NOT EVEN CLOSE! //2026 Nissan Armada PRO-4X vs 2027 Toyota Land Cruiser//

0:00 Nissan just mogged Toyota with this new Armada Pro 4X. I'm going put a link to the South Time Mitsubishi's website in the description down below, providing us with both of these vehicles. Let's get right into the comparison. Lexand is a company that makes high quality upgrades for many Toyota models, and even the F-150, this phone charging pad, as an example. Now, this particular Land Cruiser that we're in has a phone charging pad because it's a mid-trim, but the 1958 has no phone charging pad.

0:27 Now, I don't have this installed, but it is plug-andplay. It has OEM fitment. You probably notice it's in the same shape as the phone charging pad area. Not only is this easy to install, it's completely reversible. So, after you uninstall it, nobody will know the difference. If you're looking for a seamless, high-quality upgrade for your car, use my discount code in the description down below. The Toyota is powered by a hybrid turbo 2.4 L 4cylinder that goes through an 8-speed automatic. It puts out 326 horsepower, 465 pound- feet of torque.

1:00 The Nissan is powered by a twin turbo 3.5 L V6. It goes through a N-Speed automatic. Puts out 425 horsepower, 516 pound- feet of torque. And because it's not a hybrid, you don't have a bunch of hoses and everything underneath as much as the Toyota. Also, this is way more solid with the closing noise versus this sounds like a tin can. If you're looking for more straight to the point, honest comparisons like this, make sure you subscribe. Now, a quick side note. There are some minor changes to the Land Cruiser for 2027. This one is not a 2027, but I need to bring that up and I'll go over a couple of minor changes throughout the comparison. When it comes to front end equipment, both of them are the same. They've got recovery points, fog lights, and you notice the front ends on both of them are kind of sculpted for approach angle. I'd say the Armada might be slightly more aggressive, but both of them are actually pretty aggressive with that front slope. Although the Toyota does have removable air dams that you'd have to take off if you want to really do some off-roading. Now Toyota does have one thing over Nissan in this comparison. That is tire fitment. With the new Land Cruiser, you can fit 34s underneath the truck. With the Armada 33s is as big as you can go when it comes to tires. This one has, as you can see, the 20-in wheels, and the Toyota also has a 20-in wheels. So, we'll be able to really compare ride quality in today's comparison. But the Toyota is body on frame, independent suspension up front, solid axle in the back, and it's very boxy with the design. Now, the Armada is also body onframe, but it's independent suspension all around like a lot of other full-size SUVs. And this is a fulls size SUV, so it's bigger than the Land Cruiser. The Armada's wheelbase is about 10 in longer, and the vehicle itself is about 15 in longer. Now, with this new Land Cruiser, no third row option here in the US. It's hybrid only, so you do lose quite a bit of storage space in the vertical dimension because of that hybrid battery. The seats do not fold down flat either. This is still a usable cargo space, but not as practical. But at least this is power.

2:52 The Armada, on the other hand, has three rows of seating. The seats are power up and down. They fold down nice and flat. And even with third folded up, you get some storage space because of the extra size. And you can even raise and lower the back with those little buttons cuz the air suspension. And of course, like the Toyota, this is power. Now, I guess this is one leg up with the Toyota. It has this cool pop open rear window. And I do love the style of the tail lights on the Toyota. I don't like this bumper design, mostly because the receiver hitch bezel cover thing. It's just funky looking. The Armada backend looks pretty cool. We've got a big old light bar. I'd rather have just like this. I think they could get rid of this design-wise and it would look better, personally. But either way, this is my first time seeing these next to each other. And the Armada is not only just bigger all over. I mean, it's wider. It's a little bit taller, it's longer. It kind of looks better than the Toyota from most angles.

3:46 Yeah. On the backseat of the Toyota, got good leg room, a little storage pocket. Got my own climate zone, some USB ports as well. I think the materials in this Land Cruiser are nice. You've got this. Um, also I want to mention 2027 Land Cruiser heated ventilated seats for the second row with the premium package. So, that is something that we've got to kind of compare to the Armano with its current setup. This does come down because of the center, but then it goes back up in the back. Now, in the back of the Nissan, good leg room, got a storage pocket, just heated seats. The Land Cruiser has again those cooled seats with that 27 premium package. So, it's a little bit of an upgrade. The seats themselves in the Armada are really nice. And then even the door panel trim.

4:26 And then the headroom, I would say overall, is definitely better than the Armada. Blind spot monitoring with the Toyota regular glass up front. The build quality is really good in this Land Cruiser and I like the materials. They aren't the most premium but I think they feel nice to the touch. You've got memory seats, power folding mirrors. Payload on this is,00 lb. And then you'll notice seats are perforated down the center. Power adjustable with lumbar support. Got our trailer brake controls. Steering wheels power adjustable. Getting in's pretty easy. It does have side steps on this one. You can also get them with rock rails. That's one benefit of the Toyota over the Nissan. Nissan doesn't offer rock rails right now with the Armada.

5:02 Yeah, look at that. Digital steering wheel's got nice trim. You've got adaptive cruise, lane center, and all that. I love Toyota's 360 camera system. I think it's got really good resolution. And then the infotainment system, not too big, not too small. It's quick to respond. We do have all of our climate controls. Um, dual zone, got heated ventilated seats, phone charging pad right there, shifter for the 8-speed, and then this has a M. Here's a closer look at it. MTS. We got crawl control as well. And then behind that, we've got our center and rear diff lock stabilizer bar disconnect. Got a fulltime four-wheel drive system with a two-speed transfer case. Coolbox center console.

5:41 You've got nice trim here on the top. Um I do want to mention for 27 you can get a raised air intake. Different color also option on these new Land Cruisers, but that's another off-road option that is just not on the Armada. We have a camera rearview mirror and then only a regular center, no panoramic option. blind spot monitoring with the Armada. Thicker glass up front and then build quality is just as good as Toyota. I think the materials might feel a little bit more premium. You got memory seats.

6:06 You've got that power folding mirrors. More payload on this. It is 1444. And then you can see here with the seats, power adjustable and all that. Again, side steps, but getting in's easy. It's easy to step up into it. And the door's solid. Full digital. Now, this is just a big screen across the dash. So, a little bit different. Yeah, the steering wheel trim feels really nice. You got paddles on the back, bunch of practical controls on the front. It's a little bit more digitally compared to the Land Cruiser, so some people might not like that. And then we do have a really good 360 camera system, so that's great. Infotainment systems quick to respond. They do have physical controls for the important stuff in my opinion.

6:45 So, like the air suspension. Yeah, this has air suspension. The Toyota just has regular fixed springs. your drive modes, your heated cooled seats, fulltime four-wheel drive system, and this has a two-speed transfer case. Now, it's a little bit different with the diff locks. This has auto and then four-wheel high. So, that's kind of like four-wheel high is kind of like doing the center diff lock on the Toyota. And then this has a rear diff lock. So, it has just as many diff locks as the Toyota does. Uh, phone charging pad. My experience though, Nissan's phone charging pads aren't as good as Toyota's. Like, they just make your phone hot rather than charge it. the toys actually will charge it, but Nissan's apparently working to fix that in some cars. I mean, we've got nice trim on top. We've got a camera rearview mirror and then panoramic center. Now, when it comes to pricing, a 2027 premium Land Cruiser, depending on the options, is going to be, you know, mid70s. Now, the Armada is just over $80,000 loaded up. But here's the deal.

7:36 Toyota dealerships, are they going to discount the Land Cruiser? Maybe, probably not. Nissan dealerships, oh yeah, they'll discount the Armada. So, when it comes to actual transaction price, they're going to be very similar. Let's drive them. Armada Pro 4X. So, I'm just going to say this at the beginning of the video. I'm going to be using the driving clip from the Armada for both comparisons. I'm just driving them all back to back. I originally planned to do a three-way, but I forgot that the parking lot here is tight. So, it's easier to just for the thumbnail and for the walk around to just do a two-way do two separate videos. It's more work for me, more editing and all that. But yeah, and that, by the way, is why I mostly do two-way comparisons and not three-way or four-way comparisons. Is literally just parking lots. It's It's much easier to fit two cars next to each other in a lot of these dealer parking lots that are very tight. Yeah. Sorry, I just got to make sure I don't ding anything. Now, the Armada is it's a big vehicle. Um, it's the same size. People don't realize this. This is the same size as a Chevy Tahoe or a, you know, Ford Expedition.

8:44 It's a It's a full size SUV. And the interesting thing is the only full size, like true full size that Toyota offers is the Seoia, which is um, well, when it comes to build quality and drive and all that, it's beneath all these in my opinion. My wife says differently, but she likes it's weird. She likes the rough ride, but she says it's very consistently rough. And so she'd rather have that than smooth and somewhat incon she doesn't like um it's weird. She she likes the tippy stiff suspension. She doesn't like the floaty soak up bump suspension. It's so But she liked the Defender, but also the Defender independent suspension kind of tippy weird weird woman.

9:30 This is nice. Super super smooth with the engine. the suspension as well. This thing's got like 20,000 miles on it pretty much. I think the height controls Oh, let me switch this to auto. Okay, now the height controls in auto mode. So, it's just going to do what it's going to do. And the engine's very responsive for a turbo engine. It's like you put your foot in the throttle, just goes. It just goes.

10:02 Yeah. That's so incredibly smooth the whole setup and it's quiet. The other thing that I love about this is it is quiet. So just like my LX and my 200 series Land Cruiser, they slope the roof line instead of just doing a straight edge like what the GX and the Land Cruiser have. So you don't get a bunch of wind buffeting up top. You're going to get some wind noise at higher speeds because it's an SUV. It's high off the ground.

10:32 But it's it's really good. It is really good. Yeah. It's so effortless. The steering's good. And the thing I do like about the suspension is you do get some feedback with this independent suspension. Um it kind of lets you know what cuz it cuz it's independent, right? So you can kind of feel what corner is hitting what. Still very comfortable. And you get like a pretty tall driving position, too.

11:10 And the engine's just the engine transmission combo is very smooth. This is a modified GTR engine. That's what also makes this cool in my opinion. Yeah. Again, you can you get a little bit little bit of noise up top. Keep the sun shade closed. That helps out whenever you have a sunroof. Man, this thing's just a tank. And now that I've now that I've compared it, I I really do think this is more comparable to the Lexus LX than any of the other Toyota product currently when it comes to build and drive and everything.

11:47 And that's the most impressive part to me. Yeah, just look how this and it just goes around the corners. doesn't have a bunch of body roll. It's one benefit of independent suspension, air suspension. I mean, my my biggest thing with like I've done all these Armada comparisons when I first drove this vehicle, I you know, something special. I'm just trying to convince people to test drive. I'm not trying to convince all you to buy one of these cuz it's not for everyone.

12:22 But I think that it's one of those things where, you know, I review certain cars and it's like you have to at least go and test drive one. So that you know like, hey, that's not for me. Or maybe you realize it is for you. I love that engine delivery. And when it comes to new cars, yeah, one of the uh one of the nicer ones just with everything they've got going on here.

12:53 So, the Nissan Armada, which again in this current generation is a patrol, so it really is a Land Cruiser competitor. It's smooth, it's comfortable, it's spacious, it's off-road capable. It It fits the bill, and they have this priced very reasonably for what it offers. Again, it is not any more expensive than Toyota's two row. Well, I mean, I guess you can get a third row on the GX, but basically built out to be a two row SUV.

13:29 So, that is the Pro 4X. So, let's set off in the Land Cruiser back to back with the Armada. Just drank some water to make it so my throat wasn't so dry. And now I'm coughing when I wasn't before. Of course, now this does feel like it is a much smaller vehicle. And you feel it. It's narrower. It It kind of feels like when you go from any SUV into a Wrangler. Wranglers always they just they just feel small. And so like going from the Armada to the Land Cruiser, I feel like I'm going from a normal SUV into a Wrangler. And that's really what this Land Cruiser basically is is it's Toyota's Wrangler. It just is not a convertible, which I think is much better. I hate I hate the convertible factor of the Wrangler. Just makes it loud. Never take advantage of it. And, you know, you can fit big tires. It's boxy, off-road capable, all that. Now, the powertrain is not nearly as smooth.

14:29 That's the first big thing you notice about this. The powertrain is choppier. Is quite a bit choppier. Um, it's not horrible. But should have known that was a national truck, everything painted and this big lift. Um, yeah, you you feel it. Now, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I think that it goes with the character of the vehicle. This being kind of like a boxy, rugged, again, basically Toyota's Wrangler.

15:04 Yeah, you feel the gear shifts. It does smooth out once things are super warmed up. Cuz I owned one of these. to put 10,000 mi on the thing roughly. But yeah, it's uh it's it's it's just a choppier vehicle. The suspension is very comfortable though. I will say that. Um driving this back to back to the Armada, the Armada's more comfortable overall, but the seats in this are very comfortable. The suspension is very comfortable. I I would say that if you really like the Armada, but you want something that's like a smaller package, this actually Yeah. It and that's that's a big compliment to Nissan because it's like, man, your Amada basically feels like a big Land Cruiser and that's really what it is.

15:54 And because this doesn't have adaptive shocks uh or anything like that, just a regular old shock, it's very consistent. When you go over a bump, it feels the same every single time. When you go around a corner, it feels the same every single time. Steering is very light. Oh, see, I think that's one benefit of this is the steering feels a little bit more effortless. Nissan steering is really good. Yeah, more wind noise already. You get quite a bit more buffing because of that boxy windshield.

16:26 And it doesn't really feel like it's got more headroom. The Nissan felt like it had just as much headroom. So, a little bit of a price to pay. Yeah. This kind of goes around the kind of wallows, but I don't I like it. It feels like a truck. Feels like a truck. And the Nissan also I would say the Nissan feels less like a truck and kind of it's got more of that like G Wagon type feel. It's just solid like you know you're driving body on frame vehicle cuz it's not as tight as a unibody constructed vehicle. Yeah, it's just got that solid feel about it.

17:06 I actually kind of like how this wallows around corners. It's fun. It's actually fun to drive. and that way. But yeah, don't take a quarter too fast because feels a little tippy. Little tippy. So, between these two, like I said, I do think the Nissan genuinely it feels better built than this. It feels like it's just a more solid vehicle.

17:41 I think the I think the determining factor is going to come down to how much you value well actually size first off. Some people just say the Nissan's just too big. I get that. Um but size aside, I think it'll come down to if you're a badge buyer or if you're a value buyer. If you're a badge buyer, yeah, you're probably going to buy the Toyota because you want the prestige. But if you're and you want the Land Cruiser badge, too, right? But if you're a value buyer, the Armada is a much better value. You get, like I said, better builds, better engine setup.

18:17 It's like it's got like this has good torque, but the Nissan's just smoother and it's got so much more power. Like even on the highway, that's the biggest difference. This doesn't really have passing power. The Nissan is like a freight train on the highway. So, it's just the value the value is baked in. And again, like I said, Nissan dealers, I mean, they will beg and plead you to buy an Armada. Like, you go to a toy dealer and you're like, "Hey, I want a Land Cruiser." I'm like, "Well, we got one coming in in in 3 months. I guess we'll sell you one if you really want it." You go into a Nissan dealership and they're like, "Please please buy this.

18:52 We will I'll give you my they're like, "I'll give you my firstborn child. Just buy this Armada from me." You know what I mean? It's just going to be a different buying experience. So, it's like, you know, you look and something else to talk about is like if you have a tradein, if you have a dealership that's really trying to sell a car, man, you get so much more money for your trade in. I'm not going to I'm not going to say anything, but I've had experiences in the past where like I've bought cars where the that brand isn't doing so hot.

19:20 You know, I bought a car for a test and it's like I got so it's like you get a discount. It feels so good. you get a huge discount and on top of getting a huge discount, you get way more money for your trade than it's worth. It's like you're basically paying me like you're paying me above trade in value and you're giving me it's it's just a good it's just a good feeling. So, yeah, let me know which one you would pick.

19:44 But either way, you have to Here's what we'll end this with. You have to drive both. You have to it you are obligated to drive both before you buy one. It's not a uh well, I guess if you're just going to buy the I think I think if you just drive the Armada in isolation, you're fine. But but I really do think like that's that's my obligation to all you guys. If you buy one or the other and you haven't driven both, unless you're only looking for a big three row, but if you're just looking at these as like most people look at these as like Land Cruiser type vehicle, I'm going to disown you. I've disowned you as a follower. That's how it is.

20:20 That's all.