For those that have a big family which take many road trips with a lot of cargo, then there’s nothing better than a full-size SUV. The 2025 Nissan Armada and the 2025 Ford Expedition enter new generations with a lot of changes, both to their insides and under the hoods. So how do they compare against each other?
Performance
Engine – The big change under the hood, for both SUVs, is the absence of the V8 engine. Both are now powered exclusively by a 3.5 L twin-turbocharged V6 engine. Obviously, the engines are different despite having the same displacement and configuration. In the Nissan Armada, it produces 425 hp & 516 lb-ft of torque (317 kW & 700 Nm). In the Ford Expedition, it produces 440 hp & 510 lb-ft of torque (328 kW & 691 Nm). In the Ford, there’s a less powerful version of this engine available which produces 400 hp & 480 lb-ft of torque (298 kW & 651 Nm). In the Armada, its power figures don’t change.
Both engines feel similarly powerful as they can both easily get the heavy SUVs going without much fuss. The Nissan Armada Pro-4X is a bit heavier at 2,773 kg (6,076 lbs) vs the Expedition’s 2,628 kg (5,794 lbs) weight but it’s hard to notice that weight difference. Both engines barely require any throttle input to get going from a stop and neither struggle to get up to speed when merging onto a highway. Most of the time, you won’t see the rpm needle go anywhere near 3,000. Actually, in the Ford, you won’t see any rpm needle unless it’s switched to the Tow/Haul or Sport drive mode as only those show a tachometer on the driver instrumentation.
Fuel Economy – Both powertrains also have similar fuel economy figures. The 2025 Nissan Armada Pro-4X is rated for 15.7 L/100km (15 MPG) in a city and 12.9 L/100km (18.2 MPG) on a highway. The 2025 Ford Expedition, with the high output engine, is rated for 15.4 L/100km (15.3 MPG) in a city and 10.7 L/100km (22 MPG) on a highway. While the expedition may be better on highways, in the real world the city fuel economy is worse for both. I averaged 15.1 L/100km (15.6 MPG) in the Armada and 15 L/100km (15.6 MPG) in the Expedition. This did involve quite a few highway drives and yet my average was still in the low 15’s L/100km.
Transmission – Between the two, there’s only a one gear difference. The Armada uses a 9-speed automatic while the Expedition uses a 10-speed automatic. On the move, both transmissions shift gears smoothly and they respond to a stab of the throttle in a reasonable amount of time. But at slow speeds, between 20 to 50 km/h, the transmission in the Nissan doesn’t know what to do. It constantly changes gears and because of this, it makes for a somewhat jerky drive. This goes away at higher speeds. In the Expedition, this doesn’t happen. But taking over control in the Ford is a bit more annoying as the buttons to change gears are on the dashboard next to the rotary gear selector. The 2025 Armada has paddle shifters.
Braking – The brakes on both SUVs are plenty powerful to bring them to a stop in emergency situations. Granted, there’s going to be quite a bit of nose dive. But both stop in a reasonable distance and remain under your control. However, it is the brake pedals that feel different. In the Nissan, it feels a bit on the spongy side. It uses a brake by wire system instead of a traditional vacuum assisted system. This better integrates it with the adaptive cruise control or the emergency braking system but it gives the brake pedal a wooly feel. Whereas in the Ford, it feels normal.
Handling – Neither of these SUVs are designed to drive quickly on a twisty mountain road. As such, it feels unnerving to take a corner at a high rate of speed in either SUV. There’s quite a bit of body roll and a lot of steering input to get these big SUVs to turn. However, both are excellent as long distance highway cruisers. There’s very little steering input required on straight highways with gentle corners and the soft suspension soaks up bumps with ease. SHould you need to tow something, the Expedition can handle up to 9,600 lbs while the Armada is limited to 8,500 lbs.
This particular Nissan Armada demo vehicle is the Pro-4X trim. This is the off-road focused trim of the Armada which includes underbody metal skid plates, an electric locking rear differential, adaptive suspension with air suspension, and all-terrain tires. The air suspension has an off-road mode but it is only activated when switching to the 4-Low or the Rock & Mud/Ruts off-road drive modes. Additionally, the suspension cannot be lowered to its lowest setting, for low clearance parking lots, while the SUV is in motion. The SUv has to be stopped and put into Park, with the engine running and doors closed, for it to fully lower to its lowest height. This is very annoying as other large SUVs with air suspension do allow for slow speed driving while the car is fully lowered.
Comfort
Ride Comfort – While both SUVs provide a comfortable ride, one does it better than the other. The air suspension of the Nissan Armada does a more effective job of absorbing bumps in the road compared to the standard coil springs of the Expedition. In addition, the thicker side wall tires of the Nissan further absorb some of the bumps in the road compared to the lower profile 24” tires of the Ford.
Interior Space – Across the first and second rows of seats, both have almost identical amounts of space. The Ford Expedition provides a little bit more headroom but it’s still more than enough in the Armada. Visibility out of both SUVs is excellent all around. The second rows are available with bench or captain’s chairs for both but the bench seats in the Ford can be adjusted individually while in the Nissan, they’re split 60/40.
In the third rows, the Expedition provides a bit more space. There’s more legroom and headroom for adults than in the Nissan Armada. But fitting three adults in that row is going to be tight. However, three kids should be fine. Additionally getting into those seats is easy thanks to the quick release button and handle on the 2nd row seats. But the 2nd row seat does not return to its previous position in the Ford as it does in the Nissan.
In the trunk, the Nissan Armada has 578 L (20.4 cu-ft) of space behind the 3rd row while the Ford Expedition has 648 L (22.9 cu-ft) of space. With the power operated 3rd row seats folded, the Armada has 1,594 L (56.3 cu-ft) and the Expedition has 1,979 L (69.9 cu-ft) of space. With the 2nd and 3rd row seats folded, maximum cargo capacity in the Nissan is 2,750 L (97.1 cu-ft) and in the Expedition it is 3,072 L (108.5 cu-ft). The Ford is also available in the MAX configuration which increases the cargo volumes to 1,059 L (37.4 cu-ft), 2,393 L (84.5 cu-ft), and 3,486 L (123.1 cu-ft) respectively.
Noise, Vibration, & Harshness – To my surprise, the cabin of the NIssan Armada is not overly loud due to the all-terrain tires. Generally, they tend to produce more road noise than regular all-season SUV tires, but not in this case. However, noises from other vehicles around the Armada are noticeable. In the Ford Expedition, cabin noises are a bit more subdued. Wind, tire, engine, and surround vehicle noises are quieter than in the Armada.
Odds and Ends
Pricing – Of these two large SUVs, the 2025 Ford Expedition has a lower starting price. The Active trim starts at $82,150 CAD ($62,400 USD) while the Nissan Armada SL starts at $84,998 CAD ($58,840 USD, SV). Things change however, once you move up in the trims. The two demo vehicles I had the opportunity to drive were mid-level trims. Granted, one trim was more off-road focused than the other but neither were top spec trims. The Armada Pro-4X starts at $94,998 CAD ($74,300 USD) while the Expedition platinum starts at $96,050 CAD ($74,850 USD). On top of that, the Ford had optional packages which bumped up the price to $112,595 CAD ($92,010 USD) as equipped. The Ford continues to be more expensive than the Nissan even when reaching their respective top spec trims. It’s not a big difference in price, but the Expedition costs more.
Gadgets – For the money, both large SUVs come very well equipped. Both have leather upholstery, heated & ventilated front seats, heated 2nd row seats, power operated 3rd row seats, heated steering wheels, wireless phone charging pads, panoramic sunroofs, power hands-free liftgates, 3-zone automatic climate controls, surround view cameras, and large infotainment touchscreens among a few other optional equipment such as front massaging seats and ventilated 2nd row seats. The Nissan can also be equipped with a head-up display, a rear camera mirror and a built-in dashcam that can not only record out the front but also the back and overlay vehicle information such as the SUV’s speed.
Both SUVs can also be equipped with hands-free driving systems. In the Ford, it’s BlueCruise and in the Nissan it’s called ProPilot 2.1. The BlueCruise system can be activated while driving on more highways than Nissan’s ProPilot 2.1. It smoothly drives the SUV around highway turns and it can also make lane changes without the driver needing to have their hands on the steering wheel. ProPilot 2.1 cannot do that. Additionally, ProPilot 2.1 is only available on the top spec trim of the Nissan Armada. Lower trims, such as this Pro-4X, only have ProPilot1.1 which is not a hands-free system.
The infotainment systems are Google based in both SUVs. They have Google Maps, Google Assistant, and the Play Store all built-in. In the Ford, it’s still running the Sync4 system but with the addition of Google Maps instead of the native Ford navigation system. Navigating through the infotainment is easy and it supports wireless Apple CarPlay for those not using Android phones.
The Nissan infotainment is also fairly intuitive to use with the main screen allowing for different widgets to be displayed. The submenus are reminiscent of older Nissan infotainment systems but they work just fine. You do have the option of not using the touchscreen and instead relying on a few buttons and scroll wheel on the right side of the steering wheel. But this is very frustrating to use.
Interior Design – The cabin of the 2025 Nissan Armada has a straightforward design. It retains many physical controls for climate, heated/ventilated seat usage, and drive modes. This Pro-4X trim receives larger 14.3” displays for the driver instrumentation and the infotainment touchscreen. Lower trims have 12.3” screens. Every function is simple to use and within easy reach. The materials are soft to the touch with leather covering most parts of the cabin apart from the lower portions which are just hard plastic.
By comparison, the cabin of the Ford Expedition has a bigger “wow!” factor. But that doesn’t mean it is better. My biggest gripe is the dashboard design. It looks like a shelf and it invites owners to put stuff on it. Eventually it could come to a point where useless junk will block the driver instrumentation screen. Furthermore, in the event of an accident, anything that is put there will become a projectile. As for the functionality of the Expedition’s cabin, it is not as simple to use as in the Armada. It has almost no physical controls as commonly used functions are integrated into the main touchscreen. Additionally, the steering wheel has two capacitive touch areas that only display what each section does on the driver display, not on the steering wheel. Plus, there are gloss black plastic trims on the steering wheel which will look horrible once you put your hands on the steering wheel… which will be every time the Expedition is driven. That part has me scratching my head as to why Ford chose that trim instead of just continuing with leather. The interior design of the Expedition tries to be modern but it lost the simple to use functionality.
Exterior Design – Both SUVs have a presence on the road due to their large sizes. But I think that the Armada stands out more thanks to its unique design. The boxier shape and the unique front fascia catch the eyes a bit more than the Expedition. Yes, the optional 24” wheels on the Ford fill the wheel wells nicely but the overall design doesn’t stand out. Perhaps we’ve, or I’ve, grown too accustomed to it.
Safety – The 2025 Nissan Armada comes equipped with every safety & driver aids available on this large SUV except for ProPilot 2.1, surround view cameras, and the built-in dashcams. Everything else, such as automatic emergency braking, lane keep, blind spot sensors, and so on, are standard across all trims.
The 2025 Ford Expedition also comes equipped with every safety & driver aid except for BlueCruise, intersection assist 2.2, and driver state detection.
Warranty – The 2025 Ford Expedition comes with a 3 year / 60,000 km basic new vehicle warranty and a 5 year / 100,000 KM powertrain warranty. For more information on Canadian warranty, click here. For USA warranty, click here.
The 2025 Nissan Armada is covered by a 3 year / 60,000 km new vehicle basic warranty and a 5 year / 100,000 km powertrain warranty. For more information on Canadian warranty, click here. For USA warranty, click here.
Conclusion – Of the two, I would easily pick the 2025 Nissan Armada over the 2025 Ford Expedition. The Armada is not only less expensive but it also has a better ride quality and a much simpler to use interior design. It’s not perfect and the Expedition does beat it with more interior space and better towing. But for me, I’d rather keep money in my pocket and not get frustrated by the interior controls.
Thank you to Nissan Canada for providing the Armada Pro-4X. www.Nissan.ca
Thank you to Ford Canada for providing the Expedition Platinum. www.Ford.ca
2025 Nissan Armada Pro-4X Gallery
2025 Ford Expedition Platinum Gallery
