Compare the2025 Lincoln AviatorVS 2025 Nissan Armada

Both the Aviator and Armada have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Aviator has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Armada’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Aviator has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Armada doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Both the Aviator and Armada have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Aviator has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Armada’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Aviator uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Armada uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Aviator and the Armada have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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, driver alert monitors and available all wheel drive.

The Aviator comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Armada’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Aviator 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Nissan covers the Armada. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Armada ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Lincoln Aviator’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Armada’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

The Aviator has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Armada doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

On the EPA test cycle the Aviator gets better mileage than the Armada:

The Aviator has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Armada doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Lincoln Aviator, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a nine-speed automatic is available for the Armada.

The Aviator’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Armada SV’s standard 70 series tires. The Aviator’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Armada Platinum Reserve’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Aviator has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Armada SV.

The Aviator’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Armada doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Lincoln Aviator may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 950 to 1250 pounds less than the Nissan Armada.

The Aviator is 10.3 inches shorter than the Armada, making the Aviator easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Aviator is 7 inches shorter in height than the Armada, making the Aviator much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Aviator’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Armada doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Aviator has standard flush composite headlights. The Armada has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The front grille of the Aviator uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Armada doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Aviator’s exterior PIN entry system. The Armada doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Aviator has a standard rear wiper. The Armada doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Aviator has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Armada doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Aviator also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Aviator to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Armada doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Aviator’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Nissan only offers heated mirrors on the Armada Platinum/PRO-4X.

The Aviator has standard front air conditioned seats and offers them optionally in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Armada doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Aviator has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Armada SL/Platinum/PRO-4X.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Lincoln Aviator has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Armada SL/Platinum/PRO-4X offers wireless charging.

The Aviator (except Premiere)’s optional Active Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Armada doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Lincoln Aviator outsold the Nissan Armada by 64% during 2024.