2004 Nissan Pathfinder Armada
American-style V8 Power from Japan -- in an SUV!  

(Reprinted from Gannett's Desert Sun)

See this truck and get into it, and you quickly realize the name, well, fits. This thing is huge, as big or bigger inside and out as all the other "Big-Time" SUVs. Armada bests little brother Toyota Sequoia, the Yukon and Tahoe and even Suburban in so many ways. And it’s got features, options and pricing to match them and do them better.

We were in the Porsche non-turbo two-wheel drive Cayenne just two weeks ago. Stepping into and driving the two-wheel drive Armada provided no great difference at all. And Armada is priced quite a bit less than its luxurious European rivals.

Armada starts at $33,300 and runs up the pricing ladder to $49,500 for a SE Off-Road model with four-wheel drive.

Nissan has a history of building trucks, which many people overlook. Most of the engines the company makes, and has made, such as for the original Skyline (the 240Z in this country) were derived from engines originally designed for trucks. With that, the engines were inherently strong, had great low-end power and hearty torque, all a great basis for any engine to be used for practically any purpose.

Nissan for many years ran in the world’s top off-road races and always acquitted itself well. Maybe they didn’t have the all-star drivers (like Toyota did with Ivan "Ironman" Stewart), but their racing vehicles were rugged.

Then Toyota brought out an almost-full size pickup truck and SUV for the American market. For years the Japanese had held off, staying out of that All-American marketplace. Japan thought that the American car-makers made so much money in the full-size truck market that Detroit considered it sacred and would fight viciously any foreign entry into that marketplace.

They were right. But that didn’t stop them.

So here came Toyota’s Tundra (almost) full-size pickup and its SUV derivative, Sequoia, both built in Princeton, Indiana.

But Nissan was not far behind all this.

Nissan has just opened their all-new huge production facility in Canton, Mississippi. It was no secret from the beginning what Nissan would be making at this plant, and those who went to the Los Angeles Auto Show last January saw its first product: Nissan’s Titan full-size pickup.

It was wildly received. People loved the look of the truck, as well as the standard 5.6 liter 305 horsepower 385 foot pounds of torque V8 engine. The Titan had more horsepower than Nissan’s V8, was larger than Tundra and looked like a true major step forward in pickup design.

And now here is Armada, the direct cousin of Titan. It’s got that same powerful, great-sounding V8. Even with a weight of 5,051 pounds, Pathfinder Armada feels as quick off the line and as fast heading towards top gear on an on-ramp as the Cayenne. It manages an average of 14 miles per gallon, on a good day. And Armada sports an independent rear-end suspension, while Titan does not.

Certainly the 5-speed automatic in the Armada does not shift manually as fast or as solidly as does the 6-speed Tiptronic in the Cayenne, but Armada’s tranny is still no less than you’d expect from a truck. Steering is somewhat heavy, but accurate and confidence-inspiring. Braking is excellent on Armada, with four-wheel anti-lock discs standard.

There are three rows of seats, and the second and third rows both easily fold flat into the floor to make a large storage area. Armada can hold 7 or 8 people with ease. Rear seat air conditioning, lighting, optional radios and DVD players are all available for rear passengers. Riding in the back of Armada is a pleasure, rather than a chore. Fit and finish throughout the interior is excellent. On so-equipped models, the leather used throughout makes Armada feel more like a really large Rolls-Royce than a SUV.

Armada’s driver has a lot of gauges to look at and a lot of switchgear to operate. There’s available XM satellite radio and we’ve always felt the Nissan/Infiniti navigation system’s screen is the best-looking of them all with its pseudo-3D effect.

There’s a rear-view video camera which puts a picture of what’s behind Armada on the nav screen when the tranny is in "reverse", and the picture is remarkably clear and useful, even in darkest night.

But a few less gauges and switches might be an Armada improvement for the operator. On the plus side, seat belts and airbags are virtually everywhere and anywhere within Armada.

Many analysts feel Armada’s exterior design will be a "love it or hate it" relationship with Americans. With its swoopy lines and rugged front-end which really means "business", Armada does not look like any SUV you’ve ever seen.

But there is one part of Armada’s exterior which is familiar to some of us.

The original Nissan Pathfinder was one of the first vehicles ever designed at Nissan’s styling facility in nearby La Jolla. Armada was designed at the same location. As a tribute to that original Pathfinder, today’s Armada sports the same high door handles for the rear doors which fools many first-time viewers into thinking Armada is a two-door, not a four-door. The visual trick works as well, maybe better, on Armada than on the smaller, original Pathfinder. So that’s probably why "Pathfinder" is still part of the full, "official" Armada name!

Armada is among be the best SUVs of its size, especially considering its price and features, yet to be introduced to the American motoring public. Armada also features unusual and modern, eye-catching styling inside and out which has not been the norm with most SUVs. Made in the USA, built on the platform of the all-new Titan pickup, Armada makes a strong statement that it has truthfully and rightfully inherited the great history and heritage of Datsun and Nissan trucks.

All we can say is that we can’t wait to see the Infiniti version of this large, capable, powerful and good-looking SUV.