We’ve waited a long time to see the all-new 2017 Nissan Armada full-sized SUV. And today at the drum rolled at the Chicago Auto Show where it finally made its debut. It’s all-new from the ground up, we’ll kind of.
At first glance there is something eerily familiar about the all-new 2017 Nissan Armada. This is because if you are in North America you’ve seen it before as the Infiniti QX-80. If you’re outside North America, you know this thing as the Nissan Patrol.
Instead of designing an SUV on the all-new Nissan Titan pickup lines, Nissan chose the route of using their global class Nissan Patrol SUV as the basis for our next Armada. Now, before you grouse about it not really being new at all, this is actually a good thing.
The new Nissan Armada, Infiniti QX80, Nissan Patrol brings to us a much more refined chassis that’s truly world class and well proven around the globe. And with it being built in Japan, the quality and fit levels will be on par with the Infiniti QX80 we already know.
And to that end, it looks nearly identical. The front-end has the Nissan face instead of the beached whale look of the Infiniti, which is a good thing. It’s much more tasteful and well in line with the rest of Nissan’s designs.
At the rear, it has a different rear cargo hatch than the Infiniti, a more squared off and masculine look overall. And while the thing looks as familiar as it can be, many would argue including me this thing looks a lot better than the current Armada any day.
Under its hood is the slightly de-tuned version of the same direct-injected 5.6 liter V8 we’ve known in the Infiniti QX80. Here it offers up 390-horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque which will go to the rear or all-four wheels through a 7-speed automatic transmission.
This means it’s good to tow up to 8,500 pounds when properly equipped which you can do confidently with its body on frame construction. It will handle well with a high feature fully independent suspension front and rear
While it’s not as balls-to-the-wall as the Toyota Land Cruiser, its available 4-wheel drive system has full Auto, 2WD, 4H, 4LO modes through an electronically controlled transfer case that offers a 2.70:1 4LO gear ratio.
While it is expected the Nissan Armada will be less expensive than the Infiniti QX80, the interior trimmings are nearly identical. You might not get the top-grain leathers and genuine wood trims, but the design and materials are right up there.
And when it comes to features and technologies, the sky is the limit. Trim grades will start with an SV with cloth trimmed interior all the way up to a Platinum with leather and all the infotainment and entertainment system you can spend money on. There’s seating for up to eight people depending on how you option it.
And of course it will be available with the latest raft of crash-prevention and driver assistance aid that let you essentially take a nap behind the wheel. It will let you know if you’re weaving out of your lane, getting ready to hit something, and even hit the brakes for you if you don’t. Bliss.
Now I know I just glossed over pages worth of detailed information about features and equipment that’s available here. This is just a quick first look to give you the low down. We’ll have a far more detailed review when we get behind the wheel to test one.
And that day should be coming later this summer or fall when the 2017 Nissan Armada arrives. Pricing hasn’t yet been announced, but expect it to be around $50,000 or just under that to start. It’s imported from Japan so it will be priced like a premium product.
