Road King
Nissan's 2004 Titan King Cab XE proves that the big towing jobs should be left for the big trucks.
March 1, 2004
Let's assume that if you're in the
market for a full-size pickup, then you're looking for a truck that can do everything from towing
your runabout to hauling a load of topsoil for the back yard. Looks do matter, of course, and since
the odds are you'll at least occasionally have some company up in the cab, a few creature comforts
are nice. But, the cold, hard facts are that you want a big truck with a big motor and bed to
handle big jobs. Until recently, this meant you wanted an American-made truck, as the imports were
exclusively compacts that looked and performed more like Matchbox collectibles than real pickups.
This year, though, Nissan is entering the full-size fray with its all-new Titan, a truck that's as
big as just about anything from Detroit but is much more than just a Frontier on steroids.
The Titan isn't the
first import to claim full-size status, but it may well be the first to actually achieve it. The
King Cab XE (base model) 4-by-4 features a 6-foot-7-inch bed (within a fraction of an inch of the
Ford F-150 bed), a 139.8-inch wheel base (about 4.5 inches shorter than the Chevy Silverado 1500
short box), and a full 11.6 inches of ground clearance (3.6 inches more than the Dodge Ram 1500
4WD). We're talking legit full-size here.
One of the drawbacks to being big is that you have to be strong - strong just to get yourself going and strong to do the work that's expected of you. The Titan lives up to its name in this regard with a righteous 5.6L V8 under the hood, pumping out 305 hp and a full 379 pounds/feet of torque, so you can not only get moving, but also keep a good pace. Towing capacity is a sturdy 9,400 pounds, so you can easily handle a Sea Ray 290 Bow Rider, for example. And with that big cargo box and payload capacity of 1,508 pounds, the Titan can lug a half cord of firewood home when it's too cold to be out on the water.
The base XE as tested is pretty barren of creature comforts, but the essentials are all in place. Everything is a bit bigger than it has to be, giving the truck an even burlier feel and making it possible to operate most everything - including the electric window switches and the door handles - even while wearing heavy work gloves. The oversized fold-down console that doubles as the center seat back for the front bench (captain's chairs are available) has enough room to hold a notebook computer and a power port to keep that computer juiced up. A particularly nice touch is the way the rear doors swing open 168 degrees, offering outstanding access to the rear for people, pets or gear.
While Nissan has done a good job out of the gate with its first full-size pickup, there are a couple of areas that need improvement. First and foremost, the rear gate is very heavy. The deep cargo bed is nice, and heft does add a sense of durability, but overall it's too much. If Ford is able to make the F-150 liftgate feel light enough to lift with a couple of fingers, there's no reason for you to feel the need to ask for help closing the Titan's gate. This may be the only gate on the market that deserves to be replaced with a net-like device.
The other area that needs a bit of work is the ride. While folks who like hard-working trucks tend to like those trucks to ride a little stiff (the stiff suspension means the truck will handle a load better, they believe), the Titan's ride is stiff to the point of discomfort for some, especially in the passenger seat. If you load the bed with dirt or clamp on a boat and trailer, the ride smoothes out beautifully. However, when it's riding empty, the Titan is an awfully hard ride.
One thing, though, that absolutely doesn't need improvement is the price. The base Titan, an XE 4-by-2, boasts an MSRP of $22,400, and the test Titan XE 4-by-4 sticker is only $25,500. You must do without things like satellite radio, leather upholstery or a navigation system, but at that price you don't expect those things, do you? Of course not. You expect a blue-collar, hard-working truck. And with the 2004 Nissan Titan, that's exactly what you get.
The Titan isn't the
first import to claim full-size status, but it may well be the first to actually achieve it. The
King Cab XE (base model) 4-by-4 features a 6-foot-7-inch bed (within a fraction of an inch of the
Ford F-150 bed), a 139.8-inch wheel base (about 4.5 inches shorter than the Chevy Silverado 1500
short box), and a full 11.6 inches of ground clearance (3.6 inches more than the Dodge Ram 1500
4WD). We're talking legit full-size here.
One of the drawbacks to being big is that you have to be strong - strong just to get yourself going and strong to do the work that's expected of you. The Titan lives up to its name in this regard with a righteous 5.6L V8 under the hood, pumping out 305 hp and a full 379 pounds/feet of torque, so you can not only get moving, but also keep a good pace. Towing capacity is a sturdy 9,400 pounds, so you can easily handle a Sea Ray 290 Bow Rider, for example. And with that big cargo box and payload capacity of 1,508 pounds, the Titan can lug a half cord of firewood home when it's too cold to be out on the water.
The base XE as tested is pretty barren of creature comforts, but the essentials are all in place. Everything is a bit bigger than it has to be, giving the truck an even burlier feel and making it possible to operate most everything - including the electric window switches and the door handles - even while wearing heavy work gloves. The oversized fold-down console that doubles as the center seat back for the front bench (captain's chairs are available) has enough room to hold a notebook computer and a power port to keep that computer juiced up. A particularly nice touch is the way the rear doors swing open 168 degrees, offering outstanding access to the rear for people, pets or gear.
While Nissan has done a good job out of the gate with its first full-size pickup, there are a couple of areas that need improvement. First and foremost, the rear gate is very heavy. The deep cargo bed is nice, and heft does add a sense of durability, but overall it's too much. If Ford is able to make the F-150 liftgate feel light enough to lift with a couple of fingers, there's no reason for you to feel the need to ask for help closing the Titan's gate. This may be the only gate on the market that deserves to be replaced with a net-like device.
The other area that needs a bit of work is the ride. While folks who like hard-working trucks tend to like those trucks to ride a little stiff (the stiff suspension means the truck will handle a load better, they believe), the Titan's ride is stiff to the point of discomfort for some, especially in the passenger seat. If you load the bed with dirt or clamp on a boat and trailer, the ride smoothes out beautifully. However, when it's riding empty, the Titan is an awfully hard ride.
One thing, though, that absolutely doesn't need improvement is the price. The base Titan, an XE 4-by-2, boasts an MSRP of $22,400, and the test Titan XE 4-by-4 sticker is only $25,500. You must do without things like satellite radio, leather upholstery or a navigation system, but at that price you don't expect those things, do you? Of course not. You expect a blue-collar, hard-working truck. And with the 2004 Nissan Titan, that's exactly what you get.
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Road King: Nissan's 2004 Titan King Cab XE proves that the big towing jobs should be left for the big trucks.
