Nissan's flagship Armada SUV goes upscale with overdue makeover

Nissan's flagship Armada SUV goes upscale with overdue makeover

Since its 2004 debut, Nissan's Armada full-size sport utility vehicle has dutifully served many families, ferrying the kids to Little League or soccer games or transporting the whole clan to grandma's and back.

At the Armada's introduction at last month's Chicago Auto Show, we checked out the driver's seat and the second-row accommodations of the Platinum and were impressed by the comfort, leather quality and wood grains.

[...] for the Patrol Nismo, Nissan coaxed 428 ponies from the V8.

The antiquated five-speed automatic transmission is gone, replaced by a seven-speed with synchronized rev control, manual mode and two overdrive ratios, twice that of the five-speed.

Standard amenities on the 2017 include LED low-beams, halogen high-beams, leather-wrapped, four-spoke steering wheel with cruise control and audio controls; roof rails rated at 220 lbs., and acoustic windshield and front side, privacy glass side back and rear.

[...] row is a 60/40 split bench that folds flat into floor, cruise control, dual-zone climate control, pushbutton ignition, HomeLink and rear-view camera.

For 2017, Nissan has bundled driver aids into a technology package that includes adaptive cruise control, forward emergency braking and collision, blind spot and back-up collision warning.