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Comments
I felt the Quest minivan had a better assembled interior.
-juice
My Sequoia on the other hand has done much better than expected.
realized the obvious - hehe
A Suburban or Excursion has the option for
the limited slip differential so even a 2wd
is good enough to get out of a jam if one
wheel slips in the mud, as power is delivered
to both rear wheels.
But traction control is an interesting feature,
it's probably nothing more than software written
to detect wheel slippage on a standard differential and apply the brakes to that wheel only, forcing power to redirect to the other
rear wheel, sorta like an electronic version
of the limited slip differential. It's a cool
idea. Plus, most traction control schemes
control engine throttle and braking on the
spinning wheels to get you out of a jam.
The Armada comes with this standard therefore
the 2wd should get you out of a jam if one
wheels starts slipping in the mud. Plus,
Nissan addes their own version of vehicle
stabilization I believe.
I would still get 4x4 only if I lived in
snow country or if I did some off roading
on rocks and mud, otherwise 2wd traction control
with the ability to have power on both rear
during slippage is cool.
Correct me if I wrong.
been happier if the Armada exterior looked
more like the Dune Hawk concept, less irregular
shapes.
I also complained about door handles being
plastic, but many car manufacturers are doing
this too.
The other thing that bugged me was. The front
and rear bumpers are not 100% solid steel.
The corners are light sheet metal with plastic
over them.
I went to a dealer and the in house display
Armada has a broken 2nd row seat lever, it
appears the cable came off the track. Hopefully
it was just a defect, not caused by customer
abuse because that would be bad in the long run.
The selling point for me is;
1. powertrain
2. interior utility (seats folding, etc.)
3. leg room
GM's powertrain is suspect, their interior
lacks the Nissan functionality and leg room.
If GM offered the DMAX diesel and Allison tranny
I would get that instead, but they don't.
It's not fair to compare the 3/4 ton Suburban
or ~1 ton Excursion to an Armada, but in many
ways the Armada 1/2 ton can hold it's own,
but nothing will beat the Excursion w/diesel
for heavy load towing.
Dunehawk is pretty radical looking, IMO. Actually it's a hint at the next Pathfinder (non-Armada).
-juice
The weakest point of the Armada is it's exterior shape. I love the chrome, but the overall shape is not the best.
Nissan should study cars from Lexus and Acura and copy them.
But since neither Toyota nor Honda has anything as big as the Armada with the Navigation system, Nissan has the clear edge here.
So until Toyota and Honda come out with a 207" x 78" SUV with Navigation, Nissan should be able to sell a lot of Armada.
With any luck, Nissan may just change the shape of the Armada to look like the Dunehawk in 4 years:-)
I'm curious to know who designed the Armada or some of these ugly looking vehicles out there, including the Quest which IMO is the ugliest minivan on the market. Well, okay, the ugliest Japanese minivan on the market.
From what I've seen Nissan do in the past few years, and from the small teaser photo of the new Pathfinder, I bet it will be a knockout.
Juice and I are going to the Detroit show together, so we can report back on it. We'll see it on the 7th, ahead of the public, so hopefully we can report back that night.
Bob
The decision points for me included more space in the Armada, better safety features, better braking, more up-to-date functions, pricing (I paid $500 over invoice), fold flat seats and storage. Even with the extra HP I think the Sequoia and the Armada were comparable in terms of acceleration and ride quality (maybe a little better with the Armada). The only drawbacks for me were the third row not being split and this is the first model year. I am also giving up my BMW 540 for this so I'm a little nervous I might regret the whole big SUV decision a year from now.
I'll let you know how it drives once I take delivery.
I am in a similar situation comparing the Seq. and Armada as well as the Expedition. I like the look of the Seq. better than the Armada, I thought they drove very similar I think the Armada is very truck like in both the exterior and interior. I am assuming you got a better deal on the Armada than the Sequia? I am going to look at the Exp. tomorrow as they are discounting those heavily. Do you have any more thought on your comparison of the two vehicles?
I don't see this trend stopping at Nissan any time soon. They got alot of flack about the Altima and did very little to improve it. Now everthing they sell has an Altima interior (Except the old school Pathfinder) :-)
Another note on the Armada vs Sequoia. If I were buying this vehicle for my wife I would have gone with the Sequoia because it it easier to get into, the tailgate is lower, it has shopping bag hooks, the interior and exterior are not as brash and rugged looking as the Armada (my wide really doesn't like the rugged look of the Armada). In my area (Northeast) I have also noticed that almost every Sequoia (and there are a lot) is driven by a woman. I guess that may have made me think of it in the same league as a minivan. Not that I classify cars in that way, but I'm sure it impacts people's perceptions of vehicles.
I seriously considered the SEQ and the EXPY when looking to replace our current 01 Pathfinder. The EXPY EB wins with its slightly more spacious, split 3rd row seat. The interior is nicer than both the Sand and Steel PFA interiors, but not Graphite, which I ordered. Other than that, the EXPY excelled in no other area. My dad has an '03 EXPY EB that is already beginning to rattle and squeak have annoying little problems. The SEQ is too small for the towing we do and lacks styling. Toyota is perceived have better quality and it probably is slightly better long-term, but I have been very happy with the quality and durability of the 3 nissan vehicles Ive owned for 3, 5 and 7 years respectively. I drove, towed and off-roaded the wheels off my current '01 Pathfinder and it is as solid and tight as the day I got it without the tiniest problem or repair. I really hate to get rid of it, but our family has grown to where we really need a fullsize SUV. So for me, the choice between a similarly-priced, lower performance and quality EXPY and a higher-priced, smaller in virtually every way SEQ made the Armada a pretty easy choice. I am a little leery of buying a 1st production year vehicle, but I figure that if too much goes wrong, I will trade it off at the end of the warranty period for whatever is the best option at that point. Hopefully that wont be necessary as I want to keep it for 8-10 years.
One last note before I end this way long post. Kiplinger's Personal Finance had an article on fullsize SUV's where the Armada had either the 1st or 2nd best resale value in the fullsize class. Not that Kiplinger's Personal Finance is the foremost expert on vehicles, but Im sure they did some homework for the article...
Unless your selling Maybach's or Rolls, I believe that cost cutting is absolutely necessary for every vehicle manufacturer's economic survival.
I would propose that with most vehicle manufacturers, they approach the constant cost cutting that is absolutely necessary to keep them in business in a way that doesn't show up to the consumer.
I believe that Nissan's approach to over engineer all the mechanicals at perhaps the expense of the some of the interior "touch and feel" parts is they way I for one would prefer they do it.
This way I know and can see where the cost cutting took place as opposed to other manufacturers that hide their cost cutting in under engineering the critical mechanical parts.
By using timing belts for example as opposed to timing chains.
Also, is anyone having any significant problems with the LE models and the noise issue that I have read about here? I asked the dealer and he said that he has not had any issues from what they have sold in the area.
Any other mechanical or interior issues that anyone is having recently?
Thanks,
We have had our LE 4X4, tech and DVD only a few days, but have taken some long trips and love it. No problems with the vibration or resonance that others had experienced. I suppose maybe some wind noise, but nothing too obtrusive. Plus the power is great! Flew up the Grapevine (long steep grade in So. California for those out of State). No problems passing like we sometimes had with our V8 Explorer. So far we are very happy...but we will see how it holds up in the long run.
If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for your extended warranty and how long did you extend?
Thanks,
$2500 - $3000 depending on plan chosen.
I wonder how much you can really get it for?
btil1...the Nav system is most useful if you travel a lot. When trying to find an address in an area you are not familiar with it is very handy. Also will tell you which fast food/gas stations are coming up on a road trip which is nice if you have kids. You don't have to worry about carrying maps. Is it absolutely necessary?- Probably not unless you use it for business. It is a fun toy (albeit expensive), and fairly easy to use, although I don't really like the joy stick controller. This is our first, so can't compare it to others.
Hope this was useful
Although it was an LE it did not have the tech package. Interior was very clean and I'm sure with the tech package it will look even nicer. The tech package is a must for me because it bundles the major options into one. I had one dealer try to fit in a after market Nav system in which I declined. Overall I liked it and with its long list of features including safety this Sahara Gold SUV will be parked in my garage in the near future.
But really, I think Infiniti is about where Nissan ought to be, and both could improve a lot.
Keep in mind I think the powertrains are fantastic, it seems no costs were cut in that area!
Q about this resonance - is it with windows open, you mean?
-juice
In my experience (over the last 10 years of Nissan opwnership) it's strictly a dealer by dealer decision. Some provide them sometimes, some never provide them and I've yet to find a Nissan dealer that always offered a loaner car.
If you do get one, it'll be a Sentra 99% of the time, again in my experience.
-juice
zrap17, it looks like you'll have your vehicle first. Let me know how it goes.
They are also sold like cars. Meaning their is a invoice price and MSRP.
You never have to deal with a bill (0 deductible)or have to apply for or call in ahead of time to get coverage. You also don't have to deal with any type of re-imbursements from the warranty companies or denial of coverage. It's all right there in one place.
I agree with dklanecky to a point about the convenience of the Manufacturer extended warranty, but when dealers are charging anywhere from $500 to $1500 more for the same coverage, you have to ask--at what cost is the convenience not worth it..
Most of these aftermarket warranty companies handle the claim directly with the dealer through corp. credit card. So there is no reimbursement involved. The thing to ask the warranty co. when researching is, do they use the manufacturer guidelines for billable hours--this can make a big difference in how much of your claim will be paid.. The manufacturer guidelines are typically much higher that the "book hours" by your average mechanic down the street.
My strongest suggestion is do your research.
Just get a moonroof, why not? Headroom galore.
-juice