I was provided the Armada to drive by Nissan in an exchange for a review. My opinions as always, are my own.
As we were leaving dinner a few nights ago, my youngest sighed heavily. Upon asking what was up with such a big sigh, I quickly found out the answer.
He had spotted a Nissan Armada like the one I got to review and informed me that it was the ‘best car we’ve ever gotten to drive, and he really missed it.”
I quickly concurred with him.
As a part of my writing journey I’ve gotten to drive some truly lovely vehicles, but I have to confess that my favorite thus far has been the Nissan Armada. As we’ve shared before, more often than not we road trip to our destination. Our trip to Des Moines, Iowa was no exception, we were traveling for my oldest to compete in the AAU Junior Olympics as well as to check out the historic city.
Which is where the 2018 Nissan Armada comes in.
When the car arrived in my driveway, the first thing I thought was “this thing is huge.” Because of it’s size compared to my sedan that has been a daily driver for 3 years, I did worry a bit about how I would adjust to the extreme size difference.
The fact of the matter is that, yes, it very much lives up to the full size SUV designation.And I loved every second behind the wheel.
So let’s get down to the basics of what it is like to ride in the Armada.
What you need to know about the Nissan Armada Platinum.
I was talking with one of my mom friends who had seen me around town running errands in the Armada and she later texted me and said here’s what I want to know about the car, if I was buying one.
I’ve answered her questions below.
How noisy the car is while driving…like can I hear the kids in the back?
So this is a tricky answer, even in my sedan that is our usual daily driver, I have trouble hearing my kids. They tend to be mumblers. However, I didn’t have any more trouble than usual hearing my kiddos. In fact, my husband and I commented a few times that there really wasn’t much road noise while we were driving.
How much space is there in the back for stuff?
In my experience driving cars with a 3rd row, the space in the back is either ample or really hindered by the addition of the 3rd row.
That really wasn’t the case with the Nissan Armada. In fact, we fit luggage for our family of 4 in the rear without having to put the 3rd row down. So, a trip to the grocery was no problem for the vehicle.
Cup Holders
The Armada has plenty of cup holders. On a day that I am going to work, I bring my coffee, smoothie and cup of water for the day. The Armada has spots in the doors for water bottles, the middle seat in the rear had a fold down arm rest that had cup holders in addition to having the space in the door, the third row area also had 2 spots on each side of the car for cups.
Is there a rear entertainment system?
This is an option feature for the Armada. The screens for the DVD player are built into the headrests of the driver and passenger seats. The entertainment package also comes with wireless headphones. I have to admit the peace and quite that resulted from those wireless headphones would be worth the upgrade amount for the entertainment package!
Just a travel tip. In this day and age of streaming movies, we don’t own a ton of DVDs. So we sought out Redbox along the way. Spending a dollar or two was much cheaper than purchasing a DVD that once my kiddos may watch twice.
Are there extra usb outlets?
The front has 2 USB outlets in the center under the controls for the radio and air. Inside of the center console there is an additional outlet.
In the rear middle there is a house hold plug, a 9v outlet, 2 USB outlets and a spot for an HDMI cable. In the 3rd row there are 2 USB outlets.
Do the seats move/fold easily?
You know when you are in a car and you can’t quite figure out how to get out and you start making your plans to just live your life in that car?
Just me?
The ease at which the middle seat moved so that people could get into the back seat was almost alarming.
The third row is controlled with a button, allowing you to lower and raise the seats either together or independently.
What kind of gas milage does the Armada get?
The Nissan Armada has a 26 gallon gas tank, and with gas prices that we encountered on our trip, it cost around $78 to fill up the tank. Here’s the thing, we were surprised that for such a large vehicle we got 18 miles on the highway.
Nissan Armada Platinum Takeaways
After a 9 hour drive to Iowa, and more corn fields than you could fathom, my crew wasn’t worn out and everyone had enough space to themselves. In other words, we weren’t running from each other when we got to the hotel.
So, yes, when we are running errands around town and my littlest sighs, wishing that he was reunited with the Nissan Armada, know that I am also thinking the same thing.
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