Compare the2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee LVS 2026 Nissan Armada

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L 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 Nissan Armada doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.

The Grand Cherokee L 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 Armada doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Cherokee L Limited Reserve/Summit helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Armada doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L offers an optional 360-degree camera and it also offers an optional rear camera washer to make backing always safe, regardless of road dirt or grime, while the Nissan Armada doesn’t offer a camera washer, requiring manual cleaning.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Cherokee L 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, available all wheel drive, around view monitors and driver alert monitors.

Warranty

There are over 2 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Nissan dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Grand Cherokee L’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Grand Cherokee L has a standard 850-amp battery (900 2.0 Hurricane). The Armada’s 760-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

The battery on the Grand Cherokee L is under the seat, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Grand Cherokee L’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Armada’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee L gets better mileage than the Armada:

			MPG
Grand Cherokee L
	RWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/25 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/25 hwy
Armada
	RWD	3.5 turbo V6	16 city/20 hwy
	AWD	3.5 turbo V6	16 city/19 hwy
		PRO-4X 3.5 turbo V6	15 city/18 hwy
		3.5 turbo V6	16 city/19 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Armada NISMO requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Jeep Grand Cherokee L higher (6 out of 10) than the Nissan Armada (5). This means the Grand Cherokee L produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Armada every 15,000 miles.

Tires and Wheels

The Grand Cherokee L’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Armada SV’s standard 70 series tires. The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Armada Platinum Reserve/NISMO’s 50 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Grand Cherokee L Limited 4x4 handles at .82 G’s, while the Armada PRO-4X pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Grand Cherokee L 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Armada PRO-4X (27.3 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Grand Cherokee L’s turning circle is 1.2 feet tighter than the Armada’s (39.6 feet vs. 40.8 feet).

Chassis

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1050 to 1150 pounds less than the Nissan Armada.

The Grand Cherokee L is 4.7 inches shorter than the Armada, making the Grand Cherokee L easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Grand Cherokee L is 5.8 inches narrower than the Armada, making the Grand Cherokee L easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

Unibody construction lowers the Grand Cherokee L’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.

The front grille of the Grand Cherokee L 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.

The Grand Cherokee L Altitude/Limited/Summit uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Armada doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Grand Cherokee L has .2 inches more rear legroom and 1.1 inches more third row headroom than the Armada.

The front step up height for the Grand Cherokee L is 3.9 inches lower than the Armada (20.1” vs. 24”). The Grand Cherokee L’s rear step up height is 4.3 inches lower than the Armada’s (20.2” vs. 24.5”).

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Grand Cherokee L easier. The Grand Cherokee L’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 32.2 inches, while the Armada’s liftover is 36.2 inches.

Towing

The Grand Cherokee L Summit can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Grand Cherokee L can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Armada can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Armada SL/NISMO/Platinum/PRO-4X, the Grand Cherokee L Summit has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster), outside mirror angle and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Grand Cherokee L’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 Armada does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Grand Cherokee L’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Armada’s power window and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Grand Cherokee L’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Armada’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Grand Cherokee L Summit has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Armada doesn’t offer cornering lights.

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

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

The Grand Cherokee L Limited Reserve/Summit has standard front air conditioned seats and the Grand Cherokee L Summit also has them 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 Jeep Grand Cherokee L stands out above the Nissan Armada by offering not one, but two Qi-compatible phone chargers. This convenience helps travelers with multiple devices to keep powered up on-the-go. Wireless charging eliminates lost or cluttered charging cables and one of them provide more flexibility.

The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Armada doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

According to iSeeCars.com the 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee L retains 53.18% of its original value after 5 years, significantly more than the 39.62% resale value of the 2026 Nissan Armada after five years, which can save the Jeep’s owner up to $16456 in depreciation.

Recommendations

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Nissan Armada by over 12 to one during 2025.

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