At this point you know the Nissan Titan and its heavier-duty brother the Titan XD are refreshed and repowered for 2016. But this is the first time we’ve seen them in any configuration besides a full four-door crew cab.
Behold; trucks, “as god intended” ...as somebody might say. This simple, three-passenger, American-made (yep!) cargo-first configuration– that there’s a trucker’s truck.
I actually really like the look in-profile; those kinks on the fender and just fore of the rear wheelwell add just enough intricacy to the side. Shame about that fender “vent,” but nobody’s perfect. Even the broad snout on this thing’s grown on me.
Single cabs, extended cabs and crew cabs will all be options on both Titan and Titan XD eventually. Order books are opening for the crew cab first, the single cab next (late fall this year) and the extended cab (which Nissan refers to as “King Cab”) some time after that according to Nissan’s press release.
“Titan (and XD) will ultimately be available in a total of three cabs, three bed lengths, three engines, 4x4 and 4x2 drive and S, SV, SL, PRO-4X and Platinum Reserve trim levels,” the company specifies.
Titan and Titan XD look pretty similar to a casual glance. But the XD actually sits on a different frame, and is basically built to tow and haul significantly more weight. The XD is also the version with Nissan’s new optional 5.0 V8 Cummins turbodiesel powerhouse engine, which puts down a healthy 310 horsepower and 555 lb-ft of torque with all its emissions equipment intact.
The 5.6 gasoline V8, which is a tweaked carryover from Nissan’s original Titan engine, is actually standard equipment on the XD and the premium option for the regular Titan. That engine’s rated to 390 horsepower and 394 lb-ft of torque.
The Cummins trucks will run an Aisin 6-speed automatic transmission, gassers get a 7-speed.
Nissan plans to offer a V6 for the regular Titan in the near future, but hasn’t released specifics on it yet. Don’t expect a turbocharged monster like Ford’s EcoBoost, the Nissan V6 will be the economy play.
Single cab Titan and Titan XD will be available in 4x4 or 2WD, and a basic “S” and slightly upmarket “SV” trims. Here’s the full breakdown of how the single cab truck measures up against the full four-door:
| - | TITAN SINGLE CAB | TITAN CREW CAB | TITAN XD SINGLE CAB | TITAN XD CREW CAB |
| Wheelbase (in.) | 139.8 | 139.8 | 139.8 | 151.6 |
| Overall length (in.) | 228.1 | 228.1 | 231 | 242.8 |
| Overall width (in.) | 79.5 | 79.5 | 79.5 | 79.5 |
| Overall height (in.) | 74.5 – 4x2 S 75.1 – 4x4 S | 75.4 – 4x2 S 76.0 – 4x4 S | 77.2 – 4x2 S 77.1 – 4x4 S | 78.0 – 4x2 S 78.0 – 4x4 S |
| Bed length (ft.) | 8 | 5.5 | 8 | 6.5 |
| Available engines | 5.6 V8 gas, (V6 gas later) | 5.6 V8 gas, (V6 gas later) | 5.0 V8 diesel, 5.6 V8 gas | 5.0 V8 diesel, 5.6 V8 gas |
| Maximum payload (lbs)* | 1,930 | 1,610 | 2,910 (gas) 2,420 (diesel) | 2,590 (gas) 2,091 (diesel) |
| Maximum towing capacity Trailer (lbs)* | 9,730 | 9,390 | 11,590 (gas) 12,640 (diesel) | 11,270 (gas) 12,314 (diesel) |
| Maximum towing capacity Tongue (lbs)* | 973 | 939 | 1,159 (gas) 1,264 (diesel) | 1,126 (gas) 1,231 (diesel) |
| Maximum Gross Combined Weight Rating (lbs)* | 15,300 | 15,300 | 17,700 (gas) 19,450 (diesel) | 17,700 (gas) 19,450 (diesel) |
That asterisk is for “when properly equipped,” says Nissan. I’m guessing a trailering package that might include a beefed up transmission cooler and a hitch receiver will need to be checked on the options list to unlock the truck’s full hauling potential.
I assume Titan will follow the rest of the truck market in that we’ll see a lot more four-doors than two running around, but if these are priced right the long-bed short-cab Cummins-powered Nissan might be one of the best values in pickups.
And interestingly enough, this is actually the first time Nissan’s even had a single-cab Titan. Selling a huge batch of them to fleets sure would be a great way to jack their sales numbers up, I wonder how much that played into their motivation to build this little guy.