ARMADA YOU SAY?

Earlier this month, I had to put my Cadillac EXT into the shop for repairs due to some vandalism which I won’t go into detail about. I rented a Nissan Armada from Enterprise rent-a-car for $40 a day. That $40 would have actually been $100 except for the fact that the manager was willing to drop the price when he realized that I was going to go to Hertz instead since they had a 300C available for renting. At first I was highly skeptical about the Armada because of my disdain for Japanese cars which tend to be small on the inside and lacking in exterior grace and opulence.
And what consumer vehicle is more opulent than the Chrysler 300c?
So I didn’t hurt any feelings, I decided to go with the Nissan Armada.


IMPRESSION

Before I stepped into the Armada, the Enterprise guy drove it up to the shop.
One glance over it was required so that I could fill out the insurance waiver.
The model was the 2004 SE with 17 inch aluminum wheels and about 15,000 miles on the Odometer.
The Armada in my opinion is “ugly, yet cute” in the manner one might describe a Pug.
The front of the truck has a somewhat masculine grill design, yet also has the cues of a minivan since the front of the truck seems to be angled steeply like the Nissan Quest. The soft curves of the face that are similar to the Hyundai Santa Fe and Rav4 extend to the rear of the truck and unfortunately end in a box shape that looks like a 3rd grader attempted to draw an SUV in an isometric profile with no ruler.
Most of you have already seen an Armada or QX56 on the road and understand what I am speaking of.
The truck’s profile is something out of a bad sci-fi video game.

The name "ARMADA" is very appropriate. From the back, the truck looks like an Armored car...almost like a vault.

The grill of the Armada features a large chrome plate which does look nice when you pull up to the club. However, unlike the Infiniti QX56, which is the luxury version of the Armada, the rest of the vehicle does not look as rich on the outside and will require custom chrome wheels or accents to make it appear sexier to some drivers.
Why include a huge chrome grill and then place a set of ugly aluminum wheels on the truck?

Inside the truck however, I was surprised and impressed. The interior space as quoted by Nissan offers the driver and passenger:
40 inches of headroom, 61 inches of hiproom, 42 inches of legroom and 65 inches of shoulderroom.
Now, I am a big guy who stands 6'7 tall with wide legs and big shoulders.
When I see the dimensions on a company's website and then use their car, normally I am disappointed by the sizes they have claimed and I write them a letter telling them their vehicle is cramped.
I have driven a Ford Expedition 2002( the largest Truck I’d ever been in until the Armada), the Cadillac Escalade 2003 (smaller than the Expedition inside),the Navigator 2003/Expedition 2004 (smaller inside than the 2002 Expedition and 2003 EXT) and the Chrysler 300C ( which I felt was the most spacious car I’d ever been in.
The Armada absolutely blew me away when I witnessed its interior space. First of all, I found the driver’s seat to be very comfortable and spacious whether or not I used the chair’s adjustable armrest for my right arm. I’m not sure who they used to design the truck’s interior spacing but I say that GM needs to hire that guy stat.

The second row was equally spacious and I would be comfortable riding back there even if it was for a few hours. Therefore, I am certain people shorter and smaller than me would probably enjoy it more than I did.

The second row’s seats fold forward along with the 3rd row’s so that you can fit some extremely long or large objects in the back. The only downside being that, unlike the SUT’s: Avalanche and EXT, there is nothing to protect you from sliding objects in the event of a short stop.

INTERIOR

The SE’s interior that I was in featured a beige cloth covering. This was absolutely filthy and in need of cleaning. The cloth was nice in that it didn’t feel cheap and wrapped tightly around everything, but if I ever bought an Armada, I’d have to go with leather. I would go so far as to say, nobody who wants this car to keep for 5 years or more should even consider the cloth surface.

The drivers information panel is decent. The gauges outline the vehicles current drive settings and there are L.E.D panels that show you any important warnings you might need to know. Worth noting is the fact that when the steering wheel is tilted fully upwards, you won’t be able to see the digital dashboard display very easily since it is recessed into the panel a bit.

What did bug me was the overly confusing radio and A/C controls.
The SE features a 6 disk changer, a radio with optional XM and a dual zone climate control system. Some of the functions for the radio are mapped to the steering wheel for easy manipulation while at high speeds. Unfortunately, you must play with the A/C and radio controls for a week or so before they become intuitive.
For example, turning on the A/C requires you to turn a knob and make the L.E.D indicator increase all the way to its right. You then must take your eyes off the road so you can look down and then press the “mode” button until you see the icons that indicate vent, windshield or floor vent or just floor.
If this sounds complicated to you, that’s because it is…more so than it sounds.

A picture is viewable here:
http://www.karr-tv.com/armada/interior.jpg

I was also annoyed whenever I needed to check the time. The designers at Nissan decided to place the digital clock to the far right of the L.E.D display where the passenger can see it. It seems to me that the driver is more likely to be the person who needs quick accountability of the time. Also seems like an easy way to get yourself into an accident…that is if the A/C controls don’t arrange that for you first.

I enjoyed the standard radio very much. It was very powerful and featured a subwoofer so loud that only extreme BASS addicts would see the need to add a subwoofer box. Also worth noting is the line-in jack included which will be of use to MP3 player users.

The ridiculous A/C radio controls obviously got harsh reviews and have since been changed in the 06’ model to this:
http://us.autos1.yimg.com/img.autos.yahoo.com/ag/nissan_armada_4x2se_2006_dashboard_12_346x270.jpg
Sure it looks cheap but, its easier to use.

The door locks suffer from overly pedantic design as well. In order to unlock the car, you need to find and manipulate the door lock button which unlike Ford vehicles, is a small, poorly conceived button placed right above the window switches. If you push the button on the wrong side- and you will- the doors will remain locked and the passenger will begin to yell at you to open the door. Was it too hard to just include a button marked “lock/unlock”? The door’s lock system features two levers in the panel of the door which appear to be “un-jimmyable” – that is, you wouldn’t be able to reach them with a slimjim or a wire hangar in case you leave your keys inside the keyless-entry-pad-less doors. The problem I see is that if your leg presses against the lever, the door won’t unlock. This could be hellish in an emergency situation such as a rollover.
You can see this situation I outlined illustrated here:
http://us.autos1.yimg.com/img.autos.yahoo.com/ag/nissan_armada_4x4se_2006_interior_16_346x270.jpg

As for the Cargo area, you’ll be able to get massive loads of cargo in the back if you are not using the 3rd row seat. When the 3rd row seat is in use, you will still have space for groceries and things you are likely to purchase at Walmart.
When the 3rd row is down, you have enough space for about $200 worth of groceries or possibly large plastic bins should you need to do some moving. There is enough space here for a 32 inch, CRT television for example.

With the Armada available in a towing profile which allows slightly over 9100 lbs, the highest numbers in its class. SUVS like the Avalanche and EXT are blown out of the water -that is- if towing is your desire from a full sized SUV.

DRIVING

The Nissan Armada SE comes with a standard 5.6 Liter V8 that pumps out 305 Horses at 4900 RPM. I found the car to be a blast to drive. Acceleration is very quick as you press down the pedal and will have you easily racing Expeditions, Navigators and Escalades off the light. The transmission features a mock stick gear shift next to your right leg rather than the steering column. What I did notice however was that the transmission has a harsh switch from Drive to Reverse. The shift is so harsh in fact that it almost sounds as if the car was hit. I’d have to try another Armada to confirm this though.
The steering tends to be on the light side and may let you forget your driving a heavy SUV. I found the drive to be very responsive. The Armada is not very bumpy over imperfect roads until you get to the really deep potholes. Ultimately, it is a better drive than older Explorers without the Independent Rear Suspension.
I also noticed that the Armada brakes very stiffly. I suppose this is so you can slow down faster since the truck produces fantastic acceleration, but, I found it to be a bit rough.

The sideview mirrors are very large for this truck and actually appear as if they belong on something bigger, like an F350 dump truck.
They too, feature a chrome accented fascia.

The A/C, once you understand how to use it is ok, but it takes a while to get the interior cold and also doesn’t blow as hard as I’m used to. I want to feel tornados rushing out of the vents. Instead, the A/C here gives you a polite blown that takes about 4 minutes to get the car cool. You’ll definitely need to leave the windows down for a while during the summer so the heat can escape.

I noticed something totally ridiculous while I was driving at night.
The radio and cruise controls on the steering wheel, do not have backlights!!! You try to change channels, disks or stations but have no idea where the buttons are. Even my trusty old Expedition had backlighting for the buttons.
How in the world could Nissan have missed this?
I also noticed that at night, if you need to switch lights on to find something while you are driving, there are no quick switches to turn all the interior lights on at once.

Unfortunately, due to its weight, size and engine power, the Armada’s fuel economy is pitiful. I noticed right away that the fuel gauge is divided into 5ths. With gas at $3.16, $10 buys you about a fifth of a tank which means you’ll need about $55 to fill it up. Naturally this will vary when you take into account marginal price differences in fuel around the country. For a Japanese designed truck, I was surprised fuel economy wasn’t better. The console does offer you a quick select from 2WD to Automatic to 4X4 Low and High modes. I am estimating about 12 MPG CITY in 4X4 mode and about 13-14 MPG in 2WD REAR mode.


OVERALL

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the Armada. The entry price for a base model of the 2006 year is approximately $40,000 when you purchase options with it such as the Navigation computer or moonroof. The SUV had the most spacious interior I have ever witnessed. My only problem with the truck was its looks which some people might like, but, I definitely do not. I cannot argue that the gas mileage was any worse than any of the other big SUV I have ridden in but I hope that Nissan will take steps towards either Ethanol Flex fuels or VVT technology to save future drivers dollars at the pump.
I highly recommend this SUV if you are in the market for a spacious 4X4 and don’t want to pay Cadillac, Lincoln or Range Rover prices. When I think back to the driving experience I got from this $40,000 SUV, it makes me wonder why I’m paying over 60 grand for my 2007 Escalade EXT next month. I actually have a penchant to go out and test drive an Infinity QX56.