Nissan has many solid vehicles in its lineup, but the Japanese automaker hasn’t been very popular in America. Indeed, many of the brand’s cars aren’t selling well stateside. Here’s a look at the worst-selling Nissan SUV, which falls short in several areas, including safety ratings. 

Why is the Armada the worst-selling Nissan SUV of 2023?

Nissan reported sales data for the first half of the year, and the company’s SUV and truck segment combined for over 300,000 units sold year-to-date.

The Rogue was the best-selling Nissan SUV, having moved almost 148,000 units, nearly half the segment total. The Pathfinder placed second, selling about 43,000 units. The Kicks ranked third with nearly 30,000. After that, there’s the midsize Murano, which sold just over 21,000 units.

Finally, there’s the Armada. The Japanese automaker sold only 13,187 units of the full-size SUV in the first half of the year. That makes it Nissan’s worst-selling SUV so far this year.

There are several reasons why the Armada hasn’t been a hot seller. For one, it’s expensive, starting at over $50,000, so it isn’t accessible to most consumers. Also, this SUV has an aging design that desperately needs a refresh. On top of that, its safety scores aren’t great.

How did the 2023 Nissan Armada do in crash testing?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is one of the leading safety agencies. The full-size Armada earned a perfect five out of five stars for its side crash safety ratings, but it stumbled on its other crash tests. It scored a three out of five for its rollover risk. It also didn’t perform superbly in its frontal crash tests.

It received a decent four out of five for its front driver-side crash test but got a mediocre three out of five for its front passenger-side crash test. That led to an overall frontal crash rating of just three out of five. Ultimately, the Armada scored a four out of five for its overall safety rating. Those results are worse than those of its Nissan peers: The Rogue, Pathfinder, and Murano earned perfect overall five-star NHTSA safety ratings. 

That’s especially interesting since the Armada is the largest Nissan passenger car. Usually, larger vehicles tend to be safer than smaller cars. Based on the NHTSA’s crash tests, though, that might not be true for the Armada when compared with smaller Nissan SUVs.

What makes a vehicle safe?

Crash tests are only one way to measure vehicle safety. Another way cars can protect occupants and pedestrians is through advanced safety features. Like other automakers, Nissan offers a deep layer of smart safety systems for the Armada. That’s because this SUV has Nissan Safety Shield 360, the company’s name for its suite of driver-assistance features. 

Specifically, it adds forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and other systems. The automaker offers adaptive cruise control as an optional feature as well. These advanced safety features can help drivers stay safe, even if their car didn’t perform well in crash tests.

On top of that, it’s worth mentioning that although the Armada didn’t get a perfect five-star NHTSA safety rating overall, that doesn’t mean it can’t protect occupants. This SUV’s considerable size should still help keep riders safe.