 So what is up you guys, I'll go back to another one. If you are new to this channel, I am Goldpony, I do new car track SUV reviews on YouTube and today, we are in the brand new 2023 Nissan Armada courtesy of younger Nissan in Frederick, Maryland for more information on their inventory. Please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. So we are in this one today because this is Nissan's largest SUV currently in production. So may very well possibly be a great road trip vehicle. Also comes with a very reliable V8, that has been in production for seven years now. So this was stood the test of time, I guess you could say. So ultimately in this video, we will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering field, ride quality, sound system, exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. So as you can imagine, there are several different trim levels for the 2023 Armada. First one being the S starting at $50,400. By the way, this is a very modest $900 price bump from the 2022 model year, which quite honestly isn't all that bad compared to other manufacturers out there. SV for $54,950, SL, which is the one we're in today, starting at $58,370. Midnight edition for $60,360. And lastly, the Platinum going for $66,720. And that was all pricing for the rear wheel drive configuration. You can add four wheel drive to any of those prices. If you wanted to do that, simply add $3,000 then to any of those prices. Consider the regardless of trim level that you go with the power plant on the Armada is going to be the same. Powering the beast is a 5.6 liter naturally aspirated V8, putting out 400 horsepower at 5,800 RPM, 413 pound feet of torque, coming in at 4,000 RPM. Power sent to the rear wheels or all wheels to a seven speed automatic, giving you a zero to 60 time coming in at approximately 5.8 seconds. That's pretty darn impressive considering the size of this SUV with MPG numbers coming in at 14 in the city, 19 on the highway for the rear wheel drive, 13 city, 18 then on the highway for the four wheel drive taking premium unleaded fuel. But so then before we do any kind of fun acceleration test here in the Armada I wanted to mention to you guys, the drive modes, there are two of them. There is a tow mode and a snow mode and that could be adjusted through the circular dial located just to the right of the shifter there. And so now have they got all of that out of the way? What do you guys say? Let's go ahead and put this thing to the test. Let's find a straightaway here and let's see how quickly we can get our new 2023 Nissan Armada here up to speed. All right, in three, two, one, go. Okay, I think it's quick. This thing is dead quick, man. The V8 is definitely plenty powerful regardless of the size of this Armada because Armada is a big vehicle but I gotta admit the V8 does an incredible job bringing this thing up to speed. That feels like zero to 60 in under six seconds in incredible acceleration. Definitely not gonna have any issues emerging on to the highway. That's where I say that was even fun. Anyways, to go along with that acceleration is always braking is equally important. So upfront you will find 13.8 inch ventilated front disc. In the back, 13.8 inch ventilated rear disc as well as far as that 60 year stopping distance goes that comes in at 124 feet, which is plenty respectable. It's pretty much average for the segment. As far as braking feel goes, feels fine. It's a little bit on the softer side, it will say that, but that's to be expected for an SUV of the size of the Armada. So I didn't expect it to be a super firm braking feel. So it is on the softer side, but honestly, 124 feet, that's plenty respectable. I've seen three row SUVs as high as 139 feet. So 124 feet is plenty fine. But anyways, then touching on suspension and handling up front, you're gonna get an independent double wishbone type front suspension. In the back, independent double wishbone type rear suspension as well. Front and rear stabilizer bars. You also get an auto leveling rear suspension to go along with all of that. As far as ride quality goes, is we are sitting at a red light not going anywhere right now. It's honestly been perfectly fine in my short little test drive here so far today. Frederick does have some pretty punishing roads and it's been soaking them up pretty darn good. So ride quality is definitely on the better side of things, I've had no issues there. But let me tell you guys, touching on the steering feel, this is probably without a doubt the heaviest steering feel of any three row SUV that I have ever tested. It's almost like there's no power steering. It's that heavy, it's not that bad, but it's pretty darn heavy. An incredibly heavy steering feel. For me, I personally love a heavy steering feel because it better helps point you in the direction that you want to go. So I'm appreciative of it. But having said that, you're not going to find that a most other three row SUVs out there. Typically with three row SUVs, it's a very loosey-goosey steering feel, but with the Armada, it's extremely heavy. And I personally love it quite honestly. Then touching on cabin noises, we're going 40 miles per hour right now. Wind noise is definitely at bay. No issues there, no road noise really either. It is a very serene cabin, I will say, in the Armada, so I am a big fan of that. Touching on visibility, since we have the third row headrest down right now, it's actually quite brilliant. Rear visibility is excellent right now. I can see perfectly fine out the back. And since this is a very boxy SUV, although it's a bigger SUV, it's still a very boxy SUV, which typically lends itself to better visibility anyway. So, big fan of that. But that pretty much rounds out the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2023 Nissan Armada. All right, and so here she is, you guys, the new 2023 Nissan Armada, finished in super black. In case you were curious of our exterior color name, definitely looks good on the Armada, I will say that. Let's go ahead and start now with where this one is actually made. Taking a look at the VIN, the first character of the VIN does indicate the letter J, meaning the Nissan Armada is built in Japan. JDM SUV right here, that's pretty cool. But as always, let's go ahead and start up front on the Armada here. Remotion front grille finished in chrome for all trim levels, but the midnight trim level. But I will say there is a midnight package available and we do have that. So all of our chrome trim accents are now swapped out to black, even though we do have the SL trim level. So don't want to mention that. The black is a package option for the other trims. But to the sides, LED headlights with LED daytime running lights do come standard across the board. Automatic feature coming with those headlights as well, meaning when it starts to get dark at night, the headlights will turn on automatically for you there. Automatic high beams though, also coming standard for all trim levels across the board. Central with that is when you have your high beams on at night and since the vehicle coming in the opposite direction, it's gonna automatically dim them back to low beams. Then when that vehicle is gone, it's gonna automatically bump it back up to high beams. So it's a very nice convenience feature there as well. And just below those highlights, if you were to go with the SL trim level end up, we'll also get LED fog lights, which look dang good down there as well. One more thing below the Nissan logo, I wanted to mention to you guys, in case you were curious what this giant rectangular kind of box is in the middle there, that's gonna be the adaptive cruise control sensor and you do have the front parking sensors to the corners there as well. But anyways, that pretty much rounds out the front end of the Armada here. Let's now go ahead and make our way to the side. All right, so we're now making our way to the side of the Armada. Dark gray roof rails are gonna come standard for all trim levels, but the midnight or the midnight package, of course, because in our particular case, they are finished in gloss black. So chrome windows arounds though will come standard on all trim levels across the board. And you do get a gloss black A-pillar. You guys can see that it kind of breaks up those chrome windows around. So I think that looks pretty darn good. Chrome door handles are gonna come standard across the board as well. One of the coolest things about the Armada in my particular opinion at least, I'm gonna go ahead and get up a little bit closer to show you guys, these are actually functional ventilation here on the front fenders. So a lot of manufacturers will put kind of fake air vents up front, but in the case of the Nissan Armada, it is functional. So let's the V8 breathe a little bit, close it down. That is pretty cool. I like that they're actually functional up there. Rear privacy glass, of course, does come standard for all trim levels across the board. Then take a look at the wheel configurations. 18 inch, 12 spoke aluminum alloys coming with the S and SV. 20 inch, 18 spoke aluminum alloys coming with the SL. That's what you guys are looking at right now. 20 inch, 12 spoke aluminum alloys from the midnight edition. And then 22 inch, 14 spoke aluminum alloys then for the premium. And by the way, body colored running boards are gonna come standard for all trim levels across the board as well. And let me tell you guys, you do use them. For me, being a six foot adult, it's much more comfortable actually for me to use those running boards as opposed to try to just make a larger step into this thing. So it's a lot easier to get into with the running board. So we'll say I am glad they are there. They are much needed for every single trim level. So big fan of that. Anyways, that pretty much rounds out the side profile. Let's now go ahead and make our way to the back. All right, so now since we are around to the back there all the way to the top there, there is a little kind of antenna. It's not a shark fin, there is an antenna up there, body colored. Just below that we're a spoiler with an integrated brake light. Just below that rear window wiper. LED tail lights do come standard on every single trim level across the board. So a big fan of that. You're gonna get some gloss black or chrome trim kind of tied together to the two tail lights. You guys can see we do have the gloss black. I've mentioned that a hundred times. Also with the Armada badging it's gonna be gloss black or chrome as well. Just below it all there is a single exhaust. I don't know if you guys can see that tucked away underneath on the passenger side there. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around to the back of the Armada, when it comes to opening that rear tailgate it is a power tailgate for the SL trim level and up. And I will say it is a very slowly opening power tailgate as well. So, but we do have it. So it is kind of convenient. But once opened up cargo capacity comes in at 16.5 cubic feet behind that third row. Of course you can fold that third row down. There's a 60-40 split and it's gonna bump it up to 49.9 cubic feet behind the second row. And then with all rows folded it actually comes in at a very impressive 92.6 cubic feet. So for comparison sake, Kia Telluride comes in at 88 cubic feet. Hyundai Palisade 87.6 I believe. I think the Honda pilots like 84 or maybe that's the Toyota Highlander. The Honda pilot might be like 86, 87. So it's more than all of those basically. So 92.6 is pretty darn impressive. There are eight cargo tie-down anchors back there as well. There's a 12-volt power outlet. And if you wanna lift up underneath of that cargo floor you're actually gonna find a little bit of in-floor storage. It's not a ton, but it is there. So you can put an ice scraper back there or maybe a tire inflator kit or something like that. So I do like that it's there. So then making our way up to the rear legroom let's go ahead and start with the third row rear legroom. By the way, it was very easy to get back into that third row. You simply lift up on the upper portion of the second row seats there and it basically completely folds forward. So it's very easy to get back into the third row. But 28.4 inches for reference, I mean even six feet tall. This is how much space I have back there. Maybe small children will be able to fit back there comfortably, but 28.4 inches is less than my old Ford Mustang GT, which came in at 29 inches. So that's a little bit of reference for you there. But it was easy to access. There are some cup holders back there and there's actually rear ventilation found on the ceiling of the Armada. So all three rows can remain comfortable. So big fan of that as well. But then making our way up to the second row legroom, that's gonna come in at a very impressive 41 inches even. Again, for reference, I mean even six feet tall. This is how much space I have back there. 12-volt power outlet can be found if the rear passengers look forward there. There's also actually 120-volt power outlet. So you can maybe toast up some toast, perhaps. I don't know. Heated second row seats are gonna come with the platinum trim level. Also with the platinum though, you get a rear entertainment system with two wireless headphones and a remote control as well. So that's pretty darn cool. And there is a center console between the two second row passengers and there's a ton of storage within that, of course. But you also get cup holders and then there's some hidden storage to the front of that center console as well, which is pretty cool. And there's some more storage in the front of the rear passengers as well. So if you just press the button kind of on the center armrest here between the driver and passenger seat, there's even more storage accessible to the rear passengers. So really the common theme is with the Armada, there's a ton of storage and a ton of space. So it's certainly the case in the second row for the rear passengers there. But anyways, they make their way to the front seats. Claw seating is gonna come with the S. Leatherette seating coming with the SV. Leather seating coming with the SL trim level and up. L meaning leather, of course. Heated front seats for the SV trim level end up. Power adjustable front seats with power lumbar support for all trim levels across the board. I do like that. Memory settings for the SL trim level and up. And that's for up to two different drivers in case you were curious. Ventilated front seats coming with the Platinum. Overall, when it comes to seat comfort, it was plenty comfortable. Nothing crazy, but certainly not gonna have any issues taking the Armada on a long road trip. So plenty plush, I guess you could say. But then take a look at the steering wheel. It is tilt and telescoping. It actually did telescope out pretty darn far as well. So if you're a taller adult, that is a very good thing. It is power adjustable actually for all trim levels across the board. I was surprised to see that. So big fan of that. Leather wrapped as well for all trim levels across the board. And then if you wanted the heated steering wheel, go with the Platinum trim level. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the startup. But let me start by showing you guys the key here. Get your Nissan logo all the way to the top. Lock, unlock the button to pop the rear tailgate. But also that circular button that is gonna be your remote start. So you can warm this thing up on super cold days in Western Maryland. So I do like that, but it is all keyless to enter with that push button start for all trim levels. So all I'm going to do here, is simply put my phone on the brake and press that white engine start button located just by the driver's right knee. And so once started up, when it comes to the gauges, tachometers all the way to your left speedometers on your right, there is a fairly large digital display front and center to control what is on that digital display. There are steering wheel mounting controls found on the left side of the steering wheel, telling us since we are sitting here so long, we're averaging 3.7 miles per gallon. That's what you get when you keep the car running for about an hour and a half doing walk around of it to get these exterior shots. In case anybody was curious, outside temperature is up there. There's your radio information, how many miles you'll have left until you hit empty. Pretty much everything you possibly want on the digital portion of the gauges there. So digital speedometer compass, I can go on and on. But now let's go ahead and make our way to overall interior quality. A power moonroof is gonna come on the SL trim leveling up. We do have that. So big fan there. Overhead sunglass holders gonna come standard across the board. You do have homelink controls as well for up to three different garage doors found in the bottom portion of that rear view mirror as well. Dual zoom climate control is gonna come standard for all trim levels across the board. Auto dimming rear view mirror for the SL trim level and up. So you don't have to worry about the guy behind you with his high beams on. Wood tone trim coming with the SL trim level end up unless you go with that kind of midnight package. Cause then you get this kind of gloss black look on the doors as well as just above the passenger side glove box and really everywhere. So I do like that. Tri-zone climate control is gonna be optional. I don't wanna forget to mention that as well. Carbon fiber look trim coming with the midnight edition and that's kind of what we have. Like I was just saying, wireless phone charger coming with the SB trim level and up you might be wondering where in the heck is the wireless phone charger? It's just below the armada lettering. So it's kind of hidden but then you can slide your phone in there and then you could go ahead and close this back up if you wanted to. And it's kind of hidden out of sight. So kind of interesting that it's kind of hidden but anyways, I do like all of the carbon fiber and the stylish look trim surrounding the, surrounding the shifter here as well as the drive mode buttons and really everywhere. So actually decent interior quality. You got a lot of very soft touch surfaces like the armrest for both the drivers left and right elbow big fan of that. Got the leather finishes on all of the doors as well and a lot of gloss black finishes surrounding the infotainment too. So overall interior quality is perfectly fine with me. So then now let's go ahead and make our way to the infotainment screen because the screen is massive. It is a 12.3 inch color touchscreen display, Bluetooth and audio streaming, of course, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, but get this, factory navigation system actually comes standard. So if you live in kind of Western Maryland and the Appalachian Mountains maybe and you don't always have service, factory navigation system does come standard. So I do like that. But anyways, you can check out your radio information up there as well. And by the way, there are three different sound systems depending upon which trim level that you go with for the Armada. So let me go over those real quick. You're gonna get four speakers for the S trim level, six speakers for the SV, but all the other trim levels, including our SL trim level and up, you're actually going to get a 13 speaker Bose sound system. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next here. Let's go ahead and turn on the radio, see what we got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this one. That sounds good. I've had Bose sound systems in my cars. I had an Infinity G35 before, a G35 coupe back in the day and it had a Bose sound system in it and it never failed, it never broke. So very reputable company, always a ton of bass. I always say that with Nissan and Infinity, they do a wonderful job with the bass, plenty of clarity there. So I personally, I love the Bose sound system here in the Armada. But anyways, last thing I wanna mention to you guys on that infotainment screen is when you do put the Armada in reverse, you will find a review camera coming standard for all trim levels across the board. But if you go with the SL trim level like we have today or higher, you will also get that 360 degree, AKA panoramic view monitor found kind of in the middle there, letting you know what is completely all around you, which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so front side, side current airbags do come standard in the back, you're gonna have latch, AKA lower anchors to tethers for children for the rear car seats, rear child door locks, temperature monitoring system, but also coming standard, a driver attention monitoring system, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert, and then front and rear parking sensors, as I alluded to earlier when I was going over the exterior of this one. So overall, when it comes to my final thoughts here of the Armada, great ride quality. I mentioned that at the beginning. I actually love this steering feel as heavy as it is. That might not be for everybody, but for me personally, I love the heavier weighted steering in this thing. Not the most fuel efficient, that's probably some room for improvement. But then again, if you're buying a monster SUV with the V8, I think you pretty much know what you're getting from the Kekko, I would say that. I love the ton of space and storage in this thing. As far as storage goes, I don't think anything beats it in its class. Digital gauges would be nice. That's another room for improvement. Although these gauges aren't bad, they're just kind of outdated at this point, I guess you could say. And I know Nissan has the digital gauge clusters. I've seen them on the Rogue and their other vehicles, so they could easily drop one in the Armada. And I also think multi-color ambient lighting would look dang cool in this thing as well. But anyways, let me know what you guys think of the Armada in the comments section below, and that is about it for this one, you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen if you wanna see what's coming next on the channel before it gets to YouTube. Be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're in any new car reviews. That is what we do here on this channel after all. Do appreciate you guys watching more than you know when I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay Gold.