Not many companies are successful in the full-size SUV market other than the American ones like Ford and GM. But if you step out of the popular options, there is this monster coming from the house of Nissan, strictly made for the American interests. This Nissan Armada is a serious full-size SUV packed with a good amount of luxury and performance but there are some caveats - a few of which are quite big.

Overview.

While the popular options like the Ford Expedition, GMC Yukon, and the Chevrolet Tahoe dominate the market, it is a bit odd for the Armada to emerge as a great SUV, but it seems to be very promising being a few hundred dollars cheaper than the leading competition. Being in its second generation which was introduced back in 2017, the Nissan-made SUV got styling and feature upgrades with the 2021 model year. The upgrades made the Armada look more rugged with its big boxy styling elements which contribute to its overall character. Its sole heart, the 5.6-liter naturally aspirated V-8 engine has a long list of complaints regarding the fuel economy, but Nissan gave it a tweak and now it produces 400 ponies and 413 pound-feet which is more than GMC and Chevy’s base engine. Other updates include a large 12.3-inch touchscreen display along with a whole set of driver assistance features including adaptive cruise control, blindspot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and more. That said, for the 2022 model year, the Armada receives no big updates but the addition of a one-touch power-folding third-row exclusive to the Platinum. So, should you consider this beast of an SUV even if it is not much in the limelight? We will cover every aspect and make it simple for you if you are interested to buy a new Armada.

Trims and Features.

Being a full-size SUV, the Armada has a lot going on for the price. So you are looking at four trims: S, SV, SL, Platinum. There is a 5.6-liter naturally aspirated V-8 powering all the trims which pumps out 400 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of maximum torque. As standard, the Armada drives the rear wheels but Nissan offers AWD as an option. As for the trims and features, there is a detailed list for your reference, just below.

S. } }

Price: $48,900.

- LED headlights.

- 18-inch alloys.

- A full-size spare wheel.

- Tow hitch receiver with pre-wiring for a trailer brake controller.

- Leather-wrapped steering wheel with power tilt and telescopic adjustability.

- 8-way power-adjustable driver seat.

- 6-way power-adjustable front passenger seat.

- Cloth upholstery.

- Dual-zone automatic climate control.

- SiriusXM.

- Wired Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity.

- 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment display.

- Four-speaker audio unit.

- Navigation system.

- NissanConnect services.

- WiFi connectivity.

Standard driver assistance features include:

- Blindspot intervention.

- Lane-departure warning.

- Rear automatic braking.

- Parking sensors.

- Forward collision warning.

- Adaptive cruise control.

- Blindspot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert.

SV. } }

Price: $52,900.

- Roof rails.

- Auto-dimming and heated side mirrors.

- Wireless charger.

- Six-speaker audio unit.

- Heated front seats.

- Rear privacy glass.

- Trailer brake controller.

SV Appearance package.

- LED foglights.

- Power liftgate.

- Auto-dimming cabin rearview mirror.

- Universal garage door opener.

- 20-inch alloys.

SL. } }

Price: $56,710.

- Remote keyless entry.

- Trailer sway damping.

- Remote engine start.

- 120-volt power outlet.

- Leather upholstery.

- 13-speaker Bose premium audio unit.

- Sunroof.

- 360-degree camera system.

Midnight Edition package. } }

- Black leather upholstery.

- Blacked-out exterior and interior trims.

- Black headliner.

- Bespoke floor and cargo mats.

Platinum. } }

Price: $65,300.

- Rain-sensing wipers.

- 22-inch alloys.

- Digital rearview mirror.

- Wiper de-icer system.

- Ventilated front seats.

- Heated second-row seats.

- Heated steering wheel.

- Quilted leather seating.

- One-touch power-folding third-row seats.

- Two eight-inch displays for the rear seats.

Exterior: Perfect facelift doesn’t exi…..

Body-on-frame SUVs tend to look bold and sturdy but the pre-facelifted Armada looked dated and we didn’t like it at all. After the arrival of the 2021 model year, we witnessed the new Armada’s design which now looks not only stylish but also rugged. In comparison to the pre-facelift model, the new Armada looks bigger with a proper full-size SUV stance that might get into your head. Gone is the boring-looking front fascia with angular LED headlights with DRLs surrounding them. The massive blacked-out V-shaped upper grille and a broadened lower bumper make it look like an off-road biased SUV. The rear, as expected, is not the most handsome by design but has all-LED taillights, a single exhaust tip, and a bash plate. As for the wheel sizes, the base S gets 18-inch ones while you can get up to massive 22-inch ones with the Platinum trim. In our opinion, the Armada looks just the way it has been named. The sheer character has been portrayed with its buffed-up looks but that is something you can find in other options like the latest iteration of the Yukon.

Just like the other full-size eight-seaters, the Armada is very similar to them in terms of dimensions. It weighs about 5,650 pounds and with AWD, it will get bumped up to about 5,930 pounds. The SUV weighs the most in the competition, yes that’s true. While it is certainly the heaviest, it is slightly compact in terms of length which is about 208.9 inches long. The Armada is 75.8 inches tall, 79.9 inches wide, and sits above 9.1 inches from the ground. The wheelbase is set at 121.1 inches which is a bit longer than the Yukon and Tahoe but about an inch and a half shorter than the Expedition. All three American SUVs have very similar dimensions with the Expedition matching its width with the Armada.

2022 Nissan Armada Exterior Dimensions

Interior: Extremely refined and surprisingly plush

If you look closely, the cabin of the Armada is not a modern-looking one and that will help prove better when you get onto the driver seat. Once you are on it, you will instantly feel how comfortable the seats are, be it the standard cloth ones or the upgraded leather upholstery. Now, we definitely like Nissan’s initiative to put together good quality materials, especially the soft-touch ones. But the dated aesthetics like the chunky, unattractive steering wheel, an analog-digital instrument cluster, and the bland-looking air vents placed at the center of the dashboard are not the best in our opinion. The only thing that looks modern is the huge 12.3-inch touchscreen display which was updated alongside the facelift. Both the dashboard and door panels have a lot of soft-touch surfaces including faux leather and cloth. Nissan also offers open-pore wood trims on the center console, door trims, and on the lower dashboard, elevating the feeling of posh. As for the features, you will get a leather-wrapped steering wheel with power tilt and telescopic adjustability (that’s nice for standard equipment), dual-zone automatic climate control, and power-adjustable front seats with up to eight levels. Optional features include heated front seats, leather upholstery, a digital rearview mirror, wireless charging pad, leather, and wood interior trim.

As mentioned earlier, the comfort of the Armada is something you will love and from the get-go, you will realize how nicely the outside world is being cut off. As we have discussed the seating comfort, the cabin spaciousness is also a deciding factor on whether you should consider the Armada or not. To be honest, we have liked the headroom and legroom until the second row but the third row’s subpar legroom makes it uncomfortable for adults (we are not even talking about taller individuals). So the front row has good 40.9-inch headroom and 41.9-inch legroom. The second row has a slightly lower 40-inch headroom and an inch more as legroom. The third row, begrudgingly, has the 36.4-inch headroom and only 28.4-inch legroom. If you compare it to its leading rivals, the Armada has the most compact cabin experience and that might bug a lot of you since the third-row dimensions are the lowest in the segment. Even the cargo capacity with all seats up is just 16.5 cubic feet, whereas the GM brothers offer 25.5 cubic feet and the Expedition with an outstanding 57.5 cubic feet. Here is a quick recap of the interior features of the 2022 Nissan Armada.

- Dual-zone automatic climate control.

- Leather-wrapped steering wheel with power tilt and telescopic adjustability.

- 8-way power-adjustable driver seat.

- 6-way power-adjustable front passenger seat.

- Analog-digital instrument cluster.

- Auto-dimming interior rearview mirror.

- Remote entry and ignition.

- Sunroof.

- Quilted leather upholstery. (Available only with the Platinum only)

- Heated steering wheel. (Optional)

- Heated second-row seats. (Optional)

- Black-leather seats (Available with the Midnight Edition package)

2022 Nissan Armada Interior Dimensions

Nissan knew that we would lose hope when it comes to the overall infotainment system and that made it feature a class-leading 12.3-inch touchscreen display with the 2021 model year of the Armada. The dated system gets replaced with wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto integration along with a Wi-Fi hotspot. As standard, Nissan packs SiriusXM, a navigation system, and a four-speaker audio unit, which in our opinion, are the essentials of a car infotainment system. A few of the additional features available with the 2022 Armada are:

- 13-speaker Bose premium audio unit.

- 360-degree camera system.

- 120-volt household-styled power outlet.

- Two 8-inch displays for rear-seat entertainment.

Performance and Handling: Segment-leading in terms of standard power figures but there’s a catch

We all are habituated by how the big bollocks of SUVs perform and how big their engines are, the Armada is no alien. So you are looking at a one-and-only 5.6-liter old-school naturally aspirated V-8 which can put out 400 horsepower and 413 pound-feet, only on premium gas. The claimed power figures seem to be Nissan’s jump from subpar to the most powerful engine in the taken competition. While the gear changes are looked after by a seven-speed automatic transmission, the engine drives the rear wheels as standard but you can get the AWD with high and low ranges. The power of the big V-8 engine does not feel lacking, though all of its powers are available past 5,000 RPM. Comparatively, the Expedition with its 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 makes less power but more torque, and that too at 3,500 revs. The maxed-out power and torque available with the Stealth Performance package are a huge 440 horses and 510 pound-feet. So, the Ford is better in quicker accelerations and you can extract every bit of power from the V-6 when you pay extra. Well, that is not the case with the Nissan. Running on street gas will generally show the power dip and no one would want that. In terms of straight-line acceleration, Car and Driver estimated that the 2022 Armada would do 0-60 miles per hour in about 5.8-5.9 seconds, and a standing quarter-mile is predicted to be around 14.6-14.7 seconds. If you want a comparison, both the Yukon and the Chevy with their base engine do 0-60 in about 7.5 seconds while the Ford takes about 6.2 seconds with the 400 horses Platinum variant.

The Armada is built to last even off the tarmac but Nissan has dragged out the terrain or off-road specific driving modes and the lack of differential lock makes it a bit tricky to handle this beast. As for the towing capacity, Nissan claims that the Armada can tow up to an impressive 8,500 pounds but that is certainly not the best a full-size SUV can offer. The Expedition can tow up to a maximum of 9,300 pounds while the Tahoe and Yukon can tow up to 8,400 pounds. Earlier with the 2021 Armada, we had a chance to take it on the highways and instantly felt that the SUV could be a great tourer without causing much of a problem. Easy going over potholes and high-speed touring are its strong points. Its old body-on-frame structure made us believe how bouncy the ride could be and the body rolls are pretty ugly if you try and take hard corners. The steering wheel feedbacks are just the same as the other SUVs in the market with a little too shallowness in highway speeds. Overall the driving impressions are just the way they should be but Nissan should focus on adding a differential lock along with a few off-road-centric driving modes to garner a little more fans.

2022 Nissan Armada Performance Stats

Fuel Economy

Oh boy! After all the goods, this is where the Armada turned down a lot of its impressions. Sadly, its powerful V-8 engine is a sucker for gas, and that too premium gas which is expensive but running it on street gas will degrade the overall power output. This increases the overall cost of ownership and if you know someone who owns the Armada, its poor fuel economy would be the only deal-breaker and a loophole for considering other thriving options. The EPA rates the RWD Armada with 14/19/16 for city/highway/combined while the 4WD will drop a mile per gallon in all three categories. If you compare these numbers to the 400 horsepower variant of the Expedition, the latter is way better with 17/23/19 while having a lot of lower-end torque at the same time (thanks to the twin-turbochargers). We wouldn’t blame the Armada too much cause the GM brothers are no good either in terms of fuel economy.

2022 Nissan Armada Fuel Economy

But on a day-to-day basis there are a whole bunch of advanced driver aids which are:

- Adaptive cruise control.

- Blindspot intervention.

- Blindspot monitoring.

- Forward collision mitigation.

- Parking sensors.

- Rear automatic braking.

- Rear cross-traffic alert.

- Lane-departure warning.

All of these come straight out of the box with the new 2022 Armada and that makes it the most up-to-date full-size SUV in the segment.

Should you buy the 2022 Nissan Armada?

Well, it is both yes and no. Yes, because if you get the base trim, you will get access to its 400 hp engine and can give a tough time to the higher-priced GMCs. Also, the cabin is comfortable with adequate use of good quality materials. And no, because the third row is not as spacious as let’s say the Chevy Tahoe, and even the boot space is really low compared to the competition. The 2022 GMC Yukon gets a fully digital instrument console as standard and the Expedition has had it since it introduced the latest generation. So, except for the Armada, the other options have a slightly upmarket cabin experience as default.

Is Nissan Armada a good SUV?

How fast is the Nissan Armada?

Is Nissan reliable?

How much does the Armada cost?

How much mileage does the Nissan Armada return?

FAQ

Q: How safe is the 2022 Nissan Armada?

As of now, there are no safety ratings available for the latest Armada but since the pre-facelifted Armada scored four stars in the tests conducted by the NHTSA, you can bet that the new Armada will perform better in terms of safety ratings.

Q: Is Nissan Armada a good SUV?

The Armada has been a great competitor to the American SUVs but has not been a very famous choice due to its low-key design language. With the 2021 updates, the SUV looks and feels great with loads of features and comfort on offer.

Q: How fast is the Nissan Armada?

Its 5.6-liter naturally aspirated V-8 is quite powerful and Car and Driver estimates that the Nissan, with the RWD, would perform a 0-60 in about 5.8-5.9 seconds.

Q: Is Nissan reliable?

Absolutely. RepairPal has rated the company 4.0 out of 5.0, which makes Nissan stand in the 9th position out of 32 others.

Q: How much does the Armada cost?

The base Armada will set you back about $50,000 including destination charges. If you want the best trim available, $67,000 approx. would be the price.

Q: How much mileage does the Nissan Armada return?

The figures are non-satisfactory but the EPA rates 14/19/16 for city/highway/combined.