2022 Nissan Pathfinder vs Nissan Armada Is Bigger REALLY Better?

Here we go. We got the battle of the juggernauts. The 2022 Nissan Pathfinder and the Nissan Armada. We're going to compare these family size SUVs to help you determine which one should you buy. Welcome back to the channel guys. My name is Christopher. This is Cars Unlocked. We're going to compare the SUVs here. I've done full unlocks of this on my channel. You can check that out if you want to see an in-detailed unlock. And I've also done the 2021 Nissan Armada. Both vehicles were recently redesigned. So for 2022, I know the Armada is not going to change. And then here we have the latest and greatest that Nissan has to offer. Both of them come in the seven seat configuration. These are platinum models. So we're comparing apples to apples here. And if you want to get the eight seaters, you can go down a few trim levels and choose the eight seater configuration of each vehicle. But for today, we're comparing the seven seaters. The first thing I like to consider when I'm buying anything is the price. So we're going to compare the prices here. We have the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum model, which is going to come with an MSRP of $54,598. And then we have the behemoth, the Nissan Armada. And this is going to come with a whopping MSRP of $76,598. All Canadian pricing. So let's jump into the ins and outs to help you determine which ones should you buy. Comparing the power plants of both vehicles. Here we have the Nissan Armada. And like I said, this thing is a beast. It's going to come with that endurance 5.6 liter V8 engine, 400 horsepower and 413 pounds feet of torque. This one's going to come with a true four by four, seven speed automatic transmission, but you're not buying this thing for the fuel economy. It's going to give you about 15.4 liters for every hundred kilometers in terms of fuel economy. All my friends down south, that's Let's jump over to the Pathfinder. The Pathfinder is going to come equipped with the 3.5 liter V6. You're going to get a little better fuel economy with the Pathfinder. Less horsepower, obviously 284 horsepower and 259 pounds feet of torque. This one comes equipped with an all new nine speed automatic transmission. You get the manual mode with the paddle shifters. You get the all wheel drive 10.5 liters per every hundred kilometers combined fuel economy. And that's going to convert to about 22 mpg. This one's going to give you about 6,000 pounds of towing. If you want to tow more, you can go with the Armada. Better fuel economy with the Pathfinder, less power, obviously worse fuel economy, more power. As you look at the exteriors, obviously we have two different beasts here with the exteriors. This Pathfinder is going to come with quite a few exterior features. We have these nice stacked LED headlights. You have your high beam and your low beam headlights, automatic on off headlights. Both of them are going to come with a very large chrome V motion grill. You're going to have a forward camera under the new Nissan emblem. You're also going to have your forward sensors, your fog lights as well down below. This Pathfinder kind of has this faux skid plate here. When we jump over to the Armada, very, very similar. You can see we have a little higher ground clearance with the Armada here. Same kind of faux skid plate there. We have our forward sensors, our forward facing camera, super large V motion grill. You just sit up a lot higher, obviously being the bigger vehicle. And then we have our LED stacked headlights as well. Very similar front ends. It's just a little more square. Our Pathfinder is a little more rounded. Our Armada is a lot bigger in length on the exterior here. 208 inches in length versus 197 inches with our Pathfinder. In terms of exterior features, you're going to get a tad more with this Armada. Right away you see you get this nice step rail here to help you get into the car because the vehicle is a lot bigger. You're going to have these massive 20 inch rims as well here. And then you're also going to get these little chrome accents throughout here. Power folding mirrors as well, so they'll fold in. You have these massive large chrome mirrors. Darked out roof rails as well on the top. This one has the accessory cross rails as well. Let's jump over and look at the side of the Pathfinder. Like I said, 197 inches in length with the Pathfinder, so a little shorter of a vehicle here. But when we jump inside, you'll see it doesn't really affect the difference in the passenger volume. It's mainly just the size. This one you're going to get these nice 20 inch aluminum alloy rims. And then you see we have the LED turning signals on the mirror here. These ones aren't power folding, so the Armada has the power folding mirrors. And you don't get the step rails. You see we have just this nice chrome side sill on the exterior of the Pathfinder. And then you have this kind of floating roof look that's been known in the Nissans. You can get a two-tone roof with this Platinum Pathfinder. So if you like the two-tone roof look, you'd go with the Pathfinder. The Pathfinder's got a 77 inch width here, while our Armada's 79. So you get two extra inches in width on your Armada. But when you compare the back ends here, you can see this one has the tow hitch, 6,000 pounds of towing, like I mentioned here. Backup camera on the back. It is a foot activated lift gate to make it easier getting in and out. Let's jump over to the rear of the Armada. And you can see how high the back bumper is. The back bumper is really high up. You have the hidden tow hitch here, 8,500 pounds of towing. Once we pull that off, you can see the tow hitch. So if you don't like looking at your tow hitch, you have the hidden tow hitch on the Armada. But just a lot bigger, a lot nice different size trunk. Like I said, 79 inches in width, so two inches wider than our Pathfinder. So before we go through the interiors, guys, make sure you subscribe to my channel. Comment below right away which one you guys are thinking of buying. If you guys have any questions about either vehicle, don't forget to hit me up in the comments or send me a DM on Instagram. Let's take a look at the inside. Right now we're on the inside of the Pathfinder and there's really two contrasting interiors with each vehicle. This one you get a little bit less space, but you have a bit more tech and safety features here. You can see Nissan's redesigned the whole center stack here for this year, the Pathfinder. You have this kind of square shifter knob. You have a feature like the auto start stop that's new in the Nissan's as well. And you have this drive terrain selector so you can do like snow modes, economy modes, sport modes, tow haul modes. There's a sand mode all with your Pathfinder here and that new 9-speed automatic transmission. The seat is a 12-way power adjustable driver seat here and you get this kind of quilted semi-aligned two-tone leather seat here with the brown, the white stitching and the gray insert. So really nice seat. You have the leather wrapped wheel right on the wheel and then right away you have the ProPILOT Assist and the paddle shifter. So that's huge. You don't get that in the Armada. The ProPILOT Assist is basically to me worth purchasing the Pathfinder. I use it pretty much every time I drive on the highway. So I really like the ProPILOT Assist and that's one of the reasons why I would go up to the Pathfinder. It basically helps you drive semi-autonomously. Here we have a 9-inch touchscreen here. Our Armada is going to get a 12-inch touchscreen. So a little bigger screen on the Armada but this screen does the job. Dual temperature control down below and then you have a Qi charging pad as well. Right away when you jump in the Armada you can see the difference that I'm referring to. I sit so much higher up and then when I start it you can just hear that huge V8 engine, much louder engine when you drive. Obviously that's the difference between your V8 and your V6. This seat, this is a 10-way power adjustable driver seat. Both cars have the memory seating. This one comes with that same kind of quilted stitching throughout. A little bigger seat in the Armada but both seats are very comfortable. Here's what I don't like about this Nissan Armada. On the door you can kind of see this little effect that they did with the leather. I feel like over time this is going to rip and this is going to show its colors like those old 90 movies. I don't know but let's jump into the infotainment here. This one's going to come with a large screen. It's a 12.3-inch display so you get a really larger display in the Armada. Dual temperature control. Everything else is the same. The Pathfinder you're going to be able to do wireless Apple CarPlay. This one you can do Apple CarPlay and Android Auto but you do have to plug in. You'll also have a brake controller with your Armada as well for towing. So that's a bonus feature. And then this one you'll have the Intelligent Cruise Control but no ProPILOT Assist. So I wish the Armada had the ProPILOT Assist. That's one of the biggest differences. Little different center stack here. You can see this one's got a regular shifter. This one has a traditional 4x4 dial. Not an all-wheel drive system so it's a little different 4x4 mode but you can still do things like your 4 high, your 4 low and your tow haul mode. And then you have this little selector down here to help navigate your main screen. So overall the driver's cockpit here I like it better in the Pathfinder. So the Pathfinder has a few features that you don't get in the Armada in the back. Like I said this is the nice sunshade. Comment below if this is an important feature to you because that doesn't come in the Armada. It's only in the Pathfinder. You can remove the center console like I mentioned as well. So that just pops out there and you can take it. This is important because a lot of the kids like to jump through the front and that way they're not jumping over the center stack. But there is just a little less space back here. The seats are a little smaller but getting into the back seat is just a little easier because it's a lower vehicle here. I can just pull that slide that down or it's on rails so I can adjust it up like this. But the easiest way to do it is just to hit the button here and they fold like that and then I can get in and out of the back seat. So a little easier. Now I don't have as much space back here. Like my legs are a little tighter. There's a USB back here to charge your phone. That's something you don't get in the Armada. But getting in and out is just the easier of a process. I can just push the button and it opens up. You have the easy flex seating system for the kids which Nissan is known for. So I feel getting in and out is easier in the Pathfinder and if you have young kids that's very important. So in the back this is probably the reason why you would choose the Armada over the Pathfinder. You have 171 cubic feet of interior passenger volume in the Armada while our Pathfinder has 148 cubic feet. Look at the space back here. This one comes with the two captain chairs. You also get these two eight inch tri-zone entertainment systems to play media for kids on those long drives. And then you have this center stack. I've done a full walk around of these tri-zone entertainment systems if you guys want to know how to use those. The one thing I don't like about the Armada that has a bonus in the Pathfinder is the center stack is removable. This one you can't remove here. But there is just a lot more interior space for your kids and adults. To get in the back the seats fold up like so. It's quite a bit of a jump in here but it's not too bad. And then they fold up like this. So getting in and out could be a little easier. It's a bit easier on the Pathfinder but it's definitely a lot more roomy in the Armada. Here we're looking at the back of the Armada and you would think that the Armada had a bit more trunk space in the Pathfinder but it's actually very similar in trunk space. This one's got 16.6 cubic feet of interior cargo capacity here behind this third row while our Pathfinder's got 16.5 so it's relatively the same. You can drop these down. The biggest difference in the Armada is you have the power folding rear seats. So you can just drop these down with the buttons here which makes it a little easier. It takes a little bit more time but it's just a little easier to fold these seats down automatically. As you can see it's relatively the same cargo area here back here behind the third row. This Pathfinder has a lot deeper hidden storage compartment down below but you do fold the seats manually. I don't see the big deal about doing that. It's actually a little easier and quicker on the time. You can see how fast I fold that down versus waiting for the buttons. So when you're driving both vehicles there is two really different drives. Right now I'm in the Armada and I feel like I'm sitting very high up. The Armada is definitely like a truck-like feel so if you want that kind of family size SUV without going into a pickup truck then this would be the one to do. It's on a truck frame, you have the V8 engine, you're very high up so it definitely feels like you're driving a truck. Pretty much it feels like you're driving a bus. Your fuel economy, you're going to spend a lot more at the pumps here in this Armada. You get quite a handful of safety features but you have a little more in the Pathfinder that we're going to get into. But what you're experiencing with the Armada over the Pathfinder is the power. Definitely a ton of power. Like this thing takes off when you put your foot down. You have the towing like I said 85 pounds for the towing and you just have that overall just large vehicle feel to it. So you know your kids are going to be safe in this thing when you're driving and you know you're going to have all the power to pass to tow whatever you need. Parking, it's not going to be as easy to park when you're parking so keep that in mind if you live like in an urban city. You got to park downtown a lot or you live in an apartment where parking's tight. Definitely keep that in mind. However, this thing drives like a beast. Like when I put my foot down, there she goes. Like you have no problem when you step on it with this thing. Unlike the Pathfinder, it's a seven speed transmission so it does flow a little easier. A few complaints that I have with this car is the sunroof. This one comes with a little tiny sunroof. We're going to pop them both up on the screen here. The Pathfinder comes with the full panoramic roof and then the backup cameras. This Nissan Armada comes with this large 12 inch display but the camera only covers about half the screen. The camera's done a lot, they did a lot better job in the Pathfinder with the backup camera. It's a lot more higher definition than the Armada and both of them have that 360 camera. It's just not as vivid, not as clear in this Armada. One feature that you get in the Armada that the Pathfinder doesn't is this right here. Like you got to check this thing out. It uses the backup camera. I'm going to tilt it so you can see. Look at that. It uses the backup camera so you can see behind you in your rear view mirror and it displays the backup camera right on the mirror here so makes it really easy when you're parking. You can also do the regular mirror if you want to go to the regular mirror but this is a feature that everybody really likes about the Armada and it's a feature that I like. Helps when you're towing, backing into your garage because this is a big vehicle to park but let's jump into the Pathfinder and see what it has to offer. This Pathfinder drives beautifully. I can't say enough about it. New nine-speed automatic. I'm happy I don't have to listen to you guys commenting about the Pathfinder CVT or the CVT in any of my videos in general but it does drive a little nicer than the Armada. It's a little more of a relaxed drive. You don't sit as high up like I was mentioning in the Armada. You definitely have a smaller crossover like feel with this but what I like is the added some of the added tech that you get in this car here. You get the heads-up display so it will display your speedometer there and your navigation right on the windshield. The Pro Pilot Assist like I mentioned at the start of the video like it's huge. I really love the Pro Pilot Assist. Really helps on those long drives. You have the Navi Link so that really helps when you're driving down the highway. Helps maintain your speed. It just helps reduce fatigue. Both cars have very comfortable seats but this Pathfinder you get the 13 Bose audio sound speaker. The other one you get 12 in the Armada. I don't know. It's really different here. This one's just a lot nicer laid out. You can definitely tell Nissan put all their efforts into this. This display right behind the dash for our gauges. It's a 12.3 inch display. We're going to pop up both displays. The display in the Pathfinder looks very 2021-2022 while the Armada looks very like 2014-2015 type gauges and vehicle information screen. I definitely like the screen better on this Pathfinder. And then you have the paddle shifters as well if you want to shift through it. Just overall layout like everything is just a little better here in the Pathfinder. Obviously it's two types of different vehicles. Two types of different drives. If you want to try and have that truck-like feel and drive with a truck like a truck you would go with the Armada. If you like the more crossover style, this one's going to be a lot easier to park. It's going to come with all the safety sensors. So both cars are going to have your rear emergency braking. It's going to have your forward emergency braking and your collision warning, your pedestrian detection. You'll have your haptic feedback on the wheel. It will vibrate if you deviate from the lane or anything like that. Blind spot warning. Both cars are going to come with the blind spot warning. You just get a bit more added tech in the Pathfinder like that Pro Pilot Assist that I mentioned. So there you have it guys. That's the ins and outs of both vehicles. Let me know what you guys think in the comments below. If it was me buying an SUV for my family, I would probably go with the Nissan Pathfinder. I just like saving money. It's a lot cheaper. I like saving money. My overall cost of ownership. So you're spending less money on fuel. You're spending less money up front. And it has a few extra features that I like, like the Pro Pilot Assist and the added safety features. But do you like this nice beast here in the Nissan Armada? Comment below guys. As always, subscribe to Cars Unlocked to see more comparisons like this. Check out our Instagram. You have a great day.