Armada vs Land cruiser

Hesko

Hesko

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I am aware we don't get the cool off road stuff the Auzi's get on our US version of the Nissan Armada, however, we can get a year old model around 35k us. Now the Land Cruiser with sub 40k miles and 2-3 years old will cost around 55-60k. I can put a lift and air lockers on the Armada and by all sources the reliability is similar. Why isn't the Armada a more serious contender here? I know the after mark is weak now but is this like a cheap gold mine like the GX 460 used to be?
 
Minor note, I know the build quality off the Lc might be a little better. But the Armada is made in Japan too.
 
2 weekends ago, a buddy and I went on this trail up in the mountains.

There was a lifted tacoma (maybe 2018 or so), and a lifted nissan armada (guessing about same as tacoma). The armada was struggling to get over some of the ruts and rocks.
Often me and my buddy would get out and watch as he tried to move along, needing spotting along the way.
It seems the wheelbase is too long and the truck itself is very heavy.
I've not seen many nissan armadas on any trail or offroad park, maybe due to the length and weight.
 
I’m not sure how anyone would consider an Armada as a serious option. I see them occasionally at the grocery store and I can’t help but feeling somewhat amused just looking at them. The name itself, used for an automobile conjures up outright laughter. The vehicle is begging for a sail to be fastened to the roof , to be set afloat and sail off into the sunset. I guess some vehicles are destined to be made fun of, think Yugo or Ford Edsel.
 
Y62 Armada is solid. If you like it, they are super nice. A worthy platform to build up a rig.

The problem is they kind of decontented the offroad features that come on the Patrol.
The Y62 Patrol have rear locker+various traction control settings and hill descent control

Armada only has "tow" mode and "snow" mode. I don't know what those modes do.
Not even sure if they have a locking center diff available?
If you can plan to upgrade some traction devices it would be solid.
Also unknown is what they changed in the undercarriage compared to the Patrol.

If you can answer those questions, yes, I think it's a massive bargain.

Down Under, Y62's can be had with ARB bullbars, rear bumpers, various suspension upgrades, etc, etc
Patrols have always been compared with the Land Cruiser.

There are two problems with the US market:
First gen Nissan Armada was sold as a lower rent street suv tow rig - sequoia/tahoe competitor. No relation to the Patrol.
Nissan never marketed the Y62 as the Patrol and no one here knows about it, or realizes it's a Patrol.

There are no offroad parts available here. Very few.
If you can get a rear locker on it, it would be pretty capable. Only thing holding it back would be the size.
Also, not much support from a community or aftermarket makes it a problem if you want to get into modifying for camping.
You would have to look into custom and/or importing parts

The largest core deficency is a small gas tank. Biggest strength is the glorious V8.
Puts the LC to shame.

As a large suv, budget considered, I would take it over anything else short of a 200.
It's a nicer interior than the 200, especially if you get the capt chair 2nd row option.
Personally don't like the base fabric interior.
I would go for the high trim model, since it's not much more and you get a lot more for it.
 
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MOAK said:
I’m not sure how anyone would consider an Armada as a serious option. I see them occasionally at the grocery store and I can’t help but feeling somewhat amused just looking at them. The name itself, used for an automobile conjures up outright laughter. The vehicle is begging for a sail to be fastened to the roof, to be set afloat and sail off into the sunset. I guess some vehicles are destined to be made fun of, think Yugo or Ford Edsel.
Click to expand...

Or Toyota if you are a jeep owner. HA HA....I kid, I kid. In all seriousness to OP, there would be no choice in the matter between an aramda and LC. LC all the way. Just a better all around vehicle.
 
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Autism Family Travels said:
Or Toyota if you are a jeep owner. HA HA....I kid, I kid. In all seriousness to OP, there would be no choice in the matter between an aramda and LC. LC all the way. Just a better all around vehicle.
Click to expand...
Hey there, in all seriousness, an older Nissan Patrol is a fine platform for off grid travel. Sadly Nissan has lost their way with the Armada. The first time I saw one I did laugh out loud.
 
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First, let me say this is just my opinion, and secondly, that I like the Armada and would love to see more on the trail (and my sample size with one is small and from an older like 05ish model year).

I run an older GX470 and my brother had an older Armada. The Armada is a very comfortable and from what I have seen dependable vehicle (interior is not the same quality as an LC). It is heavier and larger (longer and wider) while on paper it might only be a few inches, on the trail it seemed like feet. On the beach or in the desert no problem, but here in the southeast, it was a minor inconvenience several times.

But for Overlanding, from my point of view, the Armada has 2 real problems, that most likely can be solved with money:
#1 You will need lockers in the rear at-least (for the type of trails I like):
As the traction control for offroad was not nearly what the same era Toyota/Lexus had or much less what the newer Toys, LRs, and Jeeps have.
#2 if possible re-gear 4 low (for the type of trails I like):
He would put it in 4Low and go down a steep hill and have to hit the break constantly (making him slide) or gain too much speed. I would go down the same hill in 4Lo and be bored because it was too slow. The 4low was not low enough for use in steep mountain terrain and weight of the Armada.

To the dependability, it now is owned by a good friend of ours and has almost 300K miles on it. Still running as a daily driver with only routine maintenance (other than replacing the headers with aftermarket as stock tended to crack).

The Motor in that thing is a beast btw. After the upgraded headers, it would beat a Raptor from stoplight to stoplight.

If you get at on the trail I would love to tag along as I am in WNC, just about an hour and a half from you. Gorges and Horsepature Rd are right there for us.
 
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KM4DWS said:
First, let me say this is just my opinion, and secondly, that I like the Armada and would love to see more on the trail (and my sample size with one is small and from an older like 05ish model year).

I run an older GX470 and my brother had an older Armada. The Armada is a very comfortable and from what I have seen dependable vehicle (interior is not the same quality as an LC). It is heavier and larger (longer and wider) while on paper it might only be a few inches, on the trail it seemed like feet. On the beach or in the desert no problem, but here in the southeast, it was a minor inconvenience several times.

But for Overlanding, from my point of view, the Armada has 2 real problems, that most likely can be solved with money:
#1 You will need lockers in the rear at-least (for the type of trails I like):
As the traction control for offroad was not nearly what the same era Toyota/Lexus had or much less what the newer Toys, LRs, and Jeeps have.
#2 if possible re-gear 4 low (for the type of trails I like):
He would put it in 4Low and go down a steep hill and have to hit the break constantly (making him slide) or gain too much speed. I would go down the same hill in 4Lo and be bored because it was too slow. The 4low was not low enough for use in steep mountain terrain and weight of the Armada.

To the dependability, it now is owned by a good friend of ours and has almost 300K miles on it. Still running as a daily driver with only routine maintenance (other than replacing the headers with aftermarket as stock tended to crack).

The Motor in that thing is a beast btw. After the upgraded headers, it would beat a Raptor from stoplight to stoplight.

If you get at on the trail I would love to tag along as I am in WNC, just about an hour and a half from you. Gorges and Horsepature Rd are right there for us.
Click to expand...
Ya man we go out often a few of us. Messages me
 
Could you clarify, the Armada you are talking about is a '05?

The Y62 only started on sale here in 2016.
I would not consider the older pre-'16 Armada as anything close to competitive with a GX470 product. Just my opinion.
The GX470 is a great platform. I actually think it's better than the GX460.

Your comments got me curious so I had a look at the crawl ratios and seems respectable. I think it benefits from the 7 spd and a 4.88 1st
Y62 Armada: 38.5
Y62 Patrol: 43.95
(just because you mentioned it, the GX is 33.7)

I don't have a dog in this, but if looking for a large suv, I think the Y62 is worth considering.
I think we agree on the areas it is deficient.
Oddly, the Armada is dimensionally similar to the 200 Series Land Cruiser but seems so much larger in person.

KM4DWS said:
First, let me say this is just my opinion, and secondly, that I like the Armada and would love to see more on the trail (and my sample size with one is small and from an older like 05ish model year).

I run an older GX470 and my brother had an older Armada. The Armada is a very comfortable and from what I have seen dependable vehicle (interior is not the same quality as an LC). It is heavier and larger (longer and wider) while on paper it might only be a few inches, on the trail it seemed like feet. On the beach or in the desert no problem, but here in the southeast, it was a minor inconvenience several times.

But for Overlanding, from my point of view, the Armada has 2 real problems, that most likely can be solved with money:
#1 You will need lockers in the rear at-least (for the type of trails I like):
As the traction control for offroad was not nearly what the same era Toyota/Lexus had or much less what the newer Toys, LRs, and Jeeps have.
#2 if possible re-gear 4 low (for the type of trails I like):
He would put it in 4Low and go down a steep hill and have to hit the break constantly (making him slide) or gain too much speed. I would go down the same hill in 4Lo and be bored because it was too slow. The 4low was not low enough for use in steep mountain terrain and weight of the Armada.

To the dependability, it now is owned by a good friend of ours and has almost 300K miles on it. Still running as a daily driver with only routine maintenance (other than replacing the headers with aftermarket as stock tended to crack).

The Motor in that thing is a beast btw. After the upgraded headers, it would beat a Raptor from stoplight to stoplight.

If you get at on the trail I would love to tag along as I am in WNC, just about an hour and a half from you. Gorges and Horsepature Rd are right there for us.
Click to expand...
 
I mean for me I have 5 kids. A little lift and some fire road fuckery in the armada would be nice as I drive 100 miles a day to and from work. So for me this would be sub 5 percent light off road. Also we have a 4runner and gx for our local tight trails. But something about the 200 series makes me want to pay the mortgage payment lol. The y62 just seems solid for half the price.
 
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It sounds ideal. You would need the bench seat version but that motor and cabin are perfect mileage eaters.
I would suggest the Y62 QX80, if you can stand the looks. But, I think it only comes with 2nd row capt chairs
You're right, all Y62's are built on the same assembly line in Japan.


Hesko said:
I mean for me I have 5 kids. A little lift and some fire road fuckery in the armada would be nice as I drive 100 miles a day to and from work. So for me this would be sub 5 percent light off road. Also we have a 4runner and gx for our local tight trails. But something about the 200 series makes me want to pay the mortgage payment lol. The y62 just seems solid for half the price.
Click to expand...
 
So his was an '04. When he picked it up it was 8 years old and had ~90k on the clock. So who knows if someone else had messed around with it.

CampLandCruiser said:
Your comments got me curious so I had a look at the crawl ratios and seems respectable. I think it benefits from the 7 spd and a 4.88 1st
Y62 Armada: 38.5
Y62 Patrol: 43.95
(just because you mentioned it, the GX is 33.7)
Click to expand...

Interesting... pretty sure his was only a 5-speed automatic, had 3.36 final drive.

I know there is one hill we go down regularly and his rig would hit 7-8 mph down it and I had input some throttle to get mine to 3 mph. Now he did have slightly larger tires at the time and I was on stock size but it should not have made that much a difference.

@Hesko
Yes we need to get into Gorges Area. I have only been in there once but noticed that there will be more exploring available after Sept 2nd and should allow traffic from Gorges into SC.
 
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Need a fact checker here. Basic statistics. Weight, clearance, wheelbase, horsepower, crawl ratio etc.

Almost every negative comment is qualified with " I think " and yet the thought involves white and black numbers.

My thought, aftermarket is non existent, Nissan could care less about off roaders or overlanders and that hurts them in this market but is a Armada inferior, I doubt it. Given the mods people do to Jeeps and Toyotas, they too are obviously inferior.
 
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