2025 Nissan Armada First Drive: Battle-Ready Beefcake SUV?

Whether you’re talking tall-ship naval warfare or the Star Wars Armada game, the conventional battle strategy is to attack with better armed and armored ships, while the commander’s flagship hangs back at an observable distance for protection. But for its latest full-size body-on-frame three-row SUV, Nissan and its corporate product-planning admirals decided to send the equivalent of the commander’s ship—the 2025 Infiniti QX80—in as their vanguard. Now that Infiniti's model has been competing for several months, the rank-and-file dreadnaughts and destroyers are entering the battle in the form of the more affordable but mechanically related 2025 Nissan Armada.

That flagship Infiniti, while unanimously deemed the nicest one to date, has entered six-figure-pricing waters. Expectations are higher in these seas, and the QX80’s been burned by a switch from V-8 to twin-turbo V-6 power degraded performance and refinement more than it improved efficiency. The Armada with the same engine and frame, however, starts at just $58,530. When the flagship costs nearly twice as much as the least-expensive model, the range-topper often struggles to deliver value. Conversely, the entry-level version gets wider latitude for perceived flaws.

See All 22 Photos22

The Armada is thus well prepared to be more things to more people, so the five model lineup spans from budget-minded SV and SL models priced in the $58,000–$68,000 range, to the mainstream-swanky Platinum and more rugged Pro-4X ($72,000–$76,000), to the budget-Infiniti Platinum Reserve at $81,910. We traveled to rural Tennessee to test the new Armada’s fitness for battle in this most American of market segments.

The Biggest Change Is Underhood

The new-to-Armada GT-R-related VR35DDTT twin-turbo engine out-muscles its 5.6-liter V-8 predecessor by 50 hp and 103 lb-ft, and with two additional gear ratios to work with, it should run rings around the old one. But our lone Infiniti QX80 test vehicle to date lost a half-second to 60 mph, compared to three V-8 QX80s, so it’s possible the Nissan isn’t any quicker.

See All 22 Photos22

The EPA reckons the Armada will gain 2 mpg in the city and combined ratings. The engine lacks either the smoothness or the isolation some competitor engines offer. Stand on the gas, and you will feel engine vibration coming through the steering wheel. When running late, twirl the driving mode dial to the checkered flag to liven up the throttle and transmission responses, tighten up the steering, and sharpen the suspension. In this mode, it’ll hustle down a twisty road considerably better than expected, the adaptive air suspension limiting roll, pitch, and dive. But it sure fills the lane. Eco mode dulls all responsiveness by a similar amount relative to normal.

So, How Well Does the Armada SUV?

As three-row jumbotrons go, this is a comfy one, especially with the air suspension. Ceiling HVAC vents distribute A/C to all rear passengers (the car-seat-bound included) better than console or B-pillar ones, the middle-row slide-release mechanisms work well for accessing the third row, and it’s reasonably commodious back there.

Families with small bladders may appreciate Armada’s shorter driving range, estimated at 408 miles with 4WD (425 with RWD). Only the V-8-powered Chevy and GMC are less efficient. Toyota’s Sequoia and diesel-powered Chevy Tahoe are the range champs, the former lasting 450 to 495 miles on a 1-gallon smaller tank and the latter able to go more than 600 miles. Biometric cooling (Platinum and up) helps direct more airflow to a hot or cold passenger that may have just climbed aboard an already conditioned cabin. And the Klipsch 600-watt 12-speaker Premium Audio (SL trim and up) keeps occupants entertained with stereo upsampling to five-channel sound and frequency response beyond the range of human hearing. The result is sound quality that rivals systems featuring way more speakers and watts.

See All 22 Photos22

ProPilot Assist 2.1, optional on all models SL and above except Pro-4X, is Nissan’s hands-free driving answer to Ford’s BlueCruise or GM’s Super Cruise. The system can recommend and execute lane-changes, but the driver must okay them via a steering wheel switch. Unfortunately, after the first mile of Interstate 840 on our driving route, the system went offline due “3D-map data maintenance.” Its hands-on lane-centering support trails the competition, by occasionally driving itself over a line and then buzzing a warning. And there’s no hands-free or steering support when towing a trailer either—that remains a GM superpower. Original purchase price ranges from $2,900 to $3,370 (in a package that includes a head-up display and the full camera functionality). After three years, a $10-per-month subscription is required.

Everyday Around Town Use

For those big-box store runs, the seats all fold (with the middle bench folding 40/20/40) to provide a very flat floor with 56.3 to 97.1 cubic feet of space—that’s bigger than Sequoia, smaller than the Chevy or Ford. Interior fit and finish were impressive on our Pro-4X and Platinum Reserve models, and the ability to kneel 2 inches eases entry and exit. All the dash controls are logically laid out and blessedly intuitive to use. Our Tennessee test-drive roads were super smooth, but when we found a few Michigan-grade bumps, we felt a bit of the body-on-frame secondary shake we noted in the QX80 on a Belgian-block test surface. We’ll need to gather like-priced competitors on the same roads to pass further judgement.

Off-Roading in Pro-4X

Nissan set up an off-road course for us to test out the new-for-2025 Pro-4X off-road model’s 4.0-inch height-adjustable air suspension, locking differential, 20-inch Yokohama Geolandar A/T tires, skid plates, mud/ruts and sand driving modes, lava-red tow hooks, hill-descent control, and advanced camera setup. The latter provides an “invisible hood” feature, simulated drone-views from eight different angles, and an ultra-wide front view that can span both the cluster and infotainment screens (this party-trick view puts dead-ahead about where the steering wheel bisects your view). We got a good taste of the cameras by running an obstacle course—which featured a simulated bridge—while “blindfolded” by a windshield cover. The cameras indeed permitted precise tire and vehicle placement, and didn’t switch off until 12 mph.

As for the rest of the hardware, torrential rains resulted in clay mud that densely packed our tire treads, rendering them four greasy donuts. We did witness an impressive strength test of those red tow hooks when a Titan pickup snatched one Armada up off a slimy ridge, but the exercise amounted to a tire test the Geolandars flunked. These are not Rubicon runners, and when clean, the tires generated no audible noise at highway speeds. Any other tire for which that can be said would likely have performed similarly, though the Goodyear Wranglers and Falken Wildpeaks employed by off-road-oriented competitors such as the Chevy Tahoe Z71, Ford Expedition Tremor, and Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro models look more aggressive. We wish the rear diff-lock worked in 4Hi range—Toyota similarly locks users out of wider rear diff lock use, limiting its activation to low range—but understand that may invite customer misuse and complaints of driveline-binding, etc.

Towing a Trailer

The new V-6 matches the old Armada V-8’s 8,500-pound towing capacity and increases gross-combined weight slightly to 15,000 pounds. Nissan offers no tow mirrors or trailer-reversing knobs, but the integrated trailer-brake controller is nicely placed to the right of the steering column, the rear camera offers a zoom view for precise trailer hitch/ball alignment, and the key fob allows one person to run a trailer light check from outside the vehicle.

With a trailer attached, the air suspension remains at standard ride height to prevent aero mode from altering the tongue weight. The V-6’s 425 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque easily whoosh a 6,500-pound Airstream up to interstate speeds, the Armada’s size and weight afford confidence and stability, with the towing mode tightening up the steering effort (especially around center), and effectively programming the transmission to offer robust engine braking when slowing. The driver must enter trailer length, manually for blind-spot warning. More occasional travel-trailer vacationers might be best served by the many more helpful trailering spiffs offered by the Ford Expedition, though.

Bottom Line

If you’re ready to enter the jumbo three-row fray, your MotorTrend battle strategists like this new Armada platform a lot more at the lower price and trim levels, and we expect a base model priced in the $50,000 space might be Nissan’s strongest segment player. We’d counsel buyers who tow regularly to pay plenty of test-drive attention to the Ford Expedition, and those looking to hedge against future gas price hikes to examine the Toyota Sequoia. Stay tuned for more news from the front as soon as we can round up the four major players in this battle royale.