2025 Nissan Armada Platinum Reserve First Test: Do You Really Need the Infiniti Version?

Motor Trend

2 days ago

Pros Luxury for less
ProPilot Assist 2.1 is great
Powerful engine Cons Thirsty engine
Small third-row seat
Still nearly $90,000
The 2025 Nissan Armada is all-new, but it remains related to the Infiniti QX80. As with, say, a Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac's Escalade, there are obvious mechanical links between the Nissan and Infiniti, but unlike those (and other mainstream SUVs with luxurious relatives), there exists some overlap between the Armada and the QX80—if you opt for the fancy Platinum Reserve trim level tested here. The nicest Armada available offers such overtly luxurious amenities that you might wonder if Nissan's marketing department has gone to war with Infiniti's. And when you look at the Armada Platinum Reserve's price, you really start to question if you should bother looking at the Infiniti QX80 at all.
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For the 2025 model year, the Nissan Armada is a mostly new machine. It's slightly larger, wears buff new bodywork, sits on a new platform, and drops the old model's V-8 engine in favor of a more modern twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6. While the loss of two cylinders and some displacement might seem like downgrades on paper, the reality is that the V-6 makes 25 more horsepower and 103 lb-ft more torque than last year's naturally aspirated V-8. It also trades its seven-speed automatic transmission for a nine-speed auto for improved acceleration and better fuel efficiency.
This combination is good to tow up to 8,500 pounds, and the Armada includes a Class 4 tow hitch and seven-pin harness preinstalled. Both the Platinum Reserve and the Pro-4X include an integrated trailer brake controller, as well as a new-to-Nissan Trailer Blind Spot Monitoring system, which can check your blind spots (trailer included) after inputting the length of the trailer in the system configuration, but that extra visibility is limited to 33 feet. This is part of the latest camera system on the Armada that includes the 3D around-view monitor, invisible hood view, and front wide view—a wide-angle front camera to let you see ahead of your bumper to keep from hitting parked cars, buildings, curbs, and other roadway obstacles at low speeds. A particularly useful feature on the rather large Armada.
Steering wise, the new Armada drops the electrohydraulic power steering for a fully electric rack, allowing the 2025 Armada to have a quicker steering ratio and not feel like you're constantly moving the wheel just to park it in a space or garage. Further, you gain wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay on all Armadas, and the SL and higher trim levels feature wireless device charging in the center console. Helping put the Platinum Reserve on top of the Armada lineup is a Klipsch premium audio system with 12 speakers plus a subwoofer and a 600-watt amplifier. Helping the Platinum Reserve overlap with the QX80 is pretty much everything else this loaded SUV comes with, all of which also is offered on the Infiniti, including a new air suspension, the same twin-turbo V-6, and more.
My, What Nice Stuff You Have
One Armada feature that especially will catch your attention is the ProPilot Assist 2.1 system that allows hands-free driving. First, while standard on this version of the Armada, in order to get equivalent tech on the QX80 you must step up to its second trim level, the QX80 Luxe. A win for the Platinum Reserve, to be sure, though the less capable but still decent 1.1 system is available elsewhere in the Armada family, including the Pro4X off-road version we've tested previously.
ProPilot is one of the smoothest-braking semi-autonomous systems we've experienced, and it is so deft that you don't realize it's hitting the brakes. Rather, it feels like it's just letting off the gas and using the natural engine compression to slow the big Armada down. But no, it's applying the brakes and slowing down quite smoothly and wonderfully in response to traffic or obstacles ahead.
It also seems very competent at driving itself around the SoCal interstates and freeways surrounding MotorTrend's L.A. headquarters, easily dealing with drivers cutting us off and stop-and-go traffic. It never wants to brake aggressively, so it is smooth and confidence-inspiring in operation. While it does feel like it holds to the left of the lane a little too much, it's also not the worst offender in doing this and is mostly centered within our point of view behind the wheel. Again, that this fatigue-reducing driver assist is standard as part of the NissanConnect three-year free trial period is a wow factor for the Nissan. Like other limited hands-free systems, there are only certain roadways it will work on and after three years, you'll need to pay to keep those 'HD maps' up to date.
New Tech, New Spaciousness
The new Armada's 14.3-inch 'monolith' digital instrument panel is very bright at night and, when set at its brightest, can almost drown out the head-up display projected onto the windshield. But there is some good news: You can turn that brightness down without digging around in several pages of menus hunting for the darn thing.
With more and more vehicle controls industry-wide being buried in more and more menus, having something as critical as instrument screen brightness still handled by a touch button on the dash is a welcome change. You'll find it right on the panel, and it's obvious when you look at it because the steering wheel doesn't obscure it. Simplicity can equal luxury, it turns out!
We will say we're not the biggest fans of pushbutton gear selectors and would rather have a lever or a dial. We understand why Nissan did it—Lincoln, for example, has similar controls in the Navigator full-size SUV, too—we're just not fans of it. A column shifter would achieve the same console-space-saving goals, though we get that buttons are easier to design around than a physical shifter, and that allows for a cleaner and more open interior design. It's also nice to have a power telescoping and tilt function steering column.
Hopping into the captain's chair in the second row is a very comfortable experience for this over 6-feet-tall writer, but those seats are not powered. It's all manual, but having the ability to slide the middle seat back and forth is still a nice way to share available legroom. It's all the same leather material for the front and rear seats, too. The rear seats feature their own climate control system with heated seats, and both second-row passengers can power their devices using the two USB C ports or the 12-volt port on the back of the center console.
The third row is still tight for anyone other than small children even with the second-row seat fully forward, but those rearmost seats power-fold up and down with a switch in the cargo area. There are two fold-down buttons for the second-row seat backs but getting them back up remains a manual matter.
Overall, we really don't have any other major complaints about the Armada's packaging. It's a great but huge vehicle, and parking is a struggle for street parking in the city. But that's where the 360 cameras come in so handy, and we wish more vehicles came standard with one. It helps so much when you're trying to park a huge monster of a truck like the Armada and make sure you don't curb those expensive 22-inch aluminum wheels.
Smaller Engine, Similar Performance
Drive the 2025 Armada Platinum Reserve, and you might come away surprised it's powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 (that is, if no one told you what was under the hood). Despite this fully loaded Platinum Reserve's 6,082-pound curb weight, that smaller engine helps the SUV get around with ease thanks to its 516 lb-ft of torque, which arrives at just 3,600 rpm. You'll be able to merge smoothly thanks to its 6.3-second 0–60-mph capability, which trails the last-generation, V-8-powered Armada Platinum (we last tested one in 2022) by 0.1 second. Wait, the new Armada is … slower? If only just—but remember, the old one was about a hundred pounds lighter.
Nevertheless, the V-6 feels far less winded when pushed than the 5.6-liter V-8 it replaces, impressive given its size. And beyond 60 mph, the turbo engine catches up, posting a quicker 14.7-second quarter-mile time (0.1 second better than the 2022 Armada) at a faster 95.0 mph (versus 94.2 mph). The new Armada also stops shorter from 60 mph (in 121 feet versus 124), while its fresh suspension helps it post higher lateral grip (0.77 g versus 0.74) and a notably quicker figure-eight lap time (27.6 seconds compared to the old Armada's 28.3).
Disappointingly, given the switch away from the V-8, it's big and it's hungry. Even at its best, the highway mileage is only EPA-estimated at 19 mpg. That then drops to 16 mpg in the city and has a combined rating of just 17 mpg. Those figures are up big time from the old Armada's 13/18/15 mpg figures when equipped with four-wheel drive, but still. Oh, and keep in mind that it also requires premium fuel to get full power out of that twin-turbo V-6, though the Nissan can be fed regular without issue.
But Back to That Infiniti…
But as far as luxury goes, the Armada drives well and rides merely decently (it can't match a Jeep Wagoneer's cushiness, and the 22-inch wheels ride harshly over bad pavement), while the cabin is classier than before if not quite Infiniti-level, and loaded with every toy you can get on the QX80. So, we ask again, as we did when the new Armada first launched: Why consider the Infiniti at all?
A would-be Infiniti customer might reconsider even looking at the similarly priced QX80 Pure AWD. At $86,840, the Armada you see here costs $705 less and includes similar features like ProPilot Assist 2.1, 22-inch wheels, and air ride off the bat. The only plus for the QX80 Pure AWD is two more speakers and flush-fit exterior door handles—and that Infiniti badge. You'd have to be an Infiniti diehard or keen on the fancier badge to not choose the Armada Platinum Reserve here. And consider that it takes that same Infiniti customer an extra $11,800 to upgrade to the QX80's Luxe trim that matches this Armada Platinum Reserve feature for feature. The Infiniti seems to have a ride quality and overall interior styling advantage over this specific Nissan, which doesn't seem to manage its 22-inch wheels as neatly as the QX80 and has less shiny stuff inside.
While we're not Nissan product planners and therefore can't speak to the apparent overlap between the newest Armada and QX80 SUVs, it's certainly good news for savvy shoppers eyeing a feature-laden full-size three-row SUV. Looking for luxury on a budget? The 2025 Nissan Armada Platinum Reserve brings Infiniti levels of fancy for less.