2021 Nissan Armada

Despite America’s love affair with large vehicles, there’s a shortage of big SUVs that can haul a family and have the capacity to tow a boat, trailer or other recreational equipment. A 900-mile test drive across California in the 2021 Nissan Armada found it to be one of the better choices in the segment.

The current, second-generation Armada debuted in 2017. For 2021, Nissan gave the full-size SUV a mid-cycle freshening with revised styling inside and out, as well as a handful of fresh tech. The new Armada looks sharp, has comfortable front and second-row seating, good safety technology and adequate power. Its drawbacks include poor fuel economy, soft handling and excessive body lean on corners, especially at slower speeds. The refresh makes it a better vehicle, but it still needs a major redesign to catch the category leaders: Chevrolet’s Tahoe and its GMC Yukon sibling.

GM dominates the segment because of its vast truck experience and a product cycle that leaves it with the newest large SUVs on the market, introduced for 2021. Ford redesigned the Expedition in 2018, improving the fuel economy, safety technology and third-row seating space. The Expedition’s fuel economy tops this gas-guzzling segment. Toyota’s Sequoia gets excellent marks for reliability but guzzles fuel and hasn’t been fully redesigned since 2008.

The Nissan starts out just below the others at $49,895 including destination fees, but the top-level Platinum trim starts at $69,295, which is lower than some of the top trims of its competitors. In between, there are two mid-level grades, SV ($53,895) and SL ($57,295). The Armada is a good value choice on all trims.

Although it sucks gas, the carryover 5.6-liter V8 engine provides 400 horsepower, 413 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to haul the family and tow its toys, with an 8,500-pound maximum towing capacity, more than GM’s new SUVs. The engine is mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission. It’s acceptable but can’t match the smoothness and fuel economy of the transmissions in the Nissan’s newer rivals. To aid in towing there’s a standard trailer brake controller system. SL and Platinum models also get trailer sway control.

The SUV has an EPA-rated fuel economy of 14 mpg in city driving, 19 mpg on the highway and 16 mpg in combined driving for the rear-wheel-drive models and 13 city, 18 highway, and 15 mpg combined for four-wheel drive versions. Only the Sequoia burns more fuel. Nissan makes up for the poor mileage with a 26-gallon fuel tank.

The interior is uncluttered and is anchored by a new 12.3-inch color touchscreen. It is great to see a screen of that size as standard equipment, but Nissan has angled it back toward the windshield just enough to make it hard to reach depending on the driver’s size or seating position. The infotainment unit has some of the latest features, including wireless Apple CarPlay and Wi-Fi. Wireless phone charging is also standard.

Platinum models also get a rear entertainment system and an intelligent rearview mirror, which displays a camera view when the regular mirror is blocked by people or cargo.

Nissan offers two interior configurations—seven seats with captain’s chairs or second- and third-row benches to carry eight occupants. The third-row seating is tight for older teens and adults for more than a short drive.

The 2021 Armada offers 19.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row, 49.9 behind the second row with the third row folded, and 95.4 cubic feet with both rows folded. Those aren’t small numbers, but they’re well below the Tahoe and Expedition.

The Armada’s styling is fun. While so many designers are going to blacked out or body color accents, Nissan still pulls off chrome well. The trapezoidal air vents that sit high on the front fenders on a line with the chrome door handles work well together. The new grille, hood, front fenders, and front bumpers provide the mass and ruggedness buyers expect in a big SUV, including one that has decent off-road capability. Up front, the 2021 Armada is the first Nissan to sport the company’s new logo.

The Armada’s four-wheel-drive system and 9.2 inches of ground clearance can handle most of what one would encounter on a ranch or desert setting. Rock-crawling would be a stretch except for the most expert drivers and Nissan doesn’t specify a fording depth, so be careful crossing streams.

The Armada, which like a pickup truck has a body-on-frame architecture, had a refreshingly smooth ride. Many body-on-frame pickups and large SUVs tend to bounce along the road, especially at slower speeds. The Armada, by contrast, provides a steady, even ride thanks to its front and rear independent double-wishbone suspension. It does, however, lean pretty heavily in cornering.

All Armadas come equipped with the Nissan Safety Shield 360 advanced driver assistance technology system. It includes forward collision alert with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot and lane departure warnings, rear cross-traffic alert and rear automatic braking. The SUV also has adaptive cruise control, convenient for long highway journeys.

Crash ratings aren’t out for the 2021 model, but the 2020 Armada scored a four-star rating out of five on the National Highway Safety Administration scale. It received five stars in side crash tests but only three in rollover and frontal crash tests.