain that comes with a choice of low and high power outputs.

Using a fast-charge point and charging at its peak 130kW rate, the Ariya can recover up to 375km in 30 minutes, says Nissan.

The models with a biggest battery are capable of covering up to 610km between charges.

The range-topping dual-motor AWD model belts out 290kW and 600Nm – more power than a Nissan 370Z sports car and almost as much torque as a Nissan GT-R supercar.

Based on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance's next-gen CMF-EV architecture, the Ariya is shorter and lower but wider than the Nissan X-TRAIL but is said to offer space from the class above, thanks to a lack of combustion engine and clever packaging of the batteries.

Inside, the Ariya cabin gets a pair of large 12.3-inch LCD screens and a cool modern cabin design that masters in minimalism.

The flagship Nissan also will come equipped with five radars, seven cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors to enable it to offer the car-maker's latest ProPilot 2.0 driverless tech that provides a Level 2 hands-off autonomous driving on the highway.