I would be interested to know what the axel gear ratios were/are between the pickup you bought and the Ford truck you test drove. You say off the line yours felt faster. Same rated HP so ether nissan left 1000 pounds of steel out of your truck or it has lower gears or both.

 

http://trucktrend.com/roadtests/pick...vn/index6.html

I noticed however that the Titan's numbers for hp and tq are labeled est and are in fact off. All other numbers look good.

 

All other things aside, my biggest problem with the Titan...

Spark plugs

 

I've had 2 small Nissan trucks (85, 98) in the past, both were far better trucks than their American small truck counterparts. I towed a 5,000 lb tractor around with my 85 despite the fact that the load was far over the rating of the truck. Nissan builds good reliable vehicles. Ford also builds a good full sized pickup, one I have owned in the past and strongly considered owning again.

When you are ready to put down your rants and act like an adult, let us all know.

 

I don't get it, what's wrong with the spark plugs? Just cause they're Nippondenso or NGK? Ironically, both have plants in the USA to produce plugs for the Japanese makers' plants here in the USA.

 

I think the computer settings on the 5.4 are very conservative. Someone told me on another board that it felt much peppier after being chipped.

There's no denying that the 5.6 is a hotrod though. It feels more like 350HP than 305.

 

Huh? These things have a massive rust track record.

 

F-deauce50- you oviously have no idea what your talking about, the ford has 3 valve heads but it also has variable valve timing, the titan does not have variable timing, ford did have the option of using 4 valve heads as the navigator does use a 4 valve 5.4 and it produces 300hp an 355 lb ft of torque, a very nice engine but even it is outgunned buy nissan 5.6. Also the aluminum block that nissan uses does use cast iron cylinder liners. They did consider durability when they built this truck.

 

Maybe where you live. I have lived on the west coast and in Texas, and I have yet to see a rusty Nissan. Or a rusty anything else for that matter, that didn't come from some other part of the country.

 

Wow, now that brings back some memories. I think they were actually golf-carts with bigger tires and bed. You could actually fit two women in the cab. The only person I knew that had a Datsun Pickup was a local high-school girl. People w/ trucks drove F100's and I'd see an occasional Dodge slant-6.

Same today. I have now seen the same Titan truck a few times, it's the same person. I'm not even sure where to go to find one of these. Do all the Nissan dealers carry them, or are they special order only?

 

This is some stinky bait. I'm not biting.

 

Car and Driver: 4 door Pickups....

Second Place
Ford F-150 SuperCrew
There’s something presidential about this new F-150. It’s smooth. It carries itself well. It has polish, and gravitas. Point it down a smooth highway, and you have the feeling of riding a throne.

It’s a big step forward in American pickups. Ford had to ante up or lose its place at the top of the sales heap. GM has been cutting deals with Chevy and GMC models to keep the heat on. The Dodge Ram raised the bar for design and content again just a few years back. So Ford unrolled a huge investment to make an all-new truck with a fully boxed frame, a new three-valve 5.4 V-8, imposingly handsome sheetmetal, and a wowee interior. This mother looks expensive.

And it finishes second, off the podium by a full seven points, just one ahead of the Ram and two up on the Tundra. Uh-oh.

Worse yet, the buzz leaking from Ford speaks of major cost-cutting surgery. Will the throne turn into a plastic stack chair?

Probably not. This truck is immensely likable. The quality is unmistakable. The structure is solid. The interior is rich in detail. Example: The graining and gloss of interior materials, and the luster of metal trim pieces, are world-class. More: At night, the array of illuminated switches and dials spreads from one door panel across the steering wheel and dash to the other panel, and all but the window switches dim to a faint glow for dark-night driving. The adjustable climate-control vents in the dash feel like 20 bucks apiece. Driver comfort and ergonomics rank in a three-way tie for top marks. And the F-150 topped all the others in “features and amenities,� even though the as-tested price was lower than those of both the Ram and Silverado.

Here’s the rub: All this content shows on the scales—5960 pounds, 360 more than the brawny Ram and 800 more than the trim and agile Tundra. Even though our test truck packed the top engine, rated at 300 horsepower, it scored weak marks in every performance test. Zero to 60 measured 9.3 seconds, the quarter-mile was 17.0 seconds at 82 mph—both at the back of the pack.

For power users, the F-150 will be a disappointment. It tied with the Ram for worst fuel economy—at 11 mpg—on our test trip.

Yet there’s a lot to like. You see quality everywhere. The plastic cladding over the wheel openings fits perfectly, with no molding to hide a misfit. The heavy tailgate is not a groaner, thanks to lifting assistance from a clever torsion-bar spring.

Rear-seat comfort bettered only the tighter confines of the Ram, but it’s still very good, based on expectations set by past models.

For at least a few years, nothing will bump the F-150 from its top-seller perch

Ford F-150 SuperCrew

Highs: Steve Canyon good looks, classy interior detailing, big cab space, comfortable cruiser.
Lows: Needs to lose weight, cargo flexibility limited by too much stuff on floor in second row, no left-foot rest, parking-distance beeper a waste of money.
The Verdict: Suave and leading-man handsome.

 

First Place
Nissan Titan SE Crew Cab
Who would’ve imagined a foreigner truck making its full-size debut and copping the prize? And doing it by a landslide margin of seven points!

Nissan didn’t prep for a fistfight by getting a manicure. It made big V-8 power standard. It made the cab huge. It butched up the styling enough to leave no one thinking this was a wuss Japanese truck. And it hustled the extra mile to bring clever details that others surely thought of but decided they didn’t need to be competitive. Finally, Nissan clamped a lid on price.

Heavy pickups never have too much acceleration. Shrewdly, the Titan is not heavy, only 120 pounds over the light-weight Tundra and well under all the Yanks. The all-aluminum V-8 outdisplaces all but the Hemi, and it’s alive. In 0-to-60 runs, only the Titan breaks into the sevens (7.6 exactly). The Hemi ties in a few measures of acceleration, but the Nissan runs away from the others. Gas mileage on our trip was average at 12 mpg.

The cab fits the American truck ideal: high, with tall glass and chairlike front seats. Unlike the Detroiters, the Titan has a left-foot rest formed by a swell in the floor (the Tundra has a perfect dead pedal). Detroit offers nothing, apparently expecting you’ll do the dining-room-chair position with your foot flat on the floor. Dash controls are placed high, easy to see and reach.

Styling inside and out is chunky and masculine, hardly handsome but full of attitude. On the road, there’s much Pontiac-style “excitement.� The throttle pedal has a jumpy action, and the slightest touch of it roars the exhaust. Want subtleties? If so, drive the F-150. Mostly, the Titan is not a ruffian for ride, but it finds all the jolts on L.A. freeways.

The big cab rates high for comfort, behind only the Tundra for rear passengers. We’re impressed with the door-panel sculpting. You get well-positioned armrests that bend up into handy door pulls, plus the padding is carved away to make excellent knee clearance right where you want it.

Out back, the bed is among the shortest, measuring just 0.1 inch longer than the F-150’s. The optional High-Utility Bed package ($900) includes nifty aluminum tracks on the three fixed sides of the box and lengthwise in the floor. Four beefy tie-down anchors can be adjusted anywhere you choose on the tracks. The package also includes a weather-sealed and lockable compartment carved into the outside unused space behind the left rear wheel.

Our test truck was light on options compared with the others —no leather—but the $30,450 base ducks under them by about three grand. At that money, the Titan will make friends fast.

Nissan Titan SE Crew Cab

Highs: Big horsepower, best approach and departure angles for off-roading, big cab space, darn good price.
Lows: Jumpy throttle, nonstop exhaust roar, plasticky-looking interior, hopping ride on L.A. freeways.
The Verdict: With big power at a small price, it can’t lose.

 

Whoa we have a Nissan fan. FTE attracts all kinds dont it. Enjoy your Nissan man. Ill enjoy my 150.

 

I think you missed Matt's point...
He just stated that he doesn't like the Titan because it has spark plugs...

Matt's just a little bit of a diesel fan.