My buddy just got his new Nissan Titan and I rode in it today so thought I would share my thoughts as I have seen several posts of people contemplating them both.

I am not a huge offroad guy, so sorry but am not able to make comparisons based on offroad performance- basically I love the utility purposes of a truck but want the comforts of a luxury car. In my opinion Ford's meets that bill better as the Titan just had an overall more trucky feel to it in how it was built and finished.

First thing I will say is that you can't go wrong with either one as I am impressed with both - still love my Ford though but I am biased.

Keep in mind my Screw is a Lariat model and my buddies Titan a Supercrew SE (so no leather but has the offroad package):

Nissan Pros:

• Power - seems to have more power - not a ton but also to be expected given the specs
• Interior room - seem slightly larger then mine - again not a major difference as both have a sufficient room for 5 adults
• Sliding bed extender option - nice if you need the bed extender to be able to keep it out of the way
• 12V power outlets - Maybe not a big deal but to me the more power outlets the better for cell phones, pda, whatever the need may be
• Storage compartments - seems to have a lot more storage for things like hitch's, tie downs, something my 2002 Ford Screw had that my new ones lacks

Nissan Con's:

• Interior Finish - this might be different if his was the higher model Titan but it seemed much more GMish inside or should I say Fisher Pricey - In my opinion Ford is unmatched on interior finish
• Weight of tailgate - the thing weighs a ton... didn't realize what people were stating about how light Ford's was till I actually compared the two
• Height - maybe not an issue for people and wouldn't be for me but it is about 1-2 inches taller then the Ford and now he has a $30k truck that he can't park in his garage
• Cupholders - Ford added a bunch to theirs and to me these are like 12v power outlets... can't have to many
• Cloth - I have leather but I still liked the cloth in the Ford's better then the Titan's
• Controls - power window controls and door locks are in kind of an akward place being right but by the windows

Most of these things I would consider minor and the reason for that is that they are remarkebly similar in many ways. So to me.... again you can't go wrong with either but one may fit your style more.

 

I am not sure on the height thing. My truck has the daystar leveling kit and 325's tires and I am over an inch taller than my buddies Titan! Plus his nose looks like it drags the ground. Both are 4x4's!

 

I agree with this comparison. Either way, you probably can't be too far off. One question, though - just how many 12v outlets does a Titan have? My FX4 has two in the dash and one on the back side of the console (perfect for cell phone charger or ac inverter).

 

The extra ones I saw the Titan had was one that was actually put in the bed of the truck - not that it is hard to open a door and hook it up inside. Also it had one in the center console which I thought was a good idea.

 

About the height thing - we both have 4x4's - neither have lift kits or anything - and I think the big difference in the height is really in the bowing of the Titan's roof... seems to be a little taller towards the center/back of the roof -something I personally don't like the looks of but that is really where I saw the height difference - again it is almost impossible to notice unless you had them parked right next to each other. Also, the Fords bed is taller by about 2 inches which I wasn't surprised about as I had knew the Ford had the tallest bed of the trucks.

 

Yeah I took another view yesterday as well and it appears that the Titan may be taller from wind shield to the start of the bed. Very hard to tell though. I think the Titan's are a decent truck I am just a Ford Man!

 

The 12v adapter in the back would be nice for tailgating and such. Also doesn't the Titan have a adjustable tie down rails. I looked at this @ the Detroit Auto show and was pretty impressed with the features.

I often wonder why they no longer put storage in front of the rear wheel wells like they use to on Camper specials in the 70's. I know those rusted out, but I believe rust proof is better now.

 

Not sure if they all have the adjustable tie downs but I think they might and that would be nice - however also saw the package you can get with all the bins for the bed and it was a bit much - crap that would sit in my garage and collect dust. My buddy is worried about that storage bin on the side rusting out... I would hope that the rustproof technology is better now but I just don't trust it... only time will tell.

 

I scanned titantalk for a bit just to see what they complain about. Number one seems to be their radio and Nissan seems to be jerking them around. I also saw a bunch of complaints about plastic stuff on the interior breaking, squeaking and rattling. I even saw some vibration complaints! I test drove it and it drove nicely and had good get up and go but the interior cheapness and the exterior styling drove me away from it. I thought the 180 degree opening suicide doors on the extended cab were a nice feature and so was the passenger seat that folds down into a console. I would have concerns about rust and stuff rattling around in that bin the the rear fender. It will be interesting to see where a lot of these 04 Titans are 6+ years down the road, that is the real test of a pick-up truck.

 

If anything can give the F-150 a run for its money, it's the Titan. Styling is such a personal thing, but I would think even Titan owners would have to agree that the Ford is a MUCH better-looking truck. The Titan looks better in photos than it does in person- I think it's just overdone, too many styling gimmicks. The F-150 is so much cleaner, and a clean design will always stand the test of time. The gee-gaws on the Titan will cause it to age very quickly.

 

I find the nice thing about the Titan is that is has some well thought out creature comforts, for example the 12v outlet and light at the tail gate (mentioned above), the way the seats fold - front & rear and I especially like the E-Locker for the rear end.

The F-150 has some well thought out engineering also, but they are almost all hidden from view, such as the advanced safety system, excellent crash rating, outboard shocks and so on.

 

The tailgate on the new F150 has a spring assist on closing, so will make it feel lighter, unless they scrapped that set up before job1. I think it still has that though. Is it just me, or is the bed on the Titan shallower than even the previous design of the F150??

The adjustable tie down tracks was cool, but I believe that is an option on the Titan. I wonder why no one else thought of adding that to a truck bed before Nissan?

 

Most of which you tell us about is visual with a few accessory pro or cons.

WHERE YOU REALLY NEED TO LOOK IS UNDERNEATH!!!!!!!!!

There is no comparison TITAN has the 04 beat like a scrambled egg...steel skid plates, not plastic; skid plates which protect vitals unlike the 04.....; steel A-arms not cheap azz aluminun....

an awesome built truck....it's the A-1 Abrams in the truck line..

an absolute amazing difference...from me a 150 owner since 1971.

 

Beltloop first off none of this is a flame (I don't have any brand loyalty so no real bias), are you a Titan owner, if you are, sounds like you like it, thats good you got a truck you like. I agree that the Titan is well built (well maybe not the interior, from the buzz I hear), but the real test will be down the line, how will it hold up in 10 years, I'm confident about my F-150 b/c everywhere I look I see tons and tons of old F-150s still on the road doing their jobs and not even looking too bad, but we'll see. The proof is in the pudding as they say, if the Titan continues to hold its own then Nissan will aquire a reputation in the pick-up market. Edmunds.com rated the Titan 1st among all the full size pick-ups but then again they rated the RAM 2nd, HEMI-struck I guess and the F-150 3rd. If the Ram actually has anything on the F-150 besides the engine, I'll eat my hat. I drove them all and I'm glad I got the F-150. Keep on truckin!

 

I am not that thin skinned to take your words out of context.

But I drive a 150 to make a living, sometimes I'm in the truck 8-hours a day. No difference if the Weather is 60 degrees or 100 degress or -3-below...I'm in my truck.

During Nov-Dec-Jan-Feb...I had to drive with the defroster on HIGH and even then the area defrosted was 1/3 the size of the whole windshield. I lost count the number of time's I had to stop and clean the windshield because the wipers are crummy.

Look at where the windshield washer nozzles are on the 03 vs the 04....you mean to tell me 04 is a better location....NOT HARDLY. On my 04 they were plugged the whole time from stuff off the windshield

So far...in 85 degree's here in Omaha, I have to have my A/C on HIGH ALL THE FRIGGIN TIME.

I doubt anyone here drives as much as I do except an Over The Road driver or another courier driver.

By the way the power seats: in other vehicles is four-way.....in my 04 it's 2-way.

The tilt steering in the 04 is the same as on the Dodge NEON....gimme a break. A vehicle 1/3 the value of my 04.....

For ****'s& giggles crawl under the Titan...then crawl under a 150...nite & day difference...

This new 5.4 and my 4:10s....are great!

I rank'em this way:
Newness...150
Quality....Toyota
One tuff truck....Nissan