This isn't good enough Nissan. The Armada starts at $53,500, but the fully-loaded LE that I tested reached over $65K. That's BMW territory despite the Nissan nameplate, and people in this bracket expect to be impressed. To be fair the surrounding plastic surfaces are fairly decent, not premium levels of tactile quality but comparable to all but Ford's Expedition. Also, I believe Nissan will soon correct the few poorly executed areas, something along the lines of what it did with its latest Altima update.
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| Maybe it's the cavernous size of the thing, but road noise is an issue while riding in the Armada. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
The only other complaint I have has to do with interior road noise. For reasons I couldn't put my finger on, the Armada isn't exactly vault-like when on the go. Maybe it's the cavernous size of the thing, a theory I came to during a back-to-back test of the Titan pickup that was noticeably quieter. Possibly more sound deadening is needed to make up for the interior space in the back, but either way the humming and drumming from behind has to go.
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| A satellite-based navigation system with 7.0-inch LCD screen is available. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
Of course there's one sure way to remedy the situation, crank up "Show Me How to Live" by Chris Cornell's new band Audioslave (including ex-Rage Against the Machine band members), or anything off of the first half of their debut CD for that matter, and all droning will be a distant memory. Tunes sound especially good due to the Armada's 10-speaker Bose audio system. It features dual media capability, or in other word lets the kids listen to the audio portion of the Disney DVD under headphones while those up front relax to Cornell's chainsaw-through-metal vocals and Tom Morello's Zeppelin's-too-mellow guitar riffs. A satellite-based navigation system with 7.0-inch LCD screen is also available, featuring Nissan's optimal landscape view and relatively easy functionality.