By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(September 12, 2016) The Nissan Armada has been around for a long time, having first been introduced in late 2003 as a 2004 model known as the Pathfinder Armada. Later, the Pathfinder name was dropped and since then, it has simply been known as the Armada.

The original Armada was built on the full-size Titan pickup truck platform and was an immensely huge sport utility vehicle the size of the Chevy Suburban, Ford Expedition and Toyota Sequoia. It was comically large and bulging, with a roofline design I swear was lifted from the 1959 Rambler Cross Country station wagon.

Consistent with Ford and General Motors strategy with Lincoln Navigator and Cadillac Escalade, respectively, the folks at Nissan followed up with a luxury-brand version of the Armada, Infiniti QX56.



The QX56 was essentially a tarted up Armada with a boxcar load of leather, chrome, wood trim appliqué and fancy wheels, to go with the re-engineered suspension for a softer, quieter ride.

In 2011, while the Armada motored on with the traditional Titan platform, QX56 jettisoned the truck platform for the global Nissan Patrol chassis, and became the QX80.

While the original Armada has lived long past its freshness date, remaining virtually unchanged for more than a decade, it gets much needed and complete redesign for 2017. With gasoline just over $2 a gallon in most markets around the country, Nissan’s timing couldn’t be better. Big three-row SUVs are once again popular and manufacturers can’t build them fast enough.

The new Armada is essentially a more modest and affordable version of the luxury Infiniti QX80, with a striking styling resemblance. It comes with an impressive amount of refinement and capability. That’s because it’s built on the same Nissan Patrol platform as the QX80.

The Armada is powered by a new regular gasoline burning 5.6-liter V-8 engine good for 390-horsepower and 394 lb-ft of torque, good for 8,500 pounds of towing capacity in a choice of two- or four-wheel-drive models. A new seven-speed automatic transmission replaces the out-dated five-speed on the previous Armada. A Class 2 hitch and trailer wiring connections are standard on all models.

The Armada has standard eight-passenger seating, with all three-rows offering best-of-class leg and shoulder room. But know that with all eight seats occupied, cargo space behind the third row isn’t as much as you would expect or like, nor as much as the Chevy Suburban or Ford Expedition EL.

Inside, the cabin is luxurious with soft-touch surfaces throughout, and a refined build quality noticeably improved from the previous Armada.

All models come with navigation, a 13-speaker Bose stereo, dual power and heated front seats, rearview backup camera, front and rear sonar parking sensors, dual power heated outside mirrors, running boards, AM/FM/CD audio system and USB audio connection port, Bluetooth hands-free phone system, and 18” alloy wheels.

The SL trim level adds leather seating, third-row power folding seats, a power rear liftgate, a 360º Around View bird’s-eye view camera system, and 20-inch wheels; the top-spec Platinum trim level includes heated and cooled front seats, heaters for the second row, dual rear-entertainment screens, a sunroof, and a host of tech and safety features like forward emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-departure prevention, blind-spot warning and blind-spot intervention that can brake the appropriate wheels to help guide you back into your lane, and more.

On the road, the ride quality is impressively smooth, quiet and comfortable for all. Power from the V-8 engine is lineal and plenty in all driving conditions, with no need for a turbocharger or supercharger. But the Armada is a big and heavy vehicle to move about and the best fuel economy we achieved during our test drive on mostly highway driving was 16.8 mpg.

One other note worth mentioning is that Nissan provided a short yet challenging off-road course during out testing that included course undulations that actually brought a front and rear wheel off the ground negotiating the terrain. The Armada handled it easily and confidently.

While the new Armada remains a very large vehicle we found it was easy to drive, had excellent visibility and was easier to park than expected. Size wise it fits between the Chevy Tahoe and the larger Chevy Suburban. If you’re shopping for either of those vehicles we recommend putting the new Armada on your “must drive” list before making a decision.

Vital Stats

Price:  $44,400 - $57,090
Price as Tested: N/A
Seating: 8
Engine: 5.6-Liter V8
Horsepower: 390 hp
Fuel Economy: 13/18 – City/Highway (regular unleaded)

Fab Features

Essentially a QX80 Infiniti for $19,000 less
Impressive near-luxury interior
Ease of driving belies the vehicle’s size