Nissan’s enormous old-school truck-style SUV is back after a long hiatus; the 2017 Nissan Armada will basically be the peasant-spec Infinti QX80. That may be the case, but the new Armada still represents a meaningful upgrade over its predecessor in several key areas. But the SUV has hardly grown in size in comparison to the outgoing model; the new Armada is just 1.2 inches longer, while its wheelbase has shrunk in length by 2.1 inches.
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At the Chicago Auto Show Tuesday evening, Nissan pulled the covers off the latest version of its full-size Armada SUV.
The 2017 Nissan Armada is not actually any surprise because it’s the rebadged twin brother of the Infiniti QX80 – we are treated hence to an overly familiar design, save for the Armada’s massive V-motion grille housed in between LED headlights. It has received a touch more elegance in its styling, with stitched leather seats, footwell lighting, step lamps and a suite of active safety features, including predictive forward collision warning and backup collision intervention.
The production strategy, and separation from the Titan, make sense as the big sport-utility vehicle segment is low on numbers – Nissan sold just 12,737 in the US a year ago – though still high on profit margins. This time though instead of being based on the Titan full-sized pickup, the Armada is based off the Infiniti QX80 SUV.
Nissan, he said, is confident its new Armada will win over a larger share of families who need the space and comfort it is offering. It’s matched to a seven-speed automatic transmission. Power comes from an updated 5.6-liter Endurance V-8 engine, which now comes equipped with a new fuel injection system and variable valve system for even more output – up to 390 horsepower, besting the outgoing model’s 317 by a whopping 73 ponies.
Peter Luttenbacher, manager of product planning, declined to say what the 2017 version will get but said it will be better.
“If you look at some of our competitor models, like the GMC Denali, they’ve really become near-luxury vehicles”. The Patrol often is marketed to off-roaders and customers who rely on it for rugged rural driving conditions.
The News Wheel will be live tweeting, Instagramming, Facebooking, and more from the 2016 Chicago Auto Show. Want to see them in action?
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The Armada still uses body-on-frame construction and independent front and rear suspensions common to pickup trucks, which lets it tow 8,500 pounds. It’s scheduled to hit dealerships this summer in three trim levels: SV, SL and Platinum, all of which are available with rear- or four-wheel drive. There is no S grade. In addition, the 2017 Armada offers an exceptional array of standard features, including Nissan Navigation with NavTraffic and NavWeather information (SiriusXM subscription required, sold separately) and 8.0-inch color display, heated front seats and 13-speaker Bose audio system.
