Great Luxury Options with a few quirks
The size and utility are spot on with the Nissan Armada. There's plenty of power under the hood and the interior is very spacious... even the third row has great foot room. I like having 2nd row heated seats and a heated steering wheel... takes the edge off of MN winters. The 2012 has a few quirks. Rear door caution tone sounds off after a car wash (wiring flaw). The suspension is super stiff causing the front wheels to bounce slightly when you run over man-hole covers, rail-road tracks and minor potholes. Be careful how you're holding the steering wheel as this can cause the vehicle to jerk slightly to the right or left. For those with a moon roof, the sliding sun cover rattles as it does not seat firmly. I have found a couple common problems with these models. The heater control valve seems to fail on many, causing the vehicle to lose heat. Also, the fuel pump fails partially causing the vehicle engine to stall on left turns when the fuel is below a quarter tank. This is dangerous as the driver loses power steering which is quite necessary when turning. One last thing... for those looking for modern electronics (stereo, bluetooth connections, etc) this is NOT the vehicle for you. The communications and entertainment system are archaic and the interface is dangerous at best. My 2009 minivan had more impressive stereo/video/phone capabilities and interface. Other than that, the 2012 Nissan Armada is both aesthetically pleasing and a mix of luxury and utility. Enjoy!