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A two-hour drive from Dubai (an hour and a half of which were spent on highways and bypasses) have got me up to speed pretty quickly with the Armada’s basics. There’s plenty of oomph – thanks to the 5.6l V8 bolted down under the bonnet – the steering is hefty, feel for the road is good, and the brakes, even with a bit of weight behind them, are pretty responsive. But two things strike me as we dip the Pirellis onto the rough stuff for the first time (well, three things as a plume of dust is thrown through my window by an enthusiast keen to jump the queue).
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The first is the sheer size of the Armada. The majority of my group is made up of Toyota FJ Cruisers, Jeep Wranglers and the occasional Mitsubishi Pajero, all of which are dwarfed by the Armada. On the inside, my six-foot plus frame is neither cramped nor likely to be with the space at my disposal. The only issue is the position of the radio controls, seemingly positioned so that only the passenger can use them. One way or the other then, the Armada’s certainly got presence. And that’s the second point. Size surely equals weight, and could weight prove to be my undoing during the opening stages? Am I likely to just bog down at the first obstacle?
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As it turns out, ‘no’. Thanks to the Armada’s 4WD two-speed transfer case, the opening kilometres are dealt with easily, even with my ludicrously inexperienced self at the wheel. High range 4WD engaged, the Armada doesn’t put a foot wrong as we negotiate tighter, rockier and steeper mountain paths, light steering and awesome amounts of torque making my job behind the wheel easier. Even the music system is turned back on, and I begin wondering whether the protective plastic wrap on the door panels and dashboard is intelligent forethought by Nissan or unnervingly reminiscent of a crime scene.
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Soon though there’s a hill climb ahead of us. A big one. And it is incredibly steep. So much so that I wonder if the Armada can make the dash at all. This is a low-range 4WD run, no question, and after slamming a few levers home, I’m ready for my first big test. Sort of. Marshalls who have thus far been shepherding our convoy down the correct routes line us up one by one at the bottom for some much needed words of encouragement: “stay in second, wait until you feel the incline, then nail it!”
