Lithia Ford Lincoln of Roseburg

Compare the2027 Lincoln Aviator VS 2026 Nissan Armada

2026 Nissan Armada2027 Lincoln Aviator

Safety

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.

Warranty

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.

Reliability

The Lincoln Aviator’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Armada’s engines use 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 safe place to stop. 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.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Lincoln Aviator is faster than the Nissan Armada (base engine):

Aviator

Armada

Zero to 60 MPH

5.4 sec

6.3 sec

Quarter Mile

14.1 sec

14.8 sec

Speed in 1/4 Mile

97.7 MPH

95.5 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

MPG

Aviator

RWD

3.0 turbo V6

17 city/25 hwy

AWD

3.0 turbo V6

17 city/24 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 Lincoln Aviator uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). 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 Lincoln Aviator higher (6 out of 10) than the Nissan Armada (5). This means the Aviator produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Armada every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

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.

Brakes and Stopping

The Aviator stops shorter than the Armada:

Aviator

Armada

60 to 0 MPH

118 feet

121 feet

Motor Trend

60 to 0 MPH (Wet)

145 feet

154 feet

Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

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/NISMO’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.

Suspension and Handling

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 Aviator Reserve AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Armada PRO-4X pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Aviator AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Armada PRO-4X (27.1 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Aviator’s turning circle is 1.6 feet tighter than the Armada’s (39.2 feet vs. 40.8 feet).

Chassis

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

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.

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.

The Aviator Reserve/Black Label 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.

Ergonomics

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.

The Aviator’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 Aviator’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Armada’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Aviator (except Premiere) offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Armada doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Aviator (except Premiere) also offers optional 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 SL/Platinum/PRO-4X/NISMO.

The Lincoln Aviator has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors are only offered on the Armada SL/Platinum/PRO-4X/NISMO.

Optional air conditioned front and second row seats keep the Aviator’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather 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/NISMO/Platinum/PRO-4X.

The Lincoln Aviator has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the driver’s visor. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Nissan charges extra for Homelink® on the Armada and isn’t available on the Armada SV/SL.

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.

Economic Advantages

According to iSeeCars.com the 2026 Lincoln Aviator retains 45.62% of its original value after 5 years, more than the 39.62% resale value of the 2026 Nissan Armada after five years, which can save the Lincoln’s owner up to $3286 in depreciation.

Recommendations

The Lincoln Aviator outsold the Nissan Armada by 40% during 2025.