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Comments
needs to check them all out and evaluate what is
best for them. I like the new Expedition, but I'm
not a Ford fan. I'm keeping a close eye on the Armada
to see how things go because I may be in the market
to buy soon.
I also compared this to the Sequoia and the Expedition. I eliminated the Ford early on for a number of reasons. Styling, quality and ride performance were some of the reasons. It came down to the Sequoia and the PFA and it took me about 3 weeks to make that tuff decision, but I came down on the side of the PFA. It is a more up-to-date vehicle particularly with safety features and electronics. I also like the extra power and it brakes a lot better than the Sequoia. I also like the 4 wheel drive system better.
Took out the Pathfinder Armada two days ago with my wife and one of my kids. She's 9 yrs old and loved the back seat. It was a LOADED LE with NAV and DVD.
I've posted here before about cost differences in Canada versus the USA. Anyhow....here is what I thought.
First crack at full size SUV is not bad by Nissan but they missed some SERIOUS things.
And don't think I'm nitpicking since I still like the truck and may buy one.
My needs are an SUV than can haul a big boat and up to 7 people in total up north for 6 hours every 3 weeks. I am the perfect customer for some car company.
1: Kids cannot open the back door by themselves. Handle is too high. Even when they can jump to reach it, the door starts to close on them right away and kids grab the dirty part of door to hold on before looking for something to grab before falling off of the step. Nothing to grab.......so door closes or else they get dirty by holding door open with their coat. Stupid design. Should hand a handle on side of seat to grab or something.
2: There is a buffeting at high speed, which may or may not be caused by the position of the roof rails. This may be why some say it is there and others not! This did not concern me to tell you the truth.
3: While some say interior is cheap looking, all the gauges are well placed and designed, and they are large so big hands can use them. Car heated up well.
4: Engine noise into cabin was more than expected, and while that may be "fun" for some, it doesn't mean "power" it means that Nissan did not use enough sound padding. They use far more on the upcoming QX56 than in this truck.
5: Seat leather quality is terrible. (Yes it is very bad, and feels worse than the BMW fake leather)
6: Second row seats have a very long seat so kids knees actually are still a foot away from the edge of seat making them actually uncomfortable. Don't say "throw them in back third row" either since there is another problem with that.
7: Third row seat doesn't split. How dumb is that? Talk about cheap. Even the new QX56 doesn't split. So if I have 5 people traveling long distance (all the time with me) all my stuff will not fit since half of the back seat cannot go down for added capacity! Stupid stupid stupid. This may be the reason I do not get this vehicle. You cannot jam three kids in the third row and fold up the second either. Kids cannot get out of vehicle then.
8: Second row seats very comfortable for adults. They recline way back. (Could and SHOULD recline more in case there is not third row passenger but this is better than the other SUV's on the market. (Note that FX35/45 recline two inches! (idiots) ...and the Porsche SUV and VW doesn't recline AT ALL!!!!! Knobs!
9: Stereo is about the worst I've ever heard in a loaded vehicle priced at this amount. Simple the pits. Sounded Wal-Mart like. That is OK for me since I would not order the DVD System and would put two DVD Screens (9" versus 7") in this thing. I'll replace speakers.
10: Corners great, tracks true...and stops well. Not very responsive on fast lane changes, but for the size, it is better than you'd think. BTW: Drove the BMW x3 and while it is smaller, it really drives and corners on sports car when compared to this thing (or even sports cars).....but I will NOT buy the X3 to replace my Liberty since it its not worth the extra $30K CDN.
My daughter loved it. So did my wife....but when it was all said and done and the dealer went back inside and we jumped into the Liberty she said (in almost these words) "You know it is big enough and has all the toys you'd want, but with the third row not split, you'd need to order the second row bench. And it doesn't look like a $65,000 (Canadian) truck.
All in all I think this is the best looking large SUV around.
So in 3 days I go to the Autoshow (Press Preview Days) and I think that Ford will Introduce the new F-150 based Expedition! Hopefully that will get my blood flowing again, cause the Armada wasn't as good as I hoped.
Steve
>>up to 7 people in total up north for 6 hours
>>every 3 weeks.
If you buy vehicles that often, then I would
get the 3/4 ton Suburban with 8.1L engine to haul
7 and a large boat. Second choice would be Excursion diesel, but not a good ride.
>>Kids cannot open the back door by themselves.
>>Handle is too high.
It's funny how the obvious mistake makes it
through the engineering flow. /hehehe
>>There is a buffeting at high speed, which may or
>>may not be caused by the position of the roof
>>rails.
I bet if they placed some damping material like
dynamat, this would solve some issues.
>>Engine noise into cabin was more than expected
I've given this alot of thought, but I think
all vehicles have flaws and in the end consumers
may have to do some aftermarket modifications.
The Toyota Sequoia's small V8 was just as irritable as it revs high to get the horsepower
and torque.
>>Seat leather quality is terrible.
I think car manufacturers need to stop the
false advertising. It's not leather.
>>Second row seats have a very long seat so kids
>>knees actually are still a foot away from the
>>edge of seat making them actually uncomfortable.
I never thought about this. But it sounds like
a no win situation. If the seats are small the
adult complain, if too big the kids complain. /hehe
>>Third row seat doesn't split. How dumb is that?
Every vehicle has problems. The Suburban for example has decades of history and yet they
don't have fold-flat 3rd row. To do any plywood
hauling you have to remove that row.
>>Stereo is about the worst
Bose sound system? /haha
I never heard a factory system in any car
that sounds good.
I've been saying that from day one. Not only does it not split, but the headroom is lousy. I'm 5'9" and my head hits the ceiling back there. For some strange reason Nissan lowered the headliner over the 3rd-row seat by about 3/4". Why???
That's my only real complaint about the Armada, but it's a big one.
I was at the DC car show last week, and the Armada was positioned about 20' from the Sequoia. While I'm not fond of the Sequoia's fold-up 3rd-row seat, at least it splits, and it is far more comfortable (much better padding) than the Armada's 3rd-row seat.
Also, the Expedition has a much better 3rd-row seat too. It splits 60/40, has better headroom, and is more comfortable. While I like the Armada the best of all the SUVs in its class, if I needed to use 3rd-row seating on an every day basis, the Armada would not be my first choice; not by a long shot.
Bob
Most luxury SUV will have leather on the door trim instead of vinyl like the Armada. I assume the QX56 will have leather on the door trim.
Can we trust some of these manufacturers?
Like the Acura MDX's perforated "leather" seats are not really 100% leather. I was told that only the non-perforated part is leather, but the perforated section of the seats are vinyl.
shulaj...worst sound? what other sound systems have you listened to? id like to get a common frame of reference so i can understand that RIDICULOUS statement! ive listened to about EVERY automobile sound system thats been made in the last 8 years, and NONE come close.
I've been in a Lexus GX470 with the Mark Livingson Sound system and 12 speakers. With some of the FM radio stations around here, they make the awesome ML system of the GX470 sound bad.
But 10 speakers Bose system has to be good.
Is anyone getting the grill guard (late addition)?
I think that would make the Armada look even better.
I will be upgrading the power and speakers on my SE to alpine and was wondering where the SW is buried.
thanks
Brian
A pretty good info center and front dual climate controls.
You are correct they are in the tech package which I did not get, I did not need or want the GPS so I had a hard time paying an additional $2k for dual climate and the info center, my point being that on a $43k they should be standard.
-juice
I will be upgrading the power and speakers on my SE to alpine and was wondering where the SW is buried.
thanks
I have just come back from driving an SE 4x4 off-road, no sunroof. The resonance shocked me - it was staggeringly bad at 65 mph and above, and once I'd heard it, I could sense it at 45 mph. Until that point I was unaware of any issue. The dealership - Dublin Nissan of California - could offer no explanation, and suggested it was probably just a fault with that vehicle.
This is the second Armada I have driven. The first was 7 days ago - a standard SE 4x4 with sunroof - and it was great and had no sign of the resonance. It sold me on the car, and I was just test driving and off-road to see if I prefered the ride.
I am now really concerned. I am about to spend somewhere in the region of $35k to get the car I need, and I can't afford to make a mistake.
Has Nissan done anything to sort this problem out? Has anybody who has bought an Armada had this problem appropriately fixed?
Many thanks
Richard
I think the sub woofer is below the driver's seat, but I'm not 100% sure and I haven't looked yet. I have driven my PFA LE for several days including highway speeds and have no resonance issues at all.
btill1 and pmtre, I live in Hopkinton and bought my Armada from Marlboro Nissan. They were great to work with. I tried Glick in Westboro and a dealer in Norwood and neither would match the deal I had with Marlboro (by about $2000) with my trade. Hope to see you guys driving around the area.
I'm surprised Nissan is using two different tire manufacturers, particularly in the same geographic area. You may want to double check which tires come on the delivered vehicle and compare the two if available. I know one test drive I had at another dealer didn't feel as great and now I wonder if the tires had anything to do with it (I don't know what tires were on the vehicle when I drove it). I think the Continental and Goodyear tires are fairly comparable in a number of areas, but the Goodyear looks like it may have a more aggressive tread. That could be a cause of ride differnces.
I had to have the tires balanced before the trip as I had a shake above 70 MPH from day 1 which was no big deal as nothing is perfect. I also had them to fix a rattle in the dash before my trip. Or rather they said they fixed it. I drove about 5 feet hit a bump and it rattled. I turned around and told them they didn't fix anything. So needless to say it only got worse on the trip and after the 2nd leg it rattled constantly which drove me nuts. At least I think I have pinpointed it to the steering column area which might help. They also had to order me a new overhead console since one of the screws was torqued too tight and shattered the plastic around it. Thats about it. Everything worked great. No problems, no surprises. I actually love the cloth interior. I have the graphite color. The main comments I have received (yes I have had passengers) is how much back seat room there is and how comfortable the seats are. Now I haven't been able to ride in the back seats myself and drive (I leave that to my wife) but my brother rode over 700 miles back with me and said it was comfortable. By the way I didn't like the leather and I am a person who likes leather. I figure if the seat fabric goes over time, I will do the aftermarket leather which I have done before and it is of awesome quality and all leather, not plastic and leather.
Now my comments on the exterior style. I would advise that you shouldn't buy one if you don't like the style or if you don't want people constantly looking at your vehicle when you are driving around or walking around your vehicle when you are parked. I caught someone looking in yesterday when I was parked out in the lot away from other cars. (I don't get door dings!) Anyway, he was looking in and was startled when I walked up but said he was interested in one and said he loved mine. He asked some specifics and said he was going to drive one. This is probably the 5th or 6th person that I have seen walking around my vehicle in the last 2 weeks. So if you don't want to drive a hot looking vehicle, I would advise you go with a Ford Explorer or something like that. I honestly have never gotten such a response from a vehicle I have owned. On the road, people point and look over. I have walked up and heard people say, "What is that, it says Nissan, I love it!" Again, be careful this might be too good looking of a vehicle for you so weigh that in on any decision making. Maybe something a little more boring like the Toyota which is a nice vehicle but a tired design. You won't have to worry about those pesky people pointing while you are driving down the highway or even them walking around admiring your vehicle! Won't happen! Not that I buy for everyone else but I think it is somewhat a clue to what the resale will be and being noticed is not a bad thing.
That said, my last thing is that I want the Satellite radio and have that link that was posted earlier but don't know who could install it for me. I don't want to tackle it. Thats it, sorry for the long post. Good luck to all.
If you order the kit from grubbs any reputable car stereo place can install it in under 2 hours. Your local nissan dealer or infinti dealer can also do it and that way it would be under full warranty. Most have been able to do it themselves in that amount of time.
On dry roads everything seems to be smooth. I keep listening for rattles and buffeting, but so far so good. Only thing is we don't seem to get the gas mileage some are claiming on this board (maybe they have 4x2 models). We are only getting about 14.8 miles per gallon according to the computer. Of course we were fully loaded and rough terrain and some city driving included.
As for the interior, it suits us fine. We are using it to haul kids, dogs, and get through snow and mud, so it fits the bill. Kids loved the DVD...and so did we...Silence! I admit could have done without the nav, and they should have the message center available without having to pay for the navigation. The only other problem is the engine noise, but I guess that is a personal thing. My husband loves the "growl", whereas I prefer quiet. But it is relatively quiet once you get to cruising speed, so I'm pretty happy. So far no major problems to report.
Regarding rattle noise from steering column. The day I drove the PFA home I heard a rattle/tapping noise from near the steering column , turns out to be the keys and remote door opener, banging the dash. I flipped the remote up over the left side of the keys and leaned on the steering column. No more noise.
http://www.nissannews.com/multimedia/nissan2005/pathfinder.shtml
New Frontier
http://www.nissannews.com/multimedia/nissan2005/frontier.shtml
Bob
Chasmanz28
My guess will be additional support/insulation or other sound deadening material to the interior of the roofline..
I told him when it comes in that he will need to drive it first to make sure it doesn't have the resonance issue. I was lucky to escape it I guess.
I also posted earlier about the Sat radio so thanks for the link to Grubbs Infinity and the reply. We both want to get it but would like to know if anyone has made the leap yet to have it installed with the factory kit you buy though Infinity. It sure is pricey but sounds like the only way to go. I did e-mail Grubbs Infinity and they responded quickly and said they have installed them and they do have the kit. He also said that he had heard that some might have the cable already but they haven't seen one but it would be located in the back cargo area somewhere. I should be so lucky! Thanks to everyone on this board. You have been extremely helpful and soon there will be one more proud Armada owner.
resonance.
"Give these ear plugs to customer".
/joke
I am going to get an aftermarket DVD installed in the headrests of the front seats and not run the risk of additional weight to the roof. The system is still about $1,500 so it is actually a little less than factory installed with more features, and 2 screens. My two-cents worth on this roof issue with the PFA....there is a problem, and it will take a re-design to completely fix it.