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Twin Turbo Premium Unleaded V-6
Four Wheel Drive, Rear Wheel Drive
The Nissan Armada has been many things—practical, capable off-road, a towing powerhouse—for many people since its introduction in 2003, but few would likely describe it as premium. That changes for the 2025 model year. Indeed, the 2025 Nissan Armada emerges from dry dock with a new look and feel, possessing an air of luxury trappings that feels more deserved.
Photo: Tim Stevens
For 2025, Nissan redesigned the Armada, both inside and out, with a fresh and classy exterior that previews the higher-class trappings inside. The big, three-row SUV follows the industry trend of opting for a smaller-displacement engine with forced induction over a larger one. Still, the turbocharged V6 produces more power than its predecessor and offers improved efficiency, all while retaining its capabilities.
For 2025, the Nissan Armada is available in five trim levels, starting with the Armada SV, then the SL, Platinum, Pro-4X, and Platinum Reserve. Prices start from the high $50,000s for an SV and range to the high $70,000s for a Platinum Reserve, including the destination charge.
For this 2025 Armada review, Nissan provided a test vehicle equipped with Platinum Reserve trim and the following options:
The test vehicle's manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) was $86,840, including the $2,010 destination charge to ship the SUV to your local dealership from its assembly plant in Kyushu, Japan.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The hike up into the driver's seat is familiar to anyone who's driven an Armada before, but once inside, everything else is new. The interior is fresh and bright, especially in the Charcoal with Espresso leather trim in the Platinum Reserve example I tested. The geometric stitching on the upholstery creates a unique look without being too shouty, which is a good way to describe the rest of the machine.
Many large, truck-based SUVs are characterized by harsh, angular surfaces and shapes that harken back to their utilitarian roots. Nissan excises all of that here. All of the Armada's surfaces flow cleanly together, and up front, at least, they're covered in a selection of quality materials.
The center console features just enough tactile controls to make it easy to do everything from toggling drive modes to enabling the surround-view camera, which you'll reach for often, given how comprehensively the Armada fills most parking spaces. The front seats offer ample comfort, along with heating and ventilation. There's excellent visibility as well.
The captain's chairs in the second row of the seven-seat Armada test vehicle (an eight-seat layout is also available) are likewise quite comfortable and also heated, with a dedicated controller for the third temperature zone between the seats. A giant, panoramic sunroof above keeps things light and airy as well.
Those seats tilt and slide out of the way to make access to the third row easy. Although you may feel like you're in a different zip code from the driver when seated in the back, the accommodations are quite comfortable. Two full-sized adults will fit easily, while three can fit in a pinch. Niceties like power-reclining seatbacks and USB-C ports will keep everyone happy.
Behind those is a good-sized cargo area, offering 20.4 cubic feet of storage. Drop the third row for 56.3 cubic feet, or 97.1 cubic feet with the second row down as well. From inside the rear hatch, it's easy to fold or raise both the second and third rows of seats. There are even buttons for lowering the rear of the SUV to make loading cargo easier (assuming you have the optional air suspension).
A rear-mounted 120-volt outlet means you're well-equipped for SUV tailgating if that's your thing.
Photo: Tim Stevens
While the 2025 Armada offers a reasonable selection of buttons for major features, the primary interface for this SUV is the 14.3-inch touchscreen (12.3 inches on the SV and SL) that sits high on the dashboard, angled towards the driver and integrated next to another 14.3-inch display that forms the gauge cluster.
The software interface here is clean and straightforward but also quite basic. You'll find support for the usual media sources and services, including:
You also have phone-free support for many streaming apps, such as Spotify, thanks to the Google Built-in foundation here.
That also means Google Maps is the default navigation experience while Google Assistant handles voice-recognition duties. Assistant is extremely powerful for certain tasks, enabling you to find almost any point of interest with general requests like "I could really go for some pad thai" or "I need a hospital." However, Assistant can't delve into vehicle settings, meaning you'll have to navigate through menus and buttons for everything else.
There's a wireless charging pad to keep your phone topped up while taking advantage of phone projection. Media plays back through a 12-speaker, 600-watt Klipsch sound system, which unfortunately falls short of expectations. It offers plenty of power to fill the cabin but none of the crisp tone and fidelity that the brand's home stereo setups are known for.
Photo: Tim Stevens
The big question on many buyers' minds about the new Armada is how well the new, smaller engine can cope with this three-row SUV's proportions. Losing two cylinders isn't necessarily good news from a drivability standpoint, but the wonders of modern turbocharging more than make up for that.
The 3.5-liter V6 in the 2025 Nissan Armada makes 425 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. That's up 25 hp and 103 pound-feet over the old V8. It even sounds reasonably good. Nissan engineers minimized turbo lag—a factor aided by the nine-speed automatic transmission, which effectively keeps the truck in the right gear at the right time. Unless you're particularly quick on the throttle, you likely won't mind it.
That engine provides a maximum tow rating of 8,500 pounds, which remains unchanged. Those who plan to take advantage of that functionality will appreciate the trailer brake controls positioned on the dashboard just to the right of the steering wheel. The Armada has enough cameras to make lining up your hitch a breeze, and it extends the blind-spot warning system to cover the trailer as well.
Despite the increase in power and the maintained tow rating, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the 2025 Armada at 18 mpg combined. That's up from 15 mpg combined compared to the outgoing 4WD model. During a particularly frigid winter week, when I performed mixed testing with the SUV, I averaged 16.9 mpg.
Despite the boosted performance, don't expect a rocket ship; this is a moderate improvement. The Armada has a relaxed feel about its drive, primarily thanks to some extremely slow steering. Feedback is almost non-existent too, so it may take some time to get a sense of how many times you need to turn the wheel to make a tight turn.
The ride quality is quite good, thanks to the air suspension, which comes standard on the Platinum trim. There's just a hint of an edge to things here as if to remind you that you're driving in a proper 4x4. Still, good compliance and ride quality, plus excellent sound isolation, means you'll be commuting and covering big miles in your big SUV without complaint.
Photo: Tim Stevens
Nissan's Safety Shield 360 advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) package comes standard on the 2025 Nissan Armada. It contains a comprehensive suite of active safety features, including:
For most drivers, that's sufficient protection, and it works effectively. Features like adaptive cruise control and the rear cross-traffic warning performed as expected in my testing.
That said, Nissan offers more for those willing to spend a bit more. Nissan upgraded my Platinum test vehicle with the ProPilot Assist 2.1 system, which adds hands-off highway driving capabilities. Much like General Motors' (GM) Super Cruise or Ford's BlueCruise, the Armada allowed me to sit back and relax on certain divided highways.
In this way, the car steered itself, but I was still the party responsible for driving. The SUV's driver monitoring system ensures that you keep your eyes on the road ahead, meaning you're ready to take over at a moment's notice.
Sadly, you will need to do this quite often. Roads where I could use ProPilot Assist 2.1 were few compared to those offered by Ford and GM, and even on those major roads, the system was inconsistent. Sometimes, I could go hands-free without issue on a given stretch of highway. At other times, on the same route under the same conditions, I had to keep my hands on the wheel.
But it's early days for this system compared to the competition, and I expect it to improve. When driving hands-on, base features like active lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control work very well.
As of the time of this writing, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has rated the crashworthiness of the 2025 Armada.
According to the JD Power 2024 Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Chevrolet Tahoe ranks highest in the Large SUV segment. The Chevrolet Suburban is the next-highest-ranked model.
According to the JD Power 2024 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, the Jeep Wagoneer ranks highest in the Large SUV segment. The GMC Yukon is the next-highest-ranked model.
Other 2025 Armada competitors include the Ford Expedition, GMC Yukon XL, and Toyota Sequoia.
