2004 Nissan Titan

This impressive truck signals the beginning of the end of the Big Three's long domination of the full-sized pickup class. Nissan's all-new Titan, built in a new plant in Mississippi, is a serious piece of hardware. Some say it's about time. For years, Japanese automakers neatly sidestepped around full-sized pickup trucks. They cheerfully sold small to medium-sized pickups, arguably because they either had plenty of car business, didn't have a full-size truck platform, didn't have a powerful, torque-y V-8, didn't want to ruffle the domestics' feathers, and/or there were bigger SUV opportunities. Whatever the reason, it no longer matters. Here comes the Titan.

The Titan impresses with chunky, bulldog-inspired styling, meaty, 'no-excuses' specifications, and many clever features.

Toyota tiptoed in with its T100 a few years ago, then enlarging it to what detractors call "7/8ths-sized" in 2002. Typically, conservatively, Toyota's watched and waited. Meanwhile, thanks to an incessant demand for work trucks, along with gussied-up pickups purchased as suburban image enhancers, the full-size truck market has mushroomed to 2.3 million units annually, when you count heavy duty and regular cab models. Full-size four-door crew cabs, the fastest growing segment, comprise 1.3 million annual units. That's simply too big to be ignored. Larry Dominique, the enthusiastic engineer who heads up Nissan's Titan project (and an ex-Ford truck guy) bluntly insists, "You can't be a full-line brand without full-sized trucks and SUVs."


Committed to a new product offensive that's propelled it from relative obscurity to pack-leading innovation, Nissan initially leaked word out about its big truck, insisting it would be a bona fide contender. Dominique insisted he had a 'clean sheet of paper' from Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's peripatetic Chairman, to build "whatever it takes" to compete. Appetites were whetted by several impressive auto show presentations.


Taken in the abstract, this new truck impresses with chunky, bulldog-inspired styling, meaty, 'no-excuses' specifications, and many clever features. Nissan began its truck research back in 1999. Owner loyalty in the full-size segment runs at 75 percent, so it's difficult to get a traditional Chevy guy, who uses his truck for work, to even consider a Ford, and vice versa. Dodge made its big inroads because the market exploded. But personal-use buyers aren't as brand-loyal, and they're more responsive to newer styling and high technology. Nissan calls them "Modern Truck Guys," and they are the Titan's prime targets.

The Titan leads in crew-cab interior space and legroom, and the quality, fit and finish are very high-standard overall.

To get their attention, the Titan has a uniquely flexible cargo handling system, and specifications that meet or exceed the class leaders, on or off-road. Titan initially claimed the best torque output, towing capacity, approach, angle, biggest standard tires, etc., but that was before Ford's new F-150 marginally edged some of these claims. The Titan still leads in crew cab interior space and legroom. In reality, it doesn't matter. Any way you look at it, this truck is competitive. Its massive, fully boxed, ladder frame, 5-speed automatic. 5.6-liter DOHC V-8, heavy-duty Dana axles, optional Rancho off-road shocks and three strategically located skid plates are the equivalent of any competitive offering.