2017 Nissan Titan: Roughing up the Status Quo

The Nissan Titan lineup expands for 2017 with more variants compared to when it came into the market last year with only the heavy-duty XD version. The XD was not quite as heavy duty as a 2500 pickup, but rather in-between the 1500 and 2500 classes. This week’s test vehicle is the Nissan Titan V8 half-ton crew cab.

Aimed to go head to head against the big three Americans (Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra, Ram 1500), the Titan represents one of the few alternatives if you're looking to venture outside of the domestic manufacturers’ offerings for your hauling needs. The only other one is the Toyota Tundra.

• Also: 2017 Nissan TITAN: Getting the Message Across
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Looks-wise, the Titan is a winner with a big, imposing, beefy front end. The trend continues with a great side profile and attractive rear end. It resembles the previous-generation F-150, but differentiates itself enough to make itself noticed and turn heads. Signature LED daytime running lights ensure the Titan stands out even more.

Inside the cabin, the 2017 Nissan Titan really shines. The grey and brown leather seating of the Platinum Reserve test vehicle is as comfortable as ever. Black piano finishing adorns the dash and a combination of wood and leather make up one of the nicest steering wheels available. Build quality is excellent and all buttons and surfaces are firm to the touch. One thing that bears highlighting is that traditional steering column-mounted gear shifter. I absolutely love this method of shifting and I'm sure this will play well with many other potential pickup buyers. It also allows the front-seat area to be very spacious with extra storage compartments. The back seat is spacious enough to fit three children in booster seats side by side, so no problem at all to haul the family.

Nissan's infotainment system is easy to use and well designed. A secondary information screen behind the steering wheel display allows you to control other vehicle systems, but what is sorely lacking is a digital speedometer. You can get tire pressure, fuel consumption average and a compass, but no digital speed readout. The only other thing that bothered me was the one-second delay between pushing the start/stop button and when the vehicle actually powers off.

While the 2017 Titan half-ton's new 5.6-litre Endurance V8 engine shares its displacement with the previous-generation V8, that is where the similarities end. The new engine features 390 horsepower at 5800 rpm (up 73 hp from the previous 317 hp) and 394 lb.-ft. of torque (up from the previous 385). Throttle response is enhanced by directly controlling the intake valve, rather than using the traditional method of controlling intake with a throttle valve. Helping handle the engine's power and torque is a heavy-duty seven-speed automatic transmission tuned exclusively for the Titan.

The Titan half-ton offers all the towing, utility features and driving aids one can expect with an integrated trailer brake controller, trailer sway control, tow/haul mode and a trailer light check system that allows one-person hook-up operation. It offers an available maximum towing capacity of 9220 pounds and maximum payload capacity of 1620 pounds when properly equipped. To give you an idea of what the other half-ton competition is doing, the F-150 can tow up to 12,200 pounds and haul 3270 pounds, the Chevy Silverado has numbers of 12,500/2250, Ram 1500 touts 10,640/1880 and Tundra 10,400/1770. The Titan unfortunately sits at the bottom of the pack in towing capability.

Driving the Titan every day is a real pleasure. That increased attention to throttle response was the first thing I noticed because it’s instantaneous and smooth, which is important if you intend to do a lot of city driving. The large dimensions can obviously make supermarket or daycare parking a challenge, but this vehicle's parking sensors and top-down surround-view monitor work wonders, so even the most incapable drivers will have their confidence boosted.

I had the fortune of needing to move my brother out of his condo while I had the Titan. The sliding mounts on the bed allowed for ease of tying down our awkwardly-packed furniture. We fit a queen mattress and box spring along with a recliner with no issues. The spacious back seat also came in handy to stuff a ton of boxes.

Pricing for the 2017 Nissan Titan half-ton Crew Cab 4x4 starts at $45,150 and tops out at a whopping $66,300 for the Platinum reserve. Playing around with the online configurator, I found it disappointing that you can’t get leather seats for anything less than the SL trim at $62,550. A Ford F-150 Lariat SuperCrew with leather starts at $56,599. That’s quite a difference that doesn’t work in Nissan’s favour. One thing to note is that the SL doesn’t offer any option packages and comes fully loaded. A fully-equipped Lariat is about the same price.

The Nissan Titan half-ton represents a valiant effort to rough up the status quo. Offering a quality truck with similar capabilities is sure to peel off a few buyers, but until they can match the Americans on pricing and incentives, it may not be enough to put a chink in their armour.