Just finished reading my latest copy of Popular Mechanics. They did a full size truck showdown between the Titan, F150, Dodge Ram, Tundra, GMC Sierra Denali, and a Cheve Silverado. The Titan smoked them all. The Titan SE Crewcab 4x4 raced from 0 to 60 in just 7.73 seconds! In this test the Ford came in dead last at 9.52. Being a Ford man this really upset me. But in all fairness, the Titan is just over three hundred pounds lighter than the Ford and had shorter gearing. The Ford did win the "quietest cab " category. All in all, the Titan was impressive in every category and should raise some eyebrows all over.

 

but its so ugly and bulky lookin...i doubt its gunna make an impact on domecstic truck sales. i live right next to a nissan dealer and thier car lot is right next to my apt. building @ school and they are god awful ugly and over-exagerated in styling.

 

Put a 5k lb boat behind each one and see how it does. Trucks aren't race cars.

 

When it comes to trucks, I could care less the 0 to 60 time, as long as I can pull what I want to with it.

 

Quote, by optikal illushun
"i doubt its gunna make an impact on domecstic truck sales."

I totally agree because most truck guys hate import cars and always buy american made goods(not saying its a bad thing).

 

Not impressed? Even with a 1,000 lb load in the bed, the Titan was the fastest. I agree it's not a very attractive truck and most diehard Chevy, Ford, and Dodge fans will shun it and maintain their loyalty to their respective brands. Nevertheless, the big three have been put on notice, there is a new player in town. Even the much vaunted "Hemi" powered dodge came up short. Actually, this new competition is good. Ford may continue to tweak the new 5.4 to match it or beat it. If only it wasn't so darn heavy!

 

what makes the Silverado and the Titan so much lighter? I know that the Silverado has aluminum heads but thats all I know.

 

Wide open acceleration with a load isn't a good way to really compare either. Would a 427 SOHC in the same truck as a powerstroke run a better quarter mile dragging 7,000lbs? You betcha. Would you want to lug the 427 down the highway with the same load? Not even feasible.

I would challenge any stock powerstroke to a race dragging a 5,000lb trailer with my truck and I would win hands down but my truck would be completely worthless for towing any distance at a highway speed.

I am pretty sure that a 5.4L would take the powerstroke deisel in a race with similar trucks too. Does that mean the 5.4L is a better tow engine than the 5.4L? Not even close.

Have I made my point?

 

The ad stated that the Ford is heavier because of it's new boxed frame. Plus, add to that thicker glass and sound proofing to make its cabin the quietest. The Titan also has a boxed frame it's just not as meaty as the Ford's I guess.

 

My 5.4 took a 6.0 Psd Unladen, bu the was a crew cab short bed, and I have a reg cab long.

 

I too read the article, but I tend to get the feeling that it may have may have been so-to-say rigged?

To me it seems that all the trucks were tested on how they drive as cars, and not trucks.

 

You guys better take a look at who's buying trucks these days.

It's not just rednecks and construction workers anymore. How many women & guys in suits do you see driving trucks these days?

Don't fool yourselves. Nissan makes a great product and it will sell. Prolly not the first year. But, in 5 yrs, the Titan will be crawling up on the sales chart. Heck, if they made an extended cab, long(8') box, I'd take a serious look.

 

I agree with fonefiddy. Nissan built one quick truck, and people will buy it. You know, most of the trucks I see driving around here in Northern California are not loaded with 1000 lbs., nor towing a 5000 lb. trailer. People use them like cars 90+ % of the time, so being quick unloaded from 0-60 is a real plus for getting on the freeway, etc. And, I especially love the argument that, well, the Ford may be slower, but chain it to the back of brand X (pick your favorite), and the Ford will drag it down the road, rip the bumper off, destroy it, etc. Now, I've never seen that on the street, nor would I do it with my '03 F150, I like it too much. Face it, Ford needs to offer more power in their trucks to continue to be competitive, Dodge has more, and now Nissan has more (and I know about the Lightning and HD, but they are more specialized vehicles, and you can't get that engine in a run of the mill F150, which is too bad!). In my opinion, the 5.4 is too small, 330 cubic inches is not much for a 5000 lb. truck! And the 4.6, forget about it!

 

I agree that the Nissan is pretty ugly, but the motor they are using gets The Most Torque of all half tons, and it peaks lower than the 5.4. I think that Nissan did it right, unlike Toyota who has just been dinking around with a full size truck. I would not buy a Titan, but it definately puts pressure on all of the Big 3 that they now have another competitor in the market. The Titan also has a fully boxed frame, just like F-150 and Ram. How strong it is, I don't know, but they boast a tow rating of 9500 lbs, just 400 short of the F-150's best.
I agree that the 5.4 might be too small. It would be nice to see a little larger displacement to be able to build more torque without having to add revs to build HP. If there's one thing I like about GM is that it offers 3 V-8 options even if you have to go up to a HD. If they could bring back a 5.8 and put the technology of the 5.4 into it, I think they could have one heck of a motor. If you figured in 67.59 Ft-lbs/litre that the 5.4 gets and apply that to a 5.8, that'd be over 390 ft-lbs. But that'd be too good to be true though. I guess I'm just dreaming.

 

I agree that the Nissan is pretty ugly, but the motor they are using gets The Most Torque of all half tons, and it peaks lower than the 5.4. I think that Nissan did it right, unlike Toyota who has just been dinking around with a full size truck. I would not buy a Titan, but it definately puts pressure on all of the Big 3 that they now have another competitor in the market. The Titan also has a fully boxed frame, just like F-150 and Ram. How strong it is, I don't know, but they boast a tow rating of 9500 lbs, just 400 short of the F-150's best.