Road Test: 2026 Nissan Armada NISMO

I’m going to say it right off the top, in the name of full transparency: I am a Nissan Armada fan. I’m also a fan of the Armada’s upmarket cousin, the Infiniti QX80. Both trucks look beefy and strong, come very well-equipped, are capable and present great values when compared to the competition. So I’m starting this review of the latest mutation of the Armada on the front foot, if you will.

Styling

The thing is, I’m not sure if my predispositions matter, because just look at this thing! Rare is it that a performance version of a large or even mid-sized SUV – think Chevrolet Tahoe RST or Ford Explorer ST – looks as different from the truck on which it’s based than the Armada NISMO (“NISsan MOtorsport”) does. The bespoke 22-inch two-tone wheels that look fantastic even when wrapped in chunky winter boots; the rear diffuser that looks a direct lift from a GT car, or at least the Nissan GT-R supercar (more on that in a moment); the roof spoiler; the front clip and the massive floor-to-ceiling grille make for a truck that looks more like a SEMA build than something you can have right off the showroom floor – but there you go. Especially when you have the high-adjustable suspension set to its lowest “rest” setting, which has this particular Armada looking as if it’s sitting on air bags.

Even the Stealth Gray paint hits the mark, and I say that as someone with a pretty staunch anti-grey paint attitude. Here, though, it makes sense; that grey with red highlights is what comes to mind when you think “NISMO”, so I’ll allow it. You can have the Armada NISMO in two other colours – white or black, either with a body-colour roof or contrast roof (grey and white only; the only contrast colour available is Super Black) – but I think grey is the one for me. It just somehow seems more unique here than grey typically does.

Interior

There may be three exterior colour choices (five if you include the two-tone options), but the Armada NISMO’s interior is available one way, and one way only: charcoal-black leather with red suede inserts – that’s it…and that’s OK. Chances are, anybody buying a vehicle like this will be perfectly happy with such a brash interior colour choice.

We also find red piping on the dash and front centre armrest as well as stitching on the steering wheel hub and the rim gets a red centering band, matched by anodized red inserts ‘round the vents and on the start/stop button. It’s a darn good take.

The Armada is a full-size SUV so interior volume rings in at 4,559 litres. Space-wise, the front cabin is generous. Tons of headroom even with the standard sunroof and good legroom as well but crucially, the footwell is wide enough that I never had to splay my legs so wide that they’d strike the transmission tunnel and so forth. That’s key for me.

Both the second and third rows are mounted stadium-style, so much so that third-row occupants really look perched up there when seen from the front row. It makes for a seemingly larger cabin overall, a feeling somewhat sabotaged by the second row which could use a little more headroom. Both back rows do tilt, however, and since second-row captain’s chairs are your only option, accessing the third row is made that much easier.

Apart from that, it’s all Armada in here. That means a digital rearview mirror (helps ensure folks sat in the stadium seats won’t block your view rearwards) as well as traditional buttons and toggles for the climate control and drive modes – nice not to have to rely on a touch display for all of that.

Tech

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are present, but there’s also Google on-board (or Google built-in – whatever you want to call it). That means the native navigation system is via Google Maps and you have access to the Google Assistant for “Hey, Google” voice commands pertaining to both your online world as well as in-car features. There’s also wireless charging but if you’d rather plug-in old-school, there are plenty of USB-C ports – eight, to be exact, across all three rows – for all your devices. The central display measures 14.3” (compared to 12.3” as standard) and audio is handled by 12 crisp Klipsch speakers  – not a brand often seen in the car/light truck world.

In addition to displaying CarPlay et cetera, the central display also houses a fantastic AroundView 360-degree parking camera that you can rotate ‘round the vehicle. Add a “transparent hood” view and parking this behemoth is made that much easier.

Power and handling

You’d be mistaken in thinking that the switch to NISMO is merely a styling exercise (an overt styling exercise, indeed) and no more. The NISMO’s twin-turbo V6 that shares its basic architecture with the GT-R is tuned to make 460 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. That means the NISMO is the most powerful Armada available and for the first time also makes more horsepower than the QX80. That specialness goes right down into the engine bay, where we find red header covers and a badge saying this particular VR35DDTT engine is “Expertly Tuned”. As you do.

It’s quite a thrill to drop a couple of cogs in the 9-speed transmission and step on it, letting your four-ton-plus body-on-framer spear down the road with gumption. Makes a great sound, too, even though it has a single exhaust. That kind of power is more than enough for this rig, and also helps it tow up to 3,856 kg (8,500 lbs.). The photos that Nissan passed around to select media when the Armada NISMO debuted had it towing a Nissan Z NISMO, and I have no doubt that it would be able to undertake that task with little complaint.

The suspension and steering has also been tweaked, making for a more responsive front-end (especially when in the NISMO-only Sport mode) and firms up the self-levelling air suspension. You can’t drive much more than 10 km/h or so when in the lowest suspension setting, but it sure feels like it’s sitting pretty low thanks to the way everything’s been tuned.

Conclusion

It’s all quite, bonkers, really – a truck this big that feels this fast and even…agile? Didn’t really see that coming, even when I wrote about it upon its announcement late last year.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that it kind of comes by it honestly and perhaps I shouldn’t have been that surprised. The Armada is, after all, based on the Nissan Patrol desert all-star and chances are if you’re reading this review, you’ve seen the video online of folks in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates tuning Patrols up to 2,000-plus hp, fitting sequential autos and with big turbo snails punching through the hood and blasting over sand dunes at frankly unfathomable speeds. That, plus the Japanese Dekotora phenomenon of ultra-bright and be-winged trucks, and you start to see what Nissan/NISMO’s on about, here.

The upshot? The NISMO doesn’t even sit at the top of the line-up, though it seems like it should. It sits two down from the top and can be had for less than 110 grand. That’s not cheap, by any means, but it’s a lot of truck — and a lot of smiles — for the money.

Quick Specs
Price as Tested: $107,621 (CAD)
Freight & PDI: $2,095
Engine: Twin-turbo V6
Transmission: 9-speed Automatic
Drivetrain: All-wheel drive
Output: 460 horsepower / 516 lb-ft of torque
Official Combined Fuel Economy: 13.7L/100 km
Observed Fuel Economy: 16.1 L/100 km
Warranties: 5-years/100,00 km (powertrain); 3-years/60,000 km (basic)
Key Competitors: Chevrolet Tahoe RST, Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro
Website: Nissan Canada