All-New 2025 Nissan Armada Pro-4X Review

The Nissan product revolution continues, and this week we are looking at the all-new 2025 Nissan Armada Pro-4X, a large 3-row luxury SUV that was completely redone for 2025.  Calling it a luxury SUV from Nissan is not much of a stretch, it truly is luxurious, especially the interior.  It is longer and taller than last year’s Armada slightly, but it is a full 4-inches wider.  I see many hints from when I reviewed the 2025 Infiniti QX80 back in October, which was amazing, but also $32,000 more expensive.

Exterior     

The 2025 Armada features the signature boxy exterior that includes a large grille with 3 marker lights along the top, LED headlights and fog lights, and my tester is all white or black. 

It has black 20” wheels that look fantastic sitting over black fender flares, lower black trim with running boards, and a totally black roof with roof rails. 

You’ll find a very thin strip of chrome that runs just above the side windows, and everything else is white or black.  This big SUV turns a lot of heads, and some thought it was a Land Rover at first glance.

The Armada is offered in the least expensive SV model, which starts at $56,520, then you move up to the SL, next the Platinum, then the Pro-4X-which is what I have this week-then you can move up to the top-of-the-line Platinum Reserve. All Pro-4X models feature Nissan’s Intelligent 4-wheel drive system. 

Powertrain   

Under the hood is all-new as well.  Gone is the 5.6-liter V8 and 7-speed automatic.  For 2025, like so many other SUVs, you now have only the 3.5-liter 6-cylinder with twin turbos and a 9-speed automatic.  Together they put out a strong 425-horses, and a huge 516 pound-feet of torque. This configuration upped the horses by 25, and added 103 pound-feet of torque.  All that added power only comes at a cost of one mile per gallon in gas, a tradeoff I commend. The new power train also adds electric power steering which I love, it really enhances the driving experience and makes parking a breeze.

Interior  

The surprise for me was the interior.  The front seats are slightly bolstered, heavily stitched, and diamond-quilted leather.  They are super-comfortable and are heated and air conditioned.  I am impressed with the huge amount of stitching across the interior.  The standard driver seat is 10-way power, 6-way for the passenger. Both have power lumbar supports, but with the package this one has, it bumps you up to 12-way power on both sides.

Hit the start button, and dual 14.3-inch screens come to life and it looks like one continuous huge display.  To the left side is the highly-configurable driver gauge cluster that is a huge improvement for 2025.  It is easy to read, has a digital speedometer in the middle, sign recognition, and a ton of information you control from the heated and power tilting steering wheel.

The other big screen houses the 12-speaker Klipsch stereo system that sounds amazing, navigation system, Bluetooth, voice recognition, settings, and apps for real-time traffic and weather. You also have a Wi-Fi hotspot, wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, and new for 2025 the Armada has Google Assistant, Google maps, Google Play Store, and Alexa built-in. 

It even has a myQ Connected Garage app, which I have used on my iPhone for many years and it’s wonderful.  You also get Sirius XM 360L+.  Everything on the screen is by touch, is simple and easy to navigate through with swipes to the left of right.  Just below the screen, a real volume knob, and all climate control settings.

Moving on down are buttons for the transmission, a button to raise and lower the SUV, and another button to turn off the start/stop, which you’ll want to do every time you start it. There is a round dial there for the many drive modes, which include:  standard, Eco, Sport, tow, snow, sand, rock, and mud/rut.  There is a setting no matter where you find yourself in the new Armada.

The center console has a wireless phone charger, and you can see the face of your phone while charging.  Under a sliding door there are two cupholders, a couple of USB-Cs, and a 12-volt power supply.  There is an open storage pass-through under the console that is very good-sized.

Second row passengers in this vehicle have a bench seat with fold-down console and cup holders, but rear captain chairs are available.  The second-row seats are heated and they slide forward with one-touch to get to the 3^rd row.  As part of the front console, rear passengers have their own climate controls, can direct the air flow, a couple of USB-Cs, and a 12-volt power supply.

Third row seat room is quite good and they are in a 60/40 configuration so you can fold one side down and seat passenger(s) at the same time.  Two adults and a child would actually be comfortable back there.

Utility

Going around to the power, motion activated liftgate, you’ll find 24% more room than last year with over 20-cubic feet of cargo behind the third row. Put the 3^rd row down and cargo space grows to 56-cubic feet of cargo.  Then drop the 2^nd row and you have a massive 97-cubic feet of cargo area. 

Best of all, the second and third row seats when folded down form a fully-flat load floor.  In the cargo area at rear, the 3^rd row has power buttons to fold the 3^rd row seat down AND back up, and there are buttons to fold the 2^nd row seats down, but they have to be manually raised. Also back there is a button to lower the Armada for ease of loading cargo.

Safety

The Armada features a multitude of standard safety technologies, including Nissan Safety Shield 360, Intelligent forward collision warning, blind spot prevention and lane intervention, trailer blind spot warning, and the wonderful easy fill tire alert.  Then there is the outstanding camera system. Choices include a 3D version of Nissan's Intelligent Around View Monitor, an Invisible Hood View so you can see areas that are normally blind to you and a Front Wide View for seeing past parked cars, buildings, or other obstacles.

Features and Options 

Armada Platinum comes with many standard features.  Most notable are remote start, a digital rearview mirror which works great, tri-zone air conditioning, automatic headlights, remote start, rear door alert, trailer brake controller and sway control, front and rear parking sensors, power folding mirrors, tow hooks, skid plates, puddle lamps, and much more.  This puppy is loaded.

Options total roughly $6,000.  There is the $2,780 Premium package which is the heated and air conditioned seats, the 12-way power seats, the heated rear seats, panoramic moon roof with power sliding cover, power liftgate, and something really cool, an Intelligent Dash Cam. A dual-camera system records both inside and outside the vehicle, automatically saving footage and triggering recordings upon impact or manually from the main screen. You can access and download footage through the NissanConnect app on your phone, and some models even offer remote access to photos and security footage. For me, the Premium Package would be a must-have and it’s a real bargain for the money.

The two-tone paint is $990, cross bars on the roof are $590, full floor mats for all rows and the cargo area is $550.  Illuminated kick plates are $450, a rear bumper protector is $300, and mud guards are $375.  You can pick and choose these as you wish.

Ride and Drive

The Armada drives and handles great with much of the thanks going to the Adaptive Electronic Air Suspension, which helps optimize ride comfort and handling. The system has multiple ride heights depending on circumstance; it can lower at speed to improve aerodynamics.  The new Armada sports a new frame which has 25% greater torsional rigidity and 57% increased lateral stiffness, contributing to both improved ride quality and better sound isolation. If you’ve driven previous models, you notice these differences.

Acceleration is strong thanks to the new power train.  For an over 6,000-pound SUV, it will get up a go smoothly and with determination.  The addition of electric power steering made a marked difference in the way the Armada drives and handles.

Fuel Economy and What You'll Pay

Fuel economy is OK for an SUV this size at 15 in town, 18 on the highway, and 16 overall.  It seems to be doing slightly better, even driving it normally for me.

MSRP as equipped is $81,755 all-in with options and freight.  While a lot of money, it stacks up nicely with other full-sized luxury SUVs on the market today.

Verdict

Nissan has done a great job with this all-new, large SUV and I wasn’t always a fan, but I am a huge one now.