Compare the2023 Nissan ArmadaVS 2022 Honda Pilot

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Armada are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Honda Pilot doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Armada are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Pilot doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Armada has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Pilot doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Armada SL/Platinum has a standard Around View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Pilot only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Armada’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Pilot doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Armada and the Pilot have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

The Nissan Armada weighs 1330 to 1993 pounds more than the Honda Pilot. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Armada is safer than the Honda Pilot:

	Armada	Pilot
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	27	109
Abdominal Force	81 lbs.	101 lbs.
Hip Force	144 lbs.	269 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	31	233
Spine Acceleration	21 G’s	42 G’s
Hip Force	151 lbs.	304 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	45 G’s
Hip Force	684 lbs.	838 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Reliability

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Armada’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Pilot’s camshafts. If the Pilot’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Armada has a standard 150-amp alternator. The Pilot’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 25 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Honda.

Engine

The Armada’s 5.6 DOHC V8 produces 120 more horsepower (400 vs. 280) and 151 lbs.-ft. more torque (413 vs. 262) than the Pilot’s 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Armada is faster than the Honda Pilot:

	Armada	Pilot
Zero to 60 MPH	6.2 sec	6.5 sec
Quarter Mile	14.8 sec	15.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	94 MPH	91.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The Armada has 6.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Pilot (26 vs. 19.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Armada’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Pilot:

	Armada	Pilot
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	13 inches

The Armada’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Pilot are solid, not vented.

The Armada stops shorter than the Pilot:

	Armada	Pilot
70 to 0 MPH	182 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	123 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Armada has larger standard tires than the Pilot (265/70R18 vs. 245/60R18). The Armada SL’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Pilot (275/60R20 vs. 245/60R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Armada Platinum has standard 22-inch wheels. The Pilot’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Nissan Armada’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Honda Pilot only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Armada S/SV has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Pilot; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The Armada has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Pilot’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The rear suspension of the Armada uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Pilot, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Armada has a standard automatic rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Pilot doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Armada’s wheelbase is 10.1 inches longer than on the Pilot (121.1 inches vs. 111 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Armada is 1.2 inches wider in the front and 1.6 inches wider in the rear than on the Pilot.

The Armada’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50.5% to 49.5%) than the Pilot’s (56.1% to 43.9%). This gives the Armada more stable handling and braking.

For greater off-road capability the Armada S/SV has a 1.8 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Pilot (9.1 vs. 7.3 inches), allowing the Armada to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Armada SL/Platinum’s minimum ground clearance is 1.9 inches higher than on the Pilot (9.2 vs. 7.3 inches).

Passenger Space

The Armada has 2.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Pilot (154.5 vs. 151.7).

The Armada has 1.4 inches more front headroom, 1 inch more front legroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 2.6 inches more rear legroom, 1.1 inches more rear hip room, 1.4 inches more rear shoulder room, 4.2 inches more third row hip room and 2.9 inches more third row shoulder room than the Pilot.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the Armada Platinum’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Pilot doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

The Armada’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Pilot’s (8500 vs. 3500 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The Armada uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Pilot uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The engine in the Armada is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Pilot. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The Armada’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Pilot does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The power windows standard on both the Armada and the Pilot have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Armada is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Pilot prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Armada’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Pilot’s power mirror controls are on the dash where they are possibly hidden by the steering wheel and are awkward to manipulate.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Armada is less expensive to operate than the Pilot because typical repairs cost much less on the Armada than the Pilot, including $246 less for a water pump, $21 less for a muffler, $2 less for a starter and $123 less for a fuel pump.