[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

SUVs are boring. Doesn't matter how much red lipstick you put on them.

Never mentioned the price range. Don't care.

They're more boring than a sports car, sure. But sometimes you can't drive a sports car every day and you need a SUV. So why not drive one that's a little more exciting?

Let's be real clear here. These days all the "sports car companies" are SUV companies that also happen to sell a sports car or two. BMW is an SUV company, the majority of their US sales are SUVs. Porsche? The same deal, they exist to sell Macans and Cayennes by making you feel like it's like owning a 911. 60% of Lamborghini 's sales are the Urus.

You might not care, but if you're over 6' and have kids and a boat and a trailer and all that, you would care.

[Zyvin]

That much fender to wheel well ratio, makes it look like its riding on 13"ers.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

They're more boring than a sports car, sure. But sometimes you can't drive a sports car every day and you need a SUV. So why not drive one that's a little more exciting?

Let's be real clear here. These days all the "sports car companies" are SUV companies that also happen to sell a sports car or two. BMW is an SUV company, the majority of their US sales are SUVs. Porsche? The same deal, they exist to sell Macans and Cayennes by making you feel like it's like owning a 911. 60% of Lamborghini 's sales are the Urus.

You might not care, but if you're over 6' and have kids and a boat and a trailer and all that, you would care.

I disagree clearly. Been there done that. From experience, a cayenne/macan does not feel like owning a 911. Have no idea what you're driving at there. They make those SUVs because they sell and can dilute their fleet emissions requirements.

We have an X5D in the garage for hauling/towing. Kids and dog fit in ALL our cars. It's boring by comparison and my wife and kids think so too.

Used to just rent a truck when we needed one.

If I was a real man sized 6' with kids and a boat which I assume is on the trailer mentioned, I'd imagine I have the funds to buy more than one vehicle and have something more practical for towing duty than a tarted up Nissan Armada.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

I disagree clearly. Been there done that. From experience, a cayenne/macan does not feel like owning a 911. Have no idea what you're driving at there. They make those SUVs because they sell and can dilute their fleet emissions requirements.

We have an X5D in the garage for hauling/towing. Kids and dog fit in ALL our cars. It's boring by comparison and my wife and kids think so too.

Used to just rent a truck when we needed one.

If I was a real man sized 6' with kids and a boat which I assume is on the trailer mentioned, I'd imagine I have the funds to buy more than one vehicle and have something more practical for towing duty than a tarted up Nissan Armada.

I never said that they drove like a 911, I said they're selling you that they do. They're selling old men the dream that their Cayenne isn't just an expensive Q8, it's a 911 SUV that's easier on their knees and hips.

SUVs sell because they're convenient, spacious, and do everything for day to day use. Plus, they're typically safer in a crash, and give people better visibility. It has nothing to do with fleet averages (well, it does somewhat, because the car fleet average requirements are insane crack pipe numbers intended to force EV adoption by financial means, and the light truck ones are slightly less so). Porsche would not be around today were it not for the Cayenne, that's a fact.

Renting a truck sucks. Been there, done that. It's stupid to pay $1-2k to rent a big vehicle for a week to go on a trip, when you can just spend a little bit more and get something big enough as it is.

I've never towed with the new Armada, but I suspect it tows like the wife's Expedition, which is very, very well. It won't have the raw torque of my dad's Cummins Ram, but it's not as much of a POS to drive as a giant diesel truck.

Life is full of trade offs. I like my X5, but it isn't big enough to be a primary family vehicle. The Expedition doesn't drive as nicely as my X5, its down 250hp to my X5 probably. If you need something like Expedition or Armada, why not get a version that's better to drive? Yeah, it's not great looking in the color they picked and with all the red. It'd need to be all blacked out. But it's tough to be mad about getting an actually interesting option in a segment that has only one other interesting vehicle.

[M5Rick]

Frankenstein on four wheels.

[spazzyfry123]

Yikes.

[erickonphoenix]

How old are soccer moms now? 40?

So, born 1985, college during the war years. I figure this product is on target for that market.

Our oldest daughter is 28 and we got her a Fiat 500 manual as her first car, then she bought her own Mazda 3 after college. Now she drives a Four Runner because she wanted something big and boxey. That's what the kids like today I guess.

[MoeTE87]

Looks like the family truckster from National Lampoons Vacation!

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by erickonphoenix

How old are soccer moms now? 40?

So, born 1985, college during the war years. I figure this product is on target for that market.

Our oldest daughter is 28 and we got her a Fiat 500 manual as her first car, then she bought her own Mazda 3 after college. Now she drives a Four Runner because she wanted something big and boxey. That's what the kids like today I guess.

25-50 realistically, depending on when their kids were born.

Having two small kids, I can honestly say once you get used to a big ass SUV, you won't go back. If they made a decent full size sport truck still I would absolutely have one over my X5.

[W2k]

I wish the trend of making pretend sports cars out of full-size SUVs and minivans would die. Even stuff like the X5 "M" is an abomination to my eyes. However, I know exactly why people buy these (well explained by BlkGS a few posts up) and so no car manufacturer that knows what's good for the bottom line is going to stop making them.

That said, I hope the people who are in the market for something like this will get something slightly more sensible that doesn't hurt the eyes quite so much, like the EX90 or the Lyriq-V.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

25-50 realistically, depending on when their kids were born.

Having two small kids, I can honestly say once you get used to a big ass SUV, you won't go back. If they made a decent full size sport truck still I would absolutely have one over my X5.

Agreed. We have two toddlers and another on the way. Our newer Land Cruiser has been perfect (love the tailgate for roadside potty!). We frequently get out on non-paved (we live off a dirt road actually), so something like a wagon wouldn't fit the bill. Just last weekend we were off in the woods and spending time in the river. The SUV is an absolute for our use case.

For our LC, it's purposed and isn't pretending to be something it isn't. This Armada has one heck of an identity crisis from what I can see, however. Maybe if it just wasn't so...ugly? It's got all the bits from an obnoxious hatchback for a 17 year old, but its target audience is a soccer mom I'm guessing? Aesthetics are subjective, but I don't think anyone can rightfully say this thing warrants a second look back in the parking lot after dropping hard earned coin.

[BlkGS]

I'm not gonna say it isn't ugly. It is. The red accents look terrible. If I had a Nissan dealership I would stock pre cut vinyl kits to black out all the ugly red.

Outside of that, it's just a cooler version of a fullsize SUV for the dad who wants to pull his boat. It's like an RST Tahoe if GM put in a little effort. It's a direct competitor to expedition stealth performance, but it likely drives better.

I applaud Nissan for putting effort into a platform that might make some actual money, and will service a niche that's underfilled. All the automakers are roof focused on silly.offroad stuff and not road focused stuff.

[Zig613]

That is one ugly box on wheels!

[Rocket455]

I'm not into large SUVs, but if I was, I wouldn't even consider it and would skip past to something like an Escalade V / Sequoia Capstone / BMW X7 / MB GLS (or an LC 300 Land Cruiser, if it were available here).

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by Rocket455

I'm not into large SUVs, but if I was, I wouldn't even consider it and would skip past to something like an Escalade V / Sequoia Capstone / BMW X7 / MB GLS (or an LC 300 Land Cruiser, if it were available here).

Escalade V is literally 3x as much money

Sequoia is way slower, drives like a log, and eats motors.

X7 is significantly more money and smaller

GLS is significantly more money and smaller

[blinkme323]

Imagine refusing to release the Nismo Z in a manual transmission and instead diverting development efforts to an Armada halo car 😂👋

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by blinkme323

Imagine refusing to release the Nismo Z in a manual transmission and instead diverting development efforts to an Armada halo car 😂👋

You can't get the Nismo Z with a manual? That's the dumbest thing I've heard since "our new Corvette doesn't offer a manual".

[whofelt]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Escalade V is literally 3x as much money

Sequoia is way slower, drives like a log, and eats motors.

X7 is significantly more money and smaller

GLS is significantly more money and smaller

I love my 23’ Tahoe RST with the performance package. It’s a boat but handles really well for what it is. It’s also got the 6.2L V8 that hasn’t exploded (33k miles on the odometer)

[RM7]

Originally Posted by blinkme323

Imagine refusing to release the Nismo Z in a manual transmission and instead diverting development efforts to an Armada halo car 😂👋

This is how you make money. People buy SUVs, not sports-cars or sedans.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

25-50 realistically, depending on when their kids were born.

Having two small kids, I can honestly say once you get used to a big ass SUV, you won't go back. If they made a decent full size sport truck still I would absolutely have one over my X5.

I don't understand people and the need for all of this space when having two kids. It's the parents that think kids need all this kiddo crap. I have two kids about 3 years a part. Until they were 8 and 11, my wife had a midsize 2007 Outback and I had a 2003 G35 sedan. My wife then got a 2015 Outback which is quite a bit bigger, especially the back seat. I then bought a M235. We took the Outback on 15+ hour road trips including all of our camping gear for 5-9 days which is extensive. A small roof top carrier and a trailer hitch carrier was all we needed if we were taking lots of gear. I'm a big time home improvement guy too and never had any issues only having a wagon available. The times I needed a truck over the last 20 years, I can count on two hands. In those instances I borrowed or rented one.

My wife now has a 2020 4runner. Cool looking truck, roomy, and KILLER off road capability, but God is the thing exhausting to drive long distance. It's loud, terrible MPGs, gets pushed around in the wind badly, sways and nose dives horrendously, and the long-geared, lazy shifting, archaic 5 speed auto is awful on the highway. She'll be buried in it.

And that Armada is TERRIBLE. My God, what an abomination of an SUV. I've rent new Armadas. Not a great driving SUV.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by whofelt

I love my 23’ Tahoe RST with the performance package. It’s a boat but handles really well for what it is. It’s also got the 6.2L V8 that hasn’t exploded (33k miles on the odometer)

I would literally have one of those instead of my X5 if GM wasn't a bunch of morons that won't put cooled seats in the RST. When I say that was a literal deal breaker for me in FL, I mean it. I'd have put a blower on an RST Performance in a heartbeat.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I don't understand people and the need for all of this space when having two kids. It's the parents that think kids need all this kiddo crap. I have two kids about 3 years a part. Until they were 8 and 11, my wife had a midsize 2007 Outback and I had a 2003 G35 sedan. My wife then got a 2015 Outback which is quite a bit bigger, especially the back seat. I then bought a M235. We took the Outback on 15+ hour road trips including all of our camping gear for 5-9 days which is extensive. A small roof top carrier and a trailer hitch carrier was all we needed if we were taking lots of gear. I'm a big time home improvement guy too and never had any issues only having a wagon available. The times I needed a truck over the last 20 years, I can count on two hands. In those instances I borrowed or rented one.

My wife now has a 2020 4runner. Cool looking truck, roomy, and KILLER off road capability, but God is the thing exhausting to drive long distance. It's loud, terrible MPGs, gets pushed around in the wind badly, sways and nose dives horrendously, and the long-geared, lazy shifting, archaic 5 speed auto is awful on the highway. She'll be buried in it.

And that Armada is TERRIBLE. My God, what an abomination of an SUV. I've rent new Armadas. Not a great driving SUV.

I don't understand people who wouldn't want to put the kids in the largest, safest vehicle possible that then come after people who do like they're doing something wrong.

The idea of putting kids into a 235i is hilarious to me. At 6'2 I barely fit in a 2, let alone with car seats trying to fit behind me, lol.

And yeah, the 4runner sucks to drive. That's a well known fact. But those V6 4runners will be driving around long after we're all gone. They are basically cockroaches, they just don't die.