The 2026 Nissan Armada Nismo Is a Seven-Seat Stampeding Elephant
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The 2026 Nissan Armada Nismo (or 'NISMO' as it's stylized, for Nissan Motorsports) adds some power, suspension tuning, and aero-looking flair to the brand's 6,100-pound three-row SUV. Cars like this tend to be polarizing, and I get it; it's a little conceptually goofy to try to squeeze on-road performance from a ladder-frame truck. That said, they can also be weirdly satisfying to drive. And realistically, power is a lot more practically useful than off-road capability.
This is not a super-dramatic departure from the base vehicle, but the Nismo-specific features on this Armada do sound interesting enough to justify their existence. The VR35DDTT twin-turbo V6 is juiced from 425 to 460 horsepower, not trivial even in a vehicle this heavy, and the new exhaust should make it feel faster for sure. An Active Sound Enhancement (fake exhaust sound) system is also in place, for better and worse.
The Armada's standard torque figure (516 lb-ft), gear count (nine-speed automatic), and towing capacity (8,500 pounds) carry over to this model. It still stands pretty tall, too. Ground clearance is listed at 10.9 inches, which is quite high. That's more than a base Jeep Wrangler. There's less than an inch difference between this spec and the off-roady Armada Pro-4X, which claims 11.6 inches of clearance. Nissan
Beyond the ECU tune for the added hp, the Armada Nismo gets unique steering and suspension tuning. Theoretically, that will make it feel more responsive to inputs. The most material handling benefits are likely derived from the high-performance all-season tires mounted on 22-inch wheels, though.
As you can see from the images, Nissan sort of cribbed the lower front and rear splitter design from GT-R and Z Nismo vehicles to give this seven-seater a little more of a tuner-car look. I like the fender vents and the little rear spoiler extending the roof line—that seems to be doing a lot of heavy lifting in making the car look fast. And as you surely also noticed, you can get it in Stealth Gray, which takes red accents well.
The interior gets Nismo-specific appointments too—no racing buckets, but intense red trim on the seats definitely stands out. Swipe through some different angles on it here:
The Armada Nismo is scheduled to hit dealerships in the fall, but pricing is TBA. But for comparison, a four-wheel drive Platinum Reserve Armada, currently the top trim, lists at about $82,000 before options and fees. I would expect the Nismo will be at least in the $92,000 neighborhood, though I bet it will stay just south of six figures.
High-performance sport utility vehicles have been around forever, but the sporty seven-seaters and body-on-frame rigs, especially, are kind of their own beasts. The Armada Nismo probably won't feel as good in aggressive cornering as something similar in size but with unibody construction, like an Audi SQ8, but this will likely tow better and haul more stuff.
Scroll through some exterior detail images here:
From a daily driving perspective, cars like this can be bizarrely fun. I know, it sounds heretical, but there's something about stomping around and accelerating out of turns like a breaching whale that I find myself enjoying every time I drive something like this. I most distinctly remember loving the Mercedes-AMG GLS63 when that first came out, and a hotted-up Chevy Suburban I drove way back when the GMT800 was modern. These vehicles are inherently compromised, but the combination of big power and big weight gives them this megafauna energy that I must admit I enjoy. And hey, if you get this thing in that grey color Nissan likes so much, you can really pretend you're riding a stampeding elephant.
Here are a few more glamour shots to swipe through if you want to keep checking it out:
Want to talk about sporty SUVs? Drop the author a note at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.
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