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I'm sorry, but when you name your new giant sport-utility truck the Armada, people are wont to take potshots.
What's wrong? Was Galactic taken, or Gi-normous, or Humongous? People had all sorts of suggestions when I was driving this one, including a co-worker who wanted a special edition painted in the Spanish national colors. Spanish Armada, get it? Folks are so clever!
But Nissan, which already produces the big Titan pickup, now trots out the Armada, its full-size sport-ute built on Titan's frame. All joking aside, there actually ARE larger utes.
Armada rides on a 123.2-inch wheelbase and is 206.9 inches long. The popular Chevrolet Suburban has a 130-inch wheelbase and is 219.3 inches long. Armada is about midway between the Suburban and its smaller cousin, the Tahoe that has a 116-inch wheelbase and is 198.8 inches long. It's dimensionally equivalent to Ford's Expedition with its 119-inch wheelbase and 205.8-inch length.
As you might expect, Armada is slightly heavier than Tahoe at 5,289 pounds, but checks in a couple hundred pounds lighter than Suburban. The Expedition is similar in weight to Armada. In any case the Armada's a heavy beast and its chunky styling doesn't help slim its look either.
Some folks will like that. It helps distinguish Armada from other utes.
From a utilitarian standpoint, Armada has less cargo space than last month's Dodge Durango, the Expedition or Suburban. But it still hauls a bunch. Plus, it has better tow capacity at 9,100 pounds, beating Durango and Expedition by about 200 pounds and Suburban by roughly 900. So for pulling extremely heavy trailers, Armada is a better call.
On the power front the Armada beats most comers too, its 5.6-liter V-8 cranks out 305 horsepower and delivers a torque rating of 385.
Durango's Hemi tops that horsepower number at 345, but torque is rated below Armada at 375. The Ford and Chevy fall shorter yet.
What's it all matter? For bragging rights, I guess. All these big utes will haul a heap and pull major loads.
As for its driving characteristics, the Armada is well behaved. In fact, it felt quicker off the line than the Durango and handling was good, for a big truck.
Parking it wasn't too difficult and the ride, due to its independent rear suspension, was decent too. Railroad tracks were not too rough in Armada either.
Braking was solid, this one coming with four-wheel disc brakes and an anti-lock system.
The test truck was the SE model with four-wheel drive that could be set in automatic mode, or adjusted via a knob on the dash to two-wheel drive or four-wheel with high and low settings. All that is good for when the snow gets deep, or heaven-forbid, the mud under the snow gets deep.
Inside the "Deep Water Blue" (dark blue) Armada test truck was a rather utilitarian-looking gray vinyl and leather interior. The leather was part of a $2,350 package that included six-way power to the seats, side airbags and a fancy 260-watt Bose stereo with 6-disc CD and 10 speakers.
The truck has the requisite chunky dash levers, large air ducts and flat-topped door panels. Atop those were easy-to-reach power window, lock and mirror buttons.
Armada's gauges are white on black, but the numbers glow orange at night. There are automatic headlights here too and a rear wiper on a stalk to the right of the tilt wheel. Nissan also adds cruise control, radio volume, mode and power to the wheel's hub.
In addition, the ute comes with power-adjustable brake and accelerator pedals and a rear sonar system to help you avoid backing into things, such as snowmobiles, with this giant.
Atop the dash is a coin tray and below that is the radio with macho-sized buttons and knobs. The climate control system is just beyond and also has big knobs, but this isn't a dual climate system, somewhat odd for a pricey ute. Yet there's a temperature gauge and fan for the rear seats, and a setting to allow folks back there to control their own system.
Seating is plentiful, with spots for eight that include good head and legroom in all three rows, although getting into the third row is a little clunky and would be made tougher if you were wearing big snow boots. The seats themselves are rather flat with not much contouring to the back cushions. There's a manual lumbar support, though.
Overhead in back are a stereo system that backseat folks can adjust and enjoy and a bevy of air ducts. In front is good overhead lighting, dual visors with extenders and lighted mirrors. The rear-view mirror also includes a compass, thermometer and the HomeLink system. Need more? Well, there are no less than four overhead storage areas for sunglasses and the like.
Add to that all the usual storage bins between the seats, including a large cubby with a pull-out divider, two cup holders that are covered and a storage bin with pen tray.
Gas mileage is pathetic. I got 14.3 miles per gallon and the EPA says to expect 13 mpg city and 18 highway. All that is before towing any trailer.
Pricing is standard for this class of ute. The Armada SE begins at $36,100 and this one ended at $39,100. The Suburban, with four-wheel-drive, starts at $40,050 while Tahoe begins at $37,200 and the upscale version of the Expedition is similarly priced to Armada. Last month's Durango was on the lower end, starting at $34,250.
Bottom line? Armada has the power to pull whatever you want and plenty of interior room for seven or eight riders. Pricing is in line with other big utes, so it's your call! But remember your charge card for the gas station!