[Rk-d]

+1 on Land Cruiser

Body on frame and designed for a 25 year service life. Overbuilt in every sense - no money wasted on frills. It’s not sexy and the gizmos are primitive. It’s kind of slow. It doesn’t have a ton of interior room. It’s also the most off road capable big SUV out there and will outlive anything.

[1MOREMOD]

Yeah that's a good call also!

[Our03z4]

Originally Posted by Roma_335i

You must be one of those people that support (American build) even if it's the worst car, with non end problems. I know plenty of people who moved away from Ford because they are crap.

You do realize that your comment make no sense at all, ya know since I'm on a German car forum. There ya go again with 3rd party talk, unless you've actually had said trucks then you have no place to say how reliable they are. Btw I've had both Isuzu and Nissan trucks, there goes your theory even more.

[Our03z4]

Originally Posted by robotk

+1 on Land Cruiser

Body on frame and designed for a 25 year service life. Overbuilt in every sense - no money wasted on frills. It’s not sexy and the gizmos are primitive. It’s kind of slow. It doesn’t have a ton of interior room. It’s also the most off road capable big SUV out there and will outlive anything.

Love the Land Cruisers!

[eluded]

The Nissan will be a better car for towing then the BMW. Full frame.

[CP911]

Picked up the beast yesterday after a 7-hour road trip to Minnesota and then back home again. I requested no washing or detailing at all, so apologies for the winter filth all over it. I guess it had been sitting on the lot and boy oh boy do the winters in Minnesota put our NW Indiana winters to shame! I was told they haven't seen a thawing since before February... yikes! There was several feet of snow along all the roads and highways and a thick sheet of ice in pretty much every parking lot I happened to drive through. I talked to a few people who said they prefer it that way over the "hotter weather down south." I think they are nuts, frankly.

[CP911]

Compared to the Nissan Versa rental car I was given by Enterprise, which was loud, nervous, and unstable at highway speeds, the Armada was absolutely sublime to pilot on the interstate. It is extremely stable and smooth at speed and the cabin was quiet and comfortable. The Bose audio is outstanding, especially considering it is standard equipment. I ended up listening to NBA basketball games on NBA radio, so didn't test the full range of audio capabilities, but for the few music tracks I listened to, it was obviously much better than most car audio systems I've experienced in the past.

For probably half of the trip home, I was disappointed with how the standard LED low-beams seemed to aim at the ground and wouldn't project the light far enough out in front. Then, I made a pit stop and discovered a scrolling thumb wheel that adjusts the angle of the low-beams. Problem solved and visibility was excellent the rest of the way home.

The truck drives much smaller than it looks and the 360 degree visibility and mirror visibility is excellent. I was happy about this, and compared to my wife's 2017 Honda Pilot, it's really no more difficult or annoying to drive.

The gauge cluster and center stack/LCD screens are all pretty basic, but it all works and I have no complaints. The buttons and controls all have amber colored lettering, which as most BMW fans know, is a good thing. Doesn't look fancy or modern, but again, it gets the job done.

Gas mileage sucked, but that was to be expected. ~17.5 mpg at average speed of ~72 mph. 26 gallon tank though, so it still gets > 400 miles of range, which is more than acceptable for me.

So far, I'm impressed. I'm sure more time with it will reveal some nags or quirks, but as long as it can tow my M240i without struggling, I will just have to learn to live with them.

[Our03z4]

Originally Posted by CP911

Compared to the Nissan Versa rental car I was given by Enterprise, which was loud, nervous, and unstable at highway speeds, the Armada was absolutely sublime to pilot on the interstate. It is extremely stable and smooth at speed and the cabin was quiet and comfortable. The Bose audio is outstanding, especially considering it is standard equipment. I ended up listening to NBA basketball games on NBA radio, so didn't test the full range of audio capabilities, but for the few music tracks I listened to, it was obviously much better than most car audio systems I've experienced in the past.

For probably half of the trip home, I was disappointed with how the standard LED low-beams seemed to aim at the ground and wouldn't project the light far enough out in front. Then, I made a pit stop and discovered a scrolling thumb wheel that adjusts the angle of the low-beams. Problem solved and visibility was excellent the rest of the way home.

The truck drives much smaller than it looks and the 360 degree visibility and mirror visibility is excellent. I was happy about this, and compared to my wife's 2017 Honda Pilot, it's really no more difficult or annoying to drive.

The gauge cluster and center stack/LCD screens are all pretty basic, but it all works and I have no complaints. The buttons and controls all have amber colored lettering, which as most BMW fans know, is a good thing. Doesn't look fancy or modern, but again, it gets the job done.

Gas mileage sucked, but that was to be expected. ~17.5 mpg at average speed of ~72 mph. 26 gallon tank though, so it still gets > 400 miles of range, which is more than acceptable for me.

So far, I'm impressed. I'm sure more time with it will reveal some nags or quirks, but as long as it can tow my M240i without struggling, I will just have to learn to live with them.

Man just the ease of the headlight adjustments would be nice to have. Glad you're liking it, keep us updated and let's see it clean!

[RisingSons7]

Originally Posted by CP911

Absolutely. But I wanted to buy new so I can maintain it properly from day 1 and have peace of mind for the next 10 years. Interestingly enough, when I was researching the Armada, it was constantly compared to the likes of the Land Cruiser and G-wagon in terms of size and towing capability rather than the Tahoe, Yukon, etc. like I thought it would be competing with.

I think you made a wise choice buying the Armada especially now that it is made in Japan and based on the very reliable, durable, internationally-used Patrol platform. And to be fair to the Armada, we can’t compare it to a Toyota Land Cruiser. They are not in the same category. I have owned two Land Cruisers and currently own a 2016 Lexus LX570 (basically, Lexus’ version of the Land Cruiser.) The Land Cruiser / LX570 are $85-100k vehicles when new. Their durability, off-rd capability, and reliability are unequaled by any other SUV. Looking at that plus the way they are built (weighing in at almost 6,000 lbs), the Armada is not in their class. The fair comparison for the Armada is the Toyota Sequoia. Having owned a newer Sequoia and liked it, then seeing and driving a 2017 Armada, the Armada is a bit better vehicle. Again, now that it’s made in Japan and based on the Patrol, I expect its reliability to move toward the Toyota level too.

[Nkc]

Just a suggestion: Jeep Grand Cherokee

I do a lot of towing with my SRT which includes a 20ft v-nose enclosed aluminum trailer loaded with a 1400-3600# car inside. Occationally tows a 24ft boat at just under 6000#. Each time to the track and back is roughly 1000kms thru steep elevation + twisties. I have a Hensley on it which eliminates all swaying but I have not noticed any swaying without the Hensley either, just a peace of mind. with the 6.4L hemi, I forget I'm towing.

This was my first Jeep and I'm a believer. The SRT does it all.