When Nissan created the original Nissan Armada, its first full-size sport-utility vehicle, it did so in the traditional way, using the platform of its full-size pickup. That pickup, the Titan, had been introduced in 2003, and Nissan’s big ute, the Pathfinder Armada, arrived that same year, as a 2004 model. The Pathfinder label was supposed to leverage the name recognition of the brand’s popular mid-size SUV, but eventually it was jettisoned and the vehicle became simply the Armada.
Following the script written by Ford with the Lincoln Navigator and General Motors with the Cadillac Escalade, a luxury-brand version, the Infiniti QX56, soon followed. Dolled up with extra chrome and leather, it managed to be even gaudier than the Armada—an SUV as imagined by the Toll Brothers. In the McMansion era, that aesthetic was hardly out of step, but sales never came close to those of the Navigator/Escalade bogey. Infiniti switched gears, dropping the Titan-derived behemoth and instead recruiting the international-market Nissan Patrol for Infiniti SUV duty. Leather-lined and re-engineered for a more pampered, pavement-oriented life, the Patrol-based QX56 arrived for the 2011 model year, shortly thereafter becoming the QX80. The Armada, meanwhile, continued on its Titan-based platform.
Although there’s now a new Titan pickup from which a new full-size utility could be spun, Nissan decided that worldwide demand for big body-on-frame SUVs—pretty much only North America and the Middle East—didn’t warrant developing two separate vehicles. So the company simply took the Patrol-based QX80 and made an Armada out of it (not so hard, since it started as a Nissan). Thus, the vehicle that began as the Nissan Patrol—and continues as such in the rest of the world—is now our new Nissan Armada. In truth, the Armada is much closer kin to the QX80. Styling changes versus the Infiniti are evident mostly up front, where the Armada adopts a Nissan-brand face. Oh, and while we might have hoped to see the QX80’s chrome fender trim disappear here, Nissan says the driver’s-side vent is actually functional (as an engine-air intake), so the vents stay.
Peek inside the luxurious cabin, and you might wonder whether there have been any changes at all from the Infiniti. Padded surfaces abound, hard plastic has been all but banished, and the new Armada marks a wholesale upgrade in interior finery over its predecessor. Even the base SV model comes with navigation, a 13-speaker Bose stereo, dual power seats, and a rearview camera; the mid-level SL adds leather, power operation for the third-row seats, a power liftgate, and 20-inch wheels; and the top-spec Platinum trim brings heated and cooled front seats, seat heaters for the second row, dual rear-seat entertainment screens, and a sunroof, among other niceties. The Platinum also gets a full spate of driver-assistance technologies, which are optional on the SL. The new cabin is luxurious but smaller than before in most dimensions—although some of the previous model’s space was largely wasted, serving only to make the driver feel buried in a vast, plastic cavern. The new Armada doesn’t feel as huge from behind the wheel, and it affords decent sightlines from the driver’s seat. We also like that Nissan wisely supplements the standard touchscreen with plenty of traditional buttons and knobs.
Following the script written by Ford with the Lincoln Navigator and General Motors with the Cadillac Escalade, a luxury-brand version, the Infiniti QX56, soon followed. Dolled up with extra chrome and leather, it managed to be even gaudier than the Armada—an SUV as imagined by the Toll Brothers. In the McMansion era, that aesthetic was hardly out of step, but sales never came close to those of the Navigator/Escalade bogey. Infiniti switched gears, dropping the Titan-derived behemoth and instead recruiting the international-market Nissan Patrol for Infiniti SUV duty. Leather-lined and re-engineered for a more pampered, pavement-oriented life, the Patrol-based QX56 arrived for the 2011 model year, shortly thereafter becoming the QX80. The Armada, meanwhile, continued on its Titan-based platform.
Although there’s now a new Titan pickup from which a new full-size utility could be spun, Nissan decided that worldwide demand for big body-on-frame SUVs—pretty much only North America and the Middle East—didn’t warrant developing two separate vehicles. So the company simply took the Patrol-based QX80 and made an Armada out of it (not so hard, since it started as a Nissan). Thus, the vehicle that began as the Nissan Patrol—and continues as such in the rest of the world—is now our new Nissan Armada. In truth, the Armada is much closer kin to the QX80. Styling changes versus the Infiniti are evident mostly up front, where the Armada adopts a Nissan-brand face. Oh, and while we might have hoped to see the QX80’s chrome fender trim disappear here, Nissan says the driver’s-side vent is actually functional (as an engine-air intake), so the vents stay.
Peek inside the luxurious cabin, and you might wonder whether there have been any changes at all from the Infiniti. Padded surfaces abound, hard plastic has been all but banished, and the new Armada marks a wholesale upgrade in interior finery over its predecessor. Even the base SV model comes with navigation, a 13-speaker Bose stereo, dual power seats, and a rearview camera; the mid-level SL adds leather, power operation for the third-row seats, a power liftgate, and 20-inch wheels; and the top-spec Platinum trim brings heated and cooled front seats, seat heaters for the second row, dual rear-seat entertainment screens, and a sunroof, among other niceties. The Platinum also gets a full spate of driver-assistance technologies, which are optional on the SL. The new cabin is luxurious but smaller than before in most dimensions—although some of the previous model’s space was largely wasted, serving only to make the driver feel buried in a vast, plastic cavern. The new Armada doesn’t feel as huge from behind the wheel, and it affords decent sightlines from the driver’s seat. We also like that Nissan wisely supplements the standard touchscreen with plenty of traditional buttons and knobs.
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