I happened across this interesting tableau and it shows just how diverse manufacturer lineups are nowadays. You can thank changing consumer desires as well as globalization for Nissan offering both the tiny, quirky Cube and the lumbering Armada at the same time.
The Cube was not a success for Nissan in North America, despite its success back in Japan. Nissan launched it in Canada and the US to do battle with the Scion xB, which had been a surprising sales success. But by the time the Cube finally arrived six years later, xB sales had slumped considerably and the Cube did little better. Both the second generation xB and the Cube sold around 15-20k units from 2009-11, but Cube sales rapidly dropped off after and it was discontinued in 2014.
As for the Armada, this trusty old battle-axe has soldiered along with few changes for over ten years now despite global markets receiving a new full-size SUV (the Patrol, sold in North America as the Infiniti QX80). The Armada sold better in the “good ol’ days” before gas prices soared and the economy stumbled, but it still sells consistent albeit relatively small volumes. Coming from a country where a full-size, V8-powered SUV is the vehicle of choice for only a small number of wealthy people, I must admit I have never really understood America’s fascination with the full-size SUV. Still, there is something oddly alluring about this tank. I think the pragmatist in me would still opt for the Cube, though. Which vessel would you choose?
I honestly didn’t even know Nissan discontinued to Cube in the U.S. I think I saw maybe ten over the past few years.
As for the Armada, I didn’t like its styling when it came out (when I was in middle school, btw) and I really don’t like it now. The rounded roof of the first two rows doesn’t mesh with the straight-edged roofline over the third row. I will say though that I sat in a Platinum Edition model at the auto show last year and was somewhat impressed by the quality of its interior.
The flat roof meeting the round roof might not be aesthetically pleasing, but I see it as a possible callback to all the Nash and AMC wagons that did just that.
The Armada rear door window us even more a throwback to the 1953-1954 Plymouth.
I see this Rambler every time I look at an Armada, and just for this reason.
Given the choice , Americans will always buy the biggest vehicle they can afford .
I was once again reminded of this Saturday as I was re doing the exhaust system on my Brother’s 1979 Dodge D200 crew cab service bed beast ~ a young guy came up in his new Infinity and excitedly asked ” does that have a big V-8 engine ? ”
Well sort of , it’s a 360 C.I.D. four barrel , not really big but fairly powerful .
” Wow ! I wish I could have a truck like that ! ” .
Who knows ? . I think he’s an idiot but to each their own I guess .
BTW : the original catalytic converted is still in good shape , we re used it .
-Nate
I know a fellow who is leasing an Armada, and he is by no means wealthy. He had previously had a lease on a Nissan Quest (which is surprisingly HUGE minivan, in fact I cannot fathom how it can be considered ‘mini’) and he went over the lease mileage by a large margin. So he didn’t have to pay the steep per-mile fees associated with going over the lease limit he let them role over onto another lease, and he chose the Armada because there were a veritable treasure trove of discounts, rebates, and special concessions to greater mileage, etc.
It’s really for brand/dealership folks who want an SUV that can haul, because as far as its class is concerned it’s far from competitive if not dead-last, something of an antediluvian dinosaur from the pre-recession era. I can see the allure of a large SUV – space, comfort, capacity, safety – much of what made the full size America car of 40 years ago so appealing despite obvious flaws. However the Armada would likely be my very last choice in its segment.
The term “minivan” is an artifact name dating back to when the original Caravan/Voyager was significantly smaller than the then-current family hauler, the full-size van.
Compared to a new Sprinter or Transit, I would argue they are indeed still “minivans”.
A good friend’s stepmother used to have an Infiniti QX56, which was their version of the Armada. That was one HUGE vehicle. Standing in front of it felt like being in the company of a heavy-duty truck due to the height of the nose–the whole thing just seemed hulking. Probably not substantially bigger than a Tahoe or Expedition in reality, but it certainly felt bigger. He borrowed it for the day to help me move back in 2007, and we managed to load a full-sized couch into the thing. (The hatch did not close, though, so we had to deal with a “liftgate open” warning bell the entire drive.) Surprisingly capacious. And, being an Infiniti, it had an appropriately premium interior. I can see how one could get used to that, towering over the rest of the traffic on the road in leather-lined comfort.
Still not a huge fan of SUVs on principle, plus I’m sure the gas mileage must be atrocious, so if I had the choice I’d take the Cube, but the Armada has its charms. If it were a QX instead of the more prosaic Armada the choice would be harder!
The allure of the full size SUV is pretty simple to understand I think provided you have a use for it. It’s comfortable, spacious, and highly capable. Haul the kids, your boat, a camper, whatever. It does almost anything you could want. The main downsides are sheer size, which isn’t an issue in most of the US, and gas mileage, which really isn’t that big of a deal if you can already afford the $50K+ purchase price.
I’ve always liked the Armada except for those stupid rear door handles that kids can’t reach. It’s just outdated today. Like Daniel said, perhaps last in its segment. It was one of the best in class when new though.
The Cube, on the other hand, I have never warmed up to. One of the ugliest cars of all time IMO.
“except for those stupid rear door handles that kids can’t reach”
I noticed the same thing on the new Honda HRV that will presumably be owned by families with small children.
Nissan styling never appealed to me. The Cube reminds me of a cheap toaster sitting on a shelf at K-Mart.
Have owned the Armada’s “cousin”, 2004 Titan since new. Same engine, transmission, brakes, steering although a solid rear axle vs Armada’s IRS. Main attraction (besides working for Nissan with insane employee discount’s available at the time) was an 18k dollar price and working for Nissan meant low cost upkeep. It has the spirit of my old Chevy stripper, with 2wd, roll up windows, manual locks and mirrors, but AC and cruise along with modern brakes and safety equipment. I can get 14-15 MPG around town and 20 mpg hwy at 65 MPH. The engine and transmission have proven to easily go over 200k miles, some are over 300k. I only drive it around 1200 miles a year so of course never have had a problem so far. It’s a lot of fun on on ramps, with over 300 HP and it’s stripper low weight gets up and goes. It was a sales failure (was supposed to be replaced with a rebadged Ram but fell through when Chrysler was sold so was basically unchanged for 11 years) and is really an under rated truck, in my opinion. Very comfortable and smooth riding on road trips, and it’s 6’7 inch bed gets a lot of use.
I don’t know if it was ever underrated. As I recall it received quite a few accolades when new. It’s just a competitive market and within 5 years it was surpassed by everybody. Now we are at 11 years and they are still trying to sell the same thing. And their new truck coming down the pipe looks like a Chinese knockoff of a 2009 F150. I liked Nissan much better when they were trying.
When the Chrysler deal fell apart Nissan was stuck with an outdated design. I am also not impressed with the new design. Chinese F150 came to my mind as well. The V8 Diesel seems to be overkill for a 1/2 ton. Guess I’ll wait and see when one shows up at the local dealership for final judgement.
I never understood that Chrysler partnership. That just seemed like a poor match from the start. I am glad Nissan ended up staying on their own, regardless of the result. The Big 3 build very capable and desirable trucks, but they still leave a lot to be desired in terms of build quality.
I’m glad Nissan didn’t go with a rebadge, as well.
Interesting, I never knew that the current Nissan Patrol (which we don’t get anymore) is available as an Infiniti model.
The only “tractor-unit” Nissan we’ve got now is the Navara pickup. Think Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, that segment. Only available with a 190 hp 2.5 liter turbo diesel.
The Nissan Qashqai…..now that is Nissan’s Cashcow in Europe, since 2007. Below the latest generation.
Well, you’d hardly recognize the Infiniti as a Patrol. I don’t know if it could possibly be either any more opulent or overstyled…
You are right, but they badge it as a Patrol nevertheless! I think Nissan Australia has kicked back as much as the Patrol faithful, because due to the change, price increase and particularly no diesel engine they still sell the old model alongside it.
My brother-in-law has the ‘previous model’ Patrol for farm work. The extra bulk of the new model certainly counts against it, as does the lack of a diesel alternative to the thirsty petrol V8. And he doesn’t need all the fancy luxury junk for farm work. No sale.
Unfortunately for Nissan there are a lot of rural/outback Patrol owners like him, who see the new one as too big, too thirsty, and worse, too soft. The Patrol had the rep for being a tougher vehicle than the Land Cruiser.
For circa 25 years in a row, starting in the early eighties, the Nissan Patrol (always with diesels) was often the first choice when you were looking for a durable workhorse (read: full-time trailer tower) with just enough sound insulation, comfort and driveability to use it as a daily driver.
Unlike a Land Rover Defender for example, which is too spartan.
So Nissan has gone a bit too far (too much plush) with its Patrol. And no diesel engine option, seriously ? No wonder they’re not available here anymore.
My guess is that the former Nissan Patrol owners now drive the Toyota Land Cruiser 150-series (Prado) with the 3.0 liter diesel. Mitsubishi dealerships have become thin on the ground, so there’s the main problem for the Mitsubishi Pajero 3.2 liter diesel.
Nice nautical comparisons. The Cube as a dingy-generally the smallest boat carried on a ship, and the Armada as a galleon,a large armed ship of the line, and the flagships of the “invincible” Spanish Armada of the late 16th century.
Definitely the Cube. I kinda like its ‘anti-styling’; not as in-your-face as a Puke, but still distinctive. It would have all the room I need, and I have no use for fancy interiors – or a fancy fuel bill either.
If I ran Nissan, the entire styling department would have been drug tested upon the presentation of the initial sketches for the Cube. The maintainence department then would then be ordered to haul those sketches to the boiler room for incineration.
I really liked the previous generation Cube, which was not sold in the US. It was original, fresh, and amusing. It’s successor (the current Cube) suffered from some of the same issues the gen 2 Scion xB had: bloat, and exaggerated styling details. I still rather liked it for being so different, which can be a breath of fresh air in today’s traffic. But it’s just not as appealing as its predecessor, which I would really have like to have.
True. if I was getting one, that’s the model I’d want. They’ve ‘cutified’ the new one too much.
I really have never seen a 1st generation cube. With your comment I had to look and I do think I would have liked it just as well… but it wouldn’t have passed muster with the wife.
Back to the question. Our choice was the cube but I could have made the case for owning both at the same time. Had the cube at the same time as a S10 followed by the 4runner now. The titan would have fit the bill but with worse fuel economy than either of them.
For those who have the opinion that the cube is ugly and an appliance. Opinions are like …. armpits and you are certainly welcome to yours. Most of you who have that opinion, of course, don’t drive one so are unaware that the perceived ugliness disappears when you are driving it. I think my first exposure was the article that Paul wrote for TTAC. Perhaps comparing it to the Kia Soul, perhaps not.
Anyway it’s had it’s 15 minutes and I doubt if it will be back. Now I guess I will see how long ours will last and I think I will replace it with another favorite of the commentariat, the Prius. Durability and reliability are tops on my list and IMO that is spelled Toyota.
Neither the Cube nor the Armada would be my choice. The Cube is too small and the Armada is too big. I’d probable go with either a CRV or an Escape.
I remember when I was in 8th grade and Nissan introduced these funky vehicles called Quest, Frontier, Armada, Titan among others and thought wow, those are funky styled vehicles, guess the oval Taurus fad has died. Here we are over 10 years later, I have found out that Nissans are not all that I thought they were cracked up to be, and Nissan is still making some vehicles that look nearly the same while introducing the NV which looks a bit like a Titan. Whatever works for you Nissan, there are vehicles that were in production longer or shorter; think Kia Borrego.
I looked at late-model Cubes to replace my Scion xB1. I’d like a Soul, but Kia thinks a stick shift and cruise are mutually exclusive, and besides, even the Sould is getting too big.
Despite having a 6-speed manual, the Cube can’t hold a candle to my xB, mpg-wise. Guess I’ll just keep the old girl.
You’d think Kia would be big enough to be able to figure out the wiring to fit cruise to a manual. My ’05 Mazda 3 has it!
With a choice between these two I hope there’s a cyanide pill included!
Huh. I didn’t realize Nissan stopped selling the Cube nor continued selling the Armada in this form. Both segments are insignificant blurs to me on the road.