We were recently invited to Nissan’s Farmington Hills, Michigan tech center to see the new 2025 Nissan Armada. For this model, Nissan has combined the Armada platform with that of the Nissan Patrol, which was only available in the Middle East, but should give you a hint of its new off-road capabilities. New from the ground up, both the Armada and the Patrol benefit from some new technology, new design, and new comfort features. The underlying premise for its design and concept was “Unbreakable Prestige.”
The exterior has changed a bit. While it retains its off-road toughguy looks, there’s a new sophistication and refinement to the design. It appears cleaner. Smoother. The front is dominated by a large grille that quickly sweeps back into the flanked sides and large fender vents. The beltline is high, giving a tall bold squared-off look to the Armada. The floating roof “detached” from the main body, also draws attention to the solidity of the main body. Finally, the wheels are large and stanced so that they fill the wheel wells. This, too, aids in the stability of the design and reinforces the size and overall visual strength of it. The rear wiper, as on the new Murano, tucks up out of sight under the rear overhang. Clean.
Inside you’ll find leather. Lots and lots of leather. All rich and well-stitched in beautiful colors and shapes that look inviting and comfortable. There’s so much new in the interior, I’m not sure where to start. Since so much is dependent on the trim level, we’ll start there. There are five trim levels on the Armada: the entry-level SV; the mid-grade SL; the luxurious Platinum; the offroad focused PRO-4X; and the Platinum Reserve, which combines the luxury of the Platinum with the offroad capabilities of the PRO-4X. The higher the trim level, the more goodies you get. Heated leather seats are standard on the SL and up, ventilated quilted leather seats are available or standard on the Platinum up. You can even get massage seats on the Platinum Reserve. Amazon Alexa is built in to be your digital assistant and wireless Apple Carplay and wireless Android Auto come standard.
The back two rows of seats fold flat. There’s also an additional 25% of space behind the 3rd row.
In a class-leading first, the Armada has what’s known as “biometric cooling.” Standard on the Platinum, Platinum Reserve, and optional on the PRO-4X, the system senses people who are warmer than a certain specified temperature and directs seat-specific cooling air at them. For example, lets say you pick up one kid from soccer practice and they’re hot and sweaty but the other two kids aren’t. The system will recognize that they are hotter than normal and blow cooling air on hot kid. Pretty trick.
On the mid-grade SL and above, a 600W Klipsch 12-speaker 12-channel audio system is standard…and it sounds simply incredible. Nissan took us to the Royal Recording Studio for a demonstration of what the system was capable of and let’s just say we were blown away. If you remember the old “Is it live or is it Memorex?” ad featuring the guy in the oversize chair being blown away by the sound, you get an idea of how impressive it is because it was difficult to tell real from recorded. Built in conjunction with Panasonic, the Klipsch system is brilliantly clean and crisp even under high volume, maximum density music. Designed by people who love music for people who love music.
From the mid-level SL up, Armada also comes with Nissan’s ProPILOT Assist 1.1 which is hands-on cruise control feature that will keep you in your lane and slow with traffic, holding a stop if traffic stops, then regaining speed as allowed by the distance you’ve set to the car in front of you. ProPILOT Assist 2.1 is also an option on those models as well. Version 2.1 allows hand-free single-lane freeway driving.
In the dash, is a new two-screen digital layout with gauges and instruments on the left screen and infotainment on the right screen. During slow maneuvers, the camera system can combine both screens to show you exactly where your Armada is placed and can even “see through” the hood to see things you wouldn’t be able to see from the driver’s seat. Very cool technology.
Under that immense hood, the V8 is gone. In its place is a variation of the VR35 24-valve direct-injection 3.5L twin-turbo V6. Sound familiar? It’s the same engine that powers the legendary GT-R, although it’s re-turned for this family hauler. It makes 425hp and 516 lb-ft or torque and revs to 6000rpm. This is a 25hp and a whopping 103 lb-ft increase over the last Armada. Despite it’s nearly 3-ton curb weight, the VR35 makes the throttle very responsive and it moves the SUV with ease and grace. It’s hooked to a traditional 9-speed automatic (w responsive paddle shifters) that sends power to either the rear wheels or to Nissan’s 4WD system. It proved sure-footed over the packed snow and ice we encountered while driving it. It has an 8500 lb towing capacity.
Slowing it are 13.78” brake discs all around, with twin-piston calipers grabbing them up front and single-piston calipers grabbing them in back. The brakes felt good. Nothing out of the ordinary. They were very linear and responded intuitively.
The three lower trim levels (SV, SL, Platinum) come with standard coil springs and shock absorbers. The PRO-4X and Platinum Reserve come with Air springs and shock absorbers. The air springs on the upper trim levels allow the Armada to rise up 2” for offroad clearance and to drop 2” on the highway for better aerodynamics and efficiency. It also drops to make it easier for shorter people to clamber into and out of. We were only able to try the air shock-equipped Armada and the ride was fantastic. You still feel bumps but they’re not harsh. You just know the road was bad but you aren’t affected by it. The steering is electric and works perfectly well – very intuitive and invisible.
The cabin also seemed remarkably quiet. Wind and tire noise were minimal and allowed the Klipsch stereo to really shine not having to compete with ambient noise. The seats were Nissan’s Zero Gravity cushions, which are super comfortable for long trips. One member of our crew had a fused vertebra and suffered on long drives but reported that he felt fine after nearly three hours of driving.
The frame has been re-engineered to be 25% more torsionally rigid and 57% more laterally stiff, so it’s built to be tortured. With the new PRO-4X trim level, Nissan intends to let buyers do just that. With skidplates protecting the oil pan, transmission, and fuel tank; an electronic locking rear differential, adaptive electronic air suspension; and intelligent 4WD, the PRO-4X is ready to pick up where the old Patrol left off. With the suspension fully raised, it has 9.6” of ground clearance, an approach angle of 33-degrees, a 25.5-degree breakover angle and a 24.5-degree departure angle. From inside, the driver can specify one of eight different drive modes: Standard, Eco, Sport, Tow, Snow, Sand, Rock, Mud/Rut. Hill Descent is built into the chassis to allow a controlled downhill traverse. An interior Offroad Information Display features an inclinometer, slip indicator, and a steering angle indicator.
While we didn’t attempt anything as gnarly as the PRO-4X trim is capable of, we enjoyed its luxurious attributes, it’s smooth ride, and its fantastic sound system. I’ll admit that I arrived more interested in the Murano, it being a smaller lighter SUV (my preference) but I left much more impressed with the Armada. Which got me wondering about pricing….
An Armada SV RWD starts at $56,520 and the 4WD starts at $59,520.
An Armada SL RWD starts at $62,970 and the 4WD starts at $65,970.
An Armada Platinum RWD starts at $69,930 and the 4WD starts at $72,930.
An Armada PRO-4X only comes in 4WD and starts at $73,740.
And the Platinum Reserve RWD starts at $76,990 with the 4WD starting at $79,990.