NISSAN TITAN: Brawny truck offers features that can't be found anywhere else
By Ann M. Job, Associated Press
10/11/2003
Nissan's upcoming new pickup truck is so big, some Nissan dealers have had to remodel showrooms and service areas to accommodate the burly 2004 Nissan Titan truck.
The first pickup from a foreign-based automaker that rivals — and in some dimensions beats — domestic full-size, light-duty trucks from Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge, the Titan also boasts a standard, 305-horsepower V8 and several new truck features that can't be found anywhere else.
These include an optional, factory-installed and warranted bedliner and a standard five-speed automatic transmission.
There's also a standard, specially hinged rear door on King Cab models that bends back like an airliner door and does away with the parking lot quandary of how to access the rear seat area without getting stuck in a clamshell maneuver between front and rear doors.
Other innovations: helpful lighting that illuminates the tailgate area when the tailgate is down and items are being loaded or unloaded or the tailgate is used as a work station; and a small, locking, storage area for small tools that's outside, on the driver side of the bed.
Additionally, there's an optional, factory-installed cargo tie-down system for the Titan that uses bed channels and specially designed tie-down cleats to provide amazingly flexible cargo storage. These tie downs are expected to accommodate growing numbers of bike and kayak racks and other accessory storage systems.
Best of all, the Titan, which is built on a new, full-size truck platform, has noteworthy ride and handling that's bound to surprise: it doesn't punish riders with shudders and undue bounciness. It also offers steering with commendable on-center feel.
Final pricing has yet to be announced, and all Nissan officials will say is that Titan pricing will be competitive with other full-size trucks.
But for a few days earlier this year, Nissan's Web site posted research prices that had the base Titan King Cab XE 4X2 starting between $24,000 and $25,000, including destination charge.
One thing is for sure: The Titan, which comes only with four doors and is offered in two- and four-wheel drive, will be Nissan's most expensive pickup.
The automaker's long-running compact truck, the Frontier, had a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $13,689 for a 2003 King Cab model with two-wheel drive and four-cylinder engine.
The Titan's competitors include the full-size truck segment leader — the Ford F-150 — which starts at $22,010 for a base, re-engineered, 2004 Regular Cab model with V8 and two-wheel drive, and the Chevrolet Silverado, which starts at $19,665 for a 2004 Regular Cab model with V6 and two-wheel drive.
Also sure to be compared with the Titan is Toyota's Tundra, which started at $16,495 for a 2003 Regular Cab, two-wheel-drive model with V6.
Although introduced in June 1999 as a full-size pickup, and listed as such, many American truck buyers have considered the Tundra a slightly smaller full-size truck because some of its dimensions haven't matched those of domestic pickups.
Nissan officials made sure to design the Titan as a big, brawny pickup. Its 224.2-inch length, available 5-foot-6-inch and 6-foot-6-inch beds and overall width of 78.8 inches rival F-150's corresponding dimensions.
Indeed, the 40.4 inches of rear-seat headroom in the Titan Crew Cab beats the 39.6 inches in the comparable F-150, the 39.9 inches in the Silverado, the 40.2 inches in the new Tundra Double Cab model for 2004, as well as the 40 inches in the Dodge Ram Quad Cab.
The Titan Crew Cab also bests the other competitive models in front and rear legroom. The spaciousness of the cabin — either King Cab or Crew Cab — is easy to notice once you make the hefty climb aboard the Titan.
In fact, during my test drive of a King Cab 4X2 model, when my purse slid across the front passenger seat during a turn and lodged in the front-passenger door map pocket, there was absolutely no way I could reach over and retrieve my pocketbook.
I had to stop, park the truck and walk around to the passenger door from the outside to get at my purse. After this, I made sure to put the purse into the roomy, open center console storage area, where it fits nicely.
Controls, such as the heating and control knobs, as well as inside door handles are beefy, so they work well with a woman's hands or a guy's hands wearing gloves. In fact, the steering wheel in the Titan is the largest Nissan has ever used for a passenger vehicle.
I noticed the driver seat cushion was generously deep and extended all the way to the back of my knees.
Power is palpable and comes on steadily and quite smoothly in the Titan. I merely touched the accelerator, and this truck reacted. If I pressed a bit harder, my neck and head would be propelled back into the head restraint.
And it was all accompanied by a constant, deep, sporty, almost hot-rod exhaust note that isn't found on the regular production models of F-150, Silverado or Tundra.
But the Dodge Ram does share its deep V8 sound with riders, too.
I didn't lack for power in the Titan, neither on-road nor off. And passing on highways and country roads never brought consternation.
Fuel economy is estimated at just 14 miles a gallon in city driving, as you'd expect when an engine delivers a stout 379 foot-pounds of torque at 3,600 rpm.
This is more than the 365 foot-pounds at 3,750 from the 300-horsepower, 5.4-liter Triton V8 in the new F-150 and 360 at 4,000 rpm from the 300-horsepower, 6-liter Vortec V8 in regular production Silverados.
However, the Titan's power can be surpassed by a pricey Silverado SS whose V8 produces 345 horses and 380 foot-pounds at 4,000 rpm.
Meanwhile, the Tundra's 240-horsepower, 4.7-liter, i-Force V8 delivers a maximum 315 foot-pounds of torque at 3,400 rpm.
While some competitors, such as the Tundra and Silverado, offer V6s, too, theres no V6 at this time for the Titan. Towing capacity for the Titan is 9,500 pounds, which is more than the 7,200 maximum for the Tundra and the 9,200 in a light-duty Ram.
Nissan adds some notable options for this truck, among them front-seat side and curtain airbags, a Rockford-Fosgate stereo, rear DVD entertainment system and a navigation system.
Sales are expected to total 100,000 the first year, with the vast majority of buyers to be men, according to Nissan officials, seeking a truck for family and lifestyle activities. They will be familiar with Japanese brands and the quality they're known for.
While the median age of full-size truck buyers today is 50 with typical household income between $65,000 and $75,000, Titan buyers are likely to be younger and a bit more affluent, Nissan added. Most will be married.
Nissan's upcoming new pickup truck is so big, some Nissan dealers have had to remodel showrooms and service areas to accommodate the burly 2004 Nissan Titan truck.