Nissan is a major player in the crossover and SUV segment, with a model range that starts with the compact Qashqai and ends with the Armada, an appropriately named full-size model that was completely redesigned last year.
This surprisingly handsome beast gets a few updates for 2018, including the addition of NissanConnect services, an infotainment system with enhanced voice recognition, hands-free text message assistant and more USB ports for charging smartphones and other devices.
Also new is a new, mostly cosmetic top trim level called Platinum Reserve, and an intelligent rearview mirror that uses a rear-facing camera to project an obstruction-free view of what's behind the car to a screen built into the traditional windshield-mounted mirror. It's a feature Nissan says makes the Armada the first non-luxury-branded SUV to offer a camera-based rearview mirror system.
While the previous generation Armada was built on the same platform as the Titan full-size pickup, this new design is based on the Nissan Patrol, an SUV nameplate well-known in other global markets. Interestingly, this is actually hardly a new platform, having been introduced as the sixth-generation Patrol in 2010.
Nevertheless, it marks a step forward for Nissan's SUV range on this continent, powered by a 5.6L V8 making 390 hp and 394 lb-ft of torque. That potency is put to the pavement through a seven-speed automatic transmission and, in Canada, standard four-wheel drive.
With this behemoth of an SUV, Nissan competes with vehicles like the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, Ford Expedition and Toyota Sequoia. Nissan's luxury brand, Infiniti, sells its own version called the QX80, expanding the company's reach upscale to compete with big SUVs from the likes of Lexus, Cadillac and Range Rover.
Armada is available in SL and Platinum trims, with standard features including 18-inch wheels, leather upholstery, power-folding third row seat, an 8.0-inch infotainment system with navigation, 13-speaker Bose premium audio system, proximity key with push-button start and remote starter, rain-sensing wipers, power tilt and telescoping steering column, 360-degree parking camera with moving object detection, reverse collision prevention, emergency autonomous braking, blind-spot warning, and full-speed radar cruise control with forward collision warning.
Platinum grade adds 20-inch wheels, ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats with available second-row captain's chairs, heated steering wheel, blind-spot intervention, lane departure warning, power sliding moonroof, and a rear-seat entertainment system with dual 7.0-inch screens and wireless headphones. The Platinum Reserve model brings a dark chrome finish for the wheels, grille, door handles and outside mirrors.
Despite the engine's use of modern stuff like direct fuel injection, the Armada's fuel consumption estimates are hardly frugal, at 17.5/12.8 L/100 km (city/highway).
This vehicle has not yet been reviewed
