Final time Nissan redesigned the Armada it was a giant deal, and never only for the Nissan sellers who desperately wanted one thing that wasn’t greater than a decade previous within the lineup. You see, for the 2017 mannequin 12 months, Nissan introduced over the SUV recognized in worldwide markets because the Patrol and gave it the Armada badge. Whereas the Patrol title won’t imply a lot right here, in different markets and amongst fanatics, it’s a legendary off-roader that offers the Toyota Land Cruiser an actual run for its cash.
Besides the 2017 Nissan Armada didn’t include a lot of the off-road goodies that made the Patrol right into a Land Cruiser rival. You could possibly all the time modify it and add these issues should you actually wished to, however the Armada was far more targeted on getting a pile of children round city than bashing sand dunes and crawling up rock faces.
For the brand new third-generation Armada, nevertheless, Nissan listened to the complaints, and now you can get an Armada Professional-4X that comes with an air suspension, metallic skid plates and a locking rear differential similar to the remainder of the world will get with the Patrol. Clearly, Nissan isn’t messing round right here. In the event you don’t plan to go off-roading in Moab anytime quickly, although, does the most recent redesign supply sufficient of an incentive for patrons to decide on the 2025 Armada over extra established rivals such because the Ford Expedition and Chevrolet Tahoe? And simply how good is that this factor off-road?
Full Disclosure: Nissan wished me to drive the brand new Armada so badly, it supplied to fly me to Nashville so I may drive it on the launch. I as a substitute elected to drive myself to avoid wasting time. Sadly, Nissan didn’t have a Z within the Atlanta fleet that I may use. Nissan additionally put me up in a really good room at a elaborate resort in Franklin that grows its personal greens, purchased my meals and supplied loads of drinks.
From the surface, the 2025 Nissan Armada is what I might name generically good-looking. It appears to be like good, however there additionally aren’t a number of design parts that actually stood out to me as significantly distinctive or enticing. I even see a little bit Kia EV9 within the rear three-quarter view. All of it comes collectively in a reasonably cohesive design that, once more, I do like, no less than so far as three-row body-on-frame SUVs go. Moreover, whereas exterior design is vital, the cabin and the way the designers used the obtainable area is much extra vital.
In that regard, I’m blissful to say Nissan undoubtedly succeeded. You don’t need to take my phrase for it, both. Simply have a look at the photographs. To borrow a automobile author cliché, that cabin simply appears to be like like a pleasant place to spend a while, and after spending a while behind the wheel I can affirm the Armada staff didn’t pull some form of bait-and-switch on us with inside supplies. It is good in there, particularly should you spring for the highest trim ranges. A lot of the surfaces are coated in high quality supplies that each appear and feel much more premium than you’d count on from an Expedition/Tahoe competitor. Plus, Nissan isn’t mendacity when it talks about how snug its so-called Zero Gravity seats are. These issues are improbable.
That stated, the brand new Armada doesn’t precisely make its Infiniti QX80 sibling irrelevant. Some patrons could have a look at a loaded Armada and resolve that it’s good sufficient, however whether or not we’re speaking in regards to the quilted leather-based seats or the supplies on the doorways and the sprint, you possibly can inform Nissan didn’t go all-out on luxurious. If that feels like a backhanded praise, it’s not speculated to be. I might argue it was an applicable alternative not solely to separate the Infiniti from the Nissan but in addition as a result of the Armada is more likely to drag household responsibility, and children destroy every little thing they contact. Whereas a lot good, the leather-based and different supplies really feel like they strike a pleasant steadiness of being sturdy and straightforward to scrub whereas additionally nonetheless feeling nicer than you in all probability want.
Until you don’t like piano black. There’s a very good little bit of piano black within the heart console, and once I talked to considered one of Nissan’s workers about why that’s, they informed me designers adore it, prospects adore it and because the fingerprints are comparatively simple to scrub off, the individuals who actually don’t prefer it are a small minority. Personally, I feel all piano black plastic appears to be like low cost, however possibly that’s a part of why I failed at changing into a automobile designer, and the individuals who receives a commission to decide on inside supplies didn’t.
Fortunately, the Armada didn’t actually develop a lot between generations. It was already a large automobile and didn’t must get any greater, if solely from the angle of the pedestrians who would take pleasure in not getting splattered everywhere in the entrance finish like six-foot-tall grasshoppers. That stated, there actually is sufficient area to suit six adults, and the third row is vast sufficient that three adults may sit considerably comfortably in the event that they actually wanted to. Once I piled into the Armada with a gaggle of different auto journalists, we match a 6-foot-4 journalist within the driver’s seat, my 5-foot-10 self within the second row, and a 6-foot journalist within the third row with out anybody’s knees banging in opposition to the seat in entrance of them. The third-row man’s head brushed the ceiling, however it was high quality. He stated it was high quality.
In the event you do resolve to take 5 of your closest buddies on a highway journey in your new Armada, although, they’re in all probability going to want to pack gentle. With the third row up, there’s actually solely room for 2 carryon luggage and some smaller objects. Then once more, that’s not a difficulty that’s distinctive to the Armada, and I don’t know if I need to drive an SUV that’s sufficiently big not just for six adults but in addition all of their baggage for a complete weekend. That’s what cargo bins are for.
Then once more, Nissan says the 20.4 cubic ft that you simply do get behind the third row is about 25 p.c greater than you bought within the outgoing Armada, and with all three rows down, there’s a strong 97.1 cubic ft of area on your stuff. The Tahoe and Expedition do nonetheless have the sting on complete cargo quantity, though it’s value declaring that the Armada has the Expedition beat with the third row in place. You can even decrease each the second and third row seats from the rear of the Armada, though solely the third row is power-operated, so that you’ll need to manually raise the second-row seats again into place while you want them.
Below the hood you now not get a V8, which might be disappointing for individuals whose complete character is constructed round proudly owning a automobile with a V8, however it’s laborious to think about many different individuals will care. The dual-turbo 3.5-liter V6 makes 425 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, and the engine is form of associated to the V6 used within the venerable GT-R. It’s been up to date for truck responsibility, so it’s not such as you’re getting the GT-R’s actual engine in your loved ones hauler, but when anybody provides you a tough time about driving a six-cylinder SUV, you don’t have to inform them that. Simply say it’s the GT-R engine and drive them to determine how a lot of an exaggeration that’s.
In each on- and off-road driving, in addition to whereas towing, the engine and the nine-speed transmission it’s paired with make loads of energy. I wouldn’t name the Armada fast, however it will get out of its personal approach with ease, and whereas it doesn’t sound fairly pretty much as good because it in all probability would with a V8, it ought to get higher fuel mileage. The outgoing Armada received 15 mpg mixed, which formally Isn’t Nice even should you’re the form of upper-middle-class household that may afford to drop $70,000 on a household automobile. The brakes, however, get the job executed however have the lengthy journey within the pedal that you simply get in a number of vehicles and SUVs, so that you’ll have to regulate your fashion should you’re used to efficiency automobile brakes that seize laborious as quickly as you contact the brake pedal.
Talking of towing, each 2025 Armada comes with a tow score of 8,500 kilos and will be capable to deal with boat and journey trailer responsibility with ease. With a shiny and scarily expensive Airstream hooked as much as the again, we weren’t precisely testing the boundaries of what the Armada may tow, however it was nonetheless a very good demonstration of how the SUV would behave whereas towing. I may affirm that whereas no quantity of expertise makes it so you possibly can’t really feel a trailer behind you, even dummies with restricted expertise ought to be capable to tow safely. Whether or not that needs to be allowed with out further driver coaching is a completely completely different query, however it’s not like Nissan wrote the legal guidelines that permit anybody who efficiently parallel parked a decade-old Toyota Corolla after they had been 16 to haul a ship or a journey trailer 20 years later.
Expertise is, after all, a giant deal as of late, and Nissan has no plans to repeat the identical mistake Infiniti made when it launched the QX50 with an outdated infotainment system and no help for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. If you need tech options, the brand new Armada has them in spades. For instance, along with extra customary options — like help for wi-fi CarPlay and Android Auto, a surround-view digital camera system that helps make parking simpler, and heated, cooled and massaging entrance seats— the Armada additionally gives one thing that Nissan calls Biometric Cooling that makes use of infrared cameras to detect which passengers might have a little bit additional air-con after they get in. Supposedly, this may assist your youngsters quiet down after they get in after soccer apply, which is a neat concept, however I additionally drove the Armada on my own, so I do not know if it really works.
One notable function that I used to be capable of take a look at was Nissan’s newest suite of superior driver-assistance applied sciences that it calls ProPilot Help 2.1. Solely supplied on SL, Platinum and Platinum Reserve trims, it permits for hands-free driving on mapped highways, and whereas I’d need to do extra in depth testing earlier than I say an excessive amount of, however it no less than dealt with to restricted freeway driving nicely sufficient that I wasn’t fully freaked out once I took my arms off the wheel, and I get the sensation Tesla stans may have a tough time believing {that a} legacy automaker is even able to providing one thing like this. On Armadas with out ProPilot Help 2.1 or on roads that haven’t been mapped, you continue to get extra conventional ADAS options however need to hold your arms on the wheel when you’re driving.
I’m additionally a giant fan of the non-obligatory head-up show which you could get on the brand new Armada. It’s shiny, simple to learn and most significantly, it shows turn-by-turn instructions even should you’re utilizing Apple CarPlay or Android Auto for navigation. You may in all probability stay with out the HUD, however you’re already spending some huge cash on a giant SUV, so why would you? It should make your life higher and in addition hold you a little bit safer.
As for the precise screens, you get a 12.3-inch driver show and a 12.3-inch infotainment display customary, however should you improve to the PRO-4X, Platinum or Platinum Reserve trims, these screens each develop to 14.3 inches. Perhaps that’s extra display than you need in your loved ones SUV, however Nissan skipped the development of tossing a mega-screen into the middle, and I recognize that. Because of this, you additionally get precise bodily controls, which makes me, a faithful knob-turner, very blissful. If solely Nissan had additionally taken my love of column shifters and distaste for push-button shifters into consideration when deciding how it is best to put the transmission into gear.
Ultimately, it was time for my favourite a part of any press journey — the off-road course. As a automobile blogger, I’m mechanically an out-of-touch coastal elite, however as somebody who grew up within the South all I actually need to do with any automobile I’m given is take it mudding. If solely it had been heat sufficient for me to put on my Budweiser tank prime and American flag shorts. The frustration continued when Nissan’s staff informed us it had rained an excessive amount of to do a lot of the course they’d initially deliberate. Contemplating how slick the bottom was within the sections we had been nonetheless capable of drive, they had been in all probability proper to name off the extra critical stuff, however that doesn’t imply I used to be blissful about it. I suppose I’ll simply need to plan an overlanding journey for when an Armada Professional-4X hits the Atlanta press fleet.
Whereas I wasn’t allowed to drive up the big hill that also seemed completely climbable, we had been no less than capable of do just a few issues that demonstrated simply how succesful the Professional-4X actually is. We’re speaking a few 6,000-pound, three-row SUV right here, so physics isn’t precisely your good friend, however locking the rear diff made simple work of what gave the impression to be a few 45-degree incline, and the front-facing digital camera made it simple to position the wheels even once I couldn’t see over the hood. In truth, you possibly can even activate an invisible hood mode that exhibits the bottom beneath your automobile overlayed on a show that’s additionally sharp sufficient to actually see the place you’re going and what obstacles to keep away from.
One other part of the course concerned getting two wheels off the bottom, and even with all of the mud, the Armada barely even blinked. The air suspension additionally did a powerful job of smoothing out impacts and serving to the Armada really feel beneath management. I’m nicely conscious we had been in a fairly managed atmosphere driving over man-made obstacles that had been particularly designed with the Armada’s capabilities in thoughts, so it’s not like we had been pushing the boundaries of what it may do at any level, however I’m no less than snug saying the Armada will go far additional off-road than the overwhelming majority of Professional-4X patrons will ever want it to. Will it be capable to sort out Hell’s Revenge with the identical sense of ease? I don’t know, however possibly Nissan ought to help me find out.
If I needed to guess, although, the largest challenge with off-roading the brand new Armada — except for most homeowners not wanting so as to add desert pinstripes to their paint — is just going to be its dimension. This factor is huge, and whereas I didn’t hit something, a part of the path included a tree that I got here uncomfortably near scraping. Different drivers additionally got here inside just a few inches of that tree, too, so it wasn’t simply me. It is a lengthy, vast SUV, and whereas that is probably not an issue within the desert, different trails are going to be a difficulty.
If solely Nissan had a smaller, narrower body-on-frame SUV in its lineup, maybe primarily based on the Frontier. , like a brand new Xterra. Since I couldn’t actually get a straight reply to why there’s no new Xterra, it in all probability has to do with cash and inside politics, however come on, Nissan. A brand new Xterra would print cash, and I imply that critically, not tongue-in-cheek like my earlier plans for a Miata However Larger and the truck-like Challenger Rampage. Perhaps if sufficient individuals purchase Armadas, Nissan will lastly manage to pay for to offer us the Xterra we’ve been clamoring for. Both that, or it’s popping out quickly, and everybody who informed me they wished that was within the playing cards is only a rattling good liar has one heck of a poker face.
Contemplating how a lot nicer the brand new Armada is, you’d in all probability count on it to be a very good bit costlier than the outgoing mannequin, however the base SV mannequin really has the identical beginning value no matter whether or not you get rear ($56,520) or four-wheel drive ($59,520). Nonetheless, Nissan says it expects the SL model to be the amount vendor, and that one begins at $62,970 plus an additional $3,000 in order for you 4WD. The Professional-4X, however, begins at $73,740, whereas a 4WD Platinum Reserve will set you again $79,900.
These costs definitely aren’t precisely low, however they’re additionally in step with what you’d count on on this phase. A base Tahoe is just a few thousand {dollars} extra, whereas the Expedition begins about $1,000 beneath the Armada. And finally, I get the sensation Nissan goes to have a tougher time getting individuals to check drive the brand new Armada than it is going to convincing those that do to drag the set off. The advertising and marketing line about it being a extra inexpensive Infiniti QX80 could have come immediately from Nissan, however I purchase it. The 2025 Nissan Armada simply feels nicer than its rivals, and that may in all probability promote extra of them than the locking rear differential, underbody safety or the truth that it’s now only a Patrol with a unique title.
