There is nothing like taking time off from work and your daily grind to take your family on vacation. Your spouse sitting next to you, the kids playing in the back, and maybe even the family dog is along for the ride – you can’t take these moments for granted, and as the patriarch or matriarch of your family, people look up to you. You are also the one to make the right and more difficult decisions for the betterment of the family, and choosing the right vehicle is no exception. To many, the car they buy is the unwritten new family member.
The vehicle you and your family travel in – whether you are taking the kids to school, your parent to a doctor’s appointment, or on a road trip to the Airbnb – is equally as dependent upon the person driving it. If you are to make the right decision between two cars in a battle for the best family-oriented SUV, the 2023 Nissan Armada vs. the 2023 Toyota Sequoia, it does not hurt to know the two before you decide. That is what I’m here to tell you about, so let’s embark on this journey together, and I will tell you what you need to know.
The Price is Right: Starring You
Before we talk about anything else, there is something that you should know, and it might immediately influence your buying decision. I’m not talking about performance or features – but price. Buying one vehicle over the other is one thing because you are not a fan of its powertrain, transmission, or maybe fuel efficiency is not as great. It is another thing to purchase a vehicle because the savings are strikingly different. Visualize the value-to-performance ratio between the 2023 Nissan Armada and the 2023 Toyota Sequoia as a weight scale. On the left would be the Nissan Armada, with its starting price of $50,700. The scale would be sunken down on its left side like a ton of bricks compared to the 2023 Sequoia, with a starting MSRP of $59,865.
Let me ask you something. Do you want to save over $9,000? If you said yes, then I have news for you: the 2023 Nissan Armada is the SUV for you and your family. Okay, now that I have established the price with you, this may have already caught your attention. Is this too good to be true? With anything, everything is relative, but the 2023 Nissan Armada has much to be desired for its price. Suppose you are willing to put up with a few sacrifices. In that case, you and your family will have everything you could have gotten with Toyota’s vehicles, but with an extra $9,000 to your name.
$9,000 is more than enough to put that money towards a trip to Disney Land, even if you are traveling across the country, or that extra $9,000 can go toward your child’s college fund. Or, you might not even have that additional $9,000, which makes the Armada already a done deal for you. I can’t stress enough how damaging this price divide is for Toyota’s SUV because there would be a far more convincing argument if it were not for it. However, humans are not made of money, and this is not a few grand we are talking about here, but $9,000 – remember that moving forward.
Does the Sequoia Meet its Expectations?
If there is one thing the Sequoia has going for it, it is a premium price tag and performance that manages to outmatch the Armada in a few ways. However, is the difference worth $9,000? Few differences would make that possible, so how does the Sequoia fare? The Sequoia’s high starting price is a byproduct of its powertrain, which, by all accounts, is an impressive powertrain. We are talking about a hybrid V6 setup: a 3.5L i-FORCE MAX engine paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. This powertrain calls for 437 hp and 583 lb-ft of torque, and its fuel efficiency is impressive. Towing is also accomplished nicely via this V6 hybrid powertrain, with the 2023 Sequoia securing a maximum towing capacity of 9,520 lbs. All great, sure. But, have you ever heard the saying “in a vacuum?” This saying holds with the Sequoia because, by itself, this is a great SUV. However, with the Nissan Armada in the picture and money being a finite object, does the Sequoia still hold the same amount of appeal as it would have by itself? No. But why? Let’s put the 2023 Nissan Armada in the equation, and you will see what I mean.
The 2023 Nissan Armada is powered by a 5.6L V8 engine dubbed the ‘Endurance’ engine – a fitting name given its specs. The 5.6L V8 engine that comes with every 2023 Armada outputs 400 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque and harnesses a maximum towing capacity of 8,500 lbs. Think about this: the Sequoia’s engine has 9.25% more horsepower and a 12% higher towing capacity, but its starting price is 18% higher than the Armada. A 9.25% increase in horsepower is not worth $9,000 extra dollars, and if you know, you won’t need any more than 8,500 lbs for towing, that extra thousand pounds won’t be worth the cost.
The Better Ride For Families
Which is the better SUV for families? The size of the cabin contributes to how enjoyable a car ride is for a family. Having room to breathe, so to speak, can go a long way in making longer road trips feel shorter by comparison. The Toyota Sequoia manages to secure a few victories here. Still, the Armada ultimately provides the more spacious experience, whether you are hoping for maximum cargo space or the head and legroom of yourself and your family. Starting with the available cargo space, the Armada and Sequoia have three rows of seating, meaning either of the rear two rows can be folded down to increase cargo space dramatically.
When stacked against each other, the 2023 Nissan Armada’s dimensions are as follows: You can have either 16.5, 49.9, or 92.6 cu-ft of cargo space, depending on which seats you fold down. The Nissan Armada also gives front-row occupants, such as yourself, 40.9 inches of headroom without the moonroof, 39.8 inches with it, and 41.9 inches of legroom. Your children in the back row will have 40 inches of headroom regardless of the moonroof’s presence and 41 inches of legroom, while anyone in the furthest back row will have an impressive 36.4 and 28.4 inches of head and legroom, respectively. Now, let’s see how the Sequoia does.
The Toyota Sequoia also has three rows of seating, and it is here where we see the first and only advantage the Sequoia has over the Armada’s cargo space: 22.3 cu-ft of space with both back rows kept upright. However, the 49 cu-ft of space you would get by folding down the third row – while similar to the Armada in the same configuration – is overshadowed by the lessened 86.9 cu-ft of space when both back rows are folded down. For a vehicle that costs over $9,000 more than its competitor, you would at least hope it would fare better regarding cargo space. It is also here where it becomes clear how much better and more comfortable it feels to sit inside the Armada than the Sequoia – not only for you and whichever family member is sitting next to you but for those in the second and third rows, too.
The front row of the 2023 Sequoia has 39.2 inches of headroom and 41.2 inches of legroom, both of which are lower than the Armada’s front row. The second row of the Sequoia gives your family 38.4 inches of headroom and 39.2 inches of legroom, and lastly, the furthest row has a lowly 35.6 inches of headroom and 28.1 inches of legroom. Some of these dimensions are slightly altered with the panoramic moonroof, but it does not detract from the fact that the Armada is more spacious than the Sequoia in most scenarios. For a vehicle that costs $9,000 less than its competitor, that is not bad, wouldn’t you agree?
Your Family Will Love it
After you know everything you do about the Nissan Armada and the Toyota Sequoia, today can be the day that you make the right choice and introduce your family to its newest obsession. SUVs like the Armada and Sequoia are both great for families, but having a family also means it is a great idea to save money wherever possible. With this in mind, the Armada gives you a chance to save over $9,000 from the start, and that is not even including other features I did not mention – like how the Armada comes standard with a 12.3-inch infotainment center instead of the Sequoia’s 8-inch screen. If you ask me, this one is a bit of a no-brainer – the Armada is the better SUV for families.
