So yeah, I bought a Titan instead of another F150. Here's what I posted on another message board, I'm too lazy to retype:

well as some of you might know I was shopping around for a new truck. with all the rebates, I was absolutely convinced that I would get another F150, but this time a 4 door Supercrew so that I would have a usable back seat. I drove quite a few of them. They're a nice ride, probably the smoothest riding pickup I have ever been in. They also handle well for a full size pickup, as they have changed to a new rack & pinion steering setup. However, even the bigger of the two V8's offered seemed to be wanting a bit for power, despite it's rated 300 hp and 365 lb/ft of torque. I thought maybe that they would be better after they were broken in. Not lost on me was the fact that the new for '04 Fords were 400-800 lbs heavier than the earlier F150's that they replaced.

So I was just about to go buy one, got a great deal of 500 under invoice, a 1021 tow package discount, plus 4000 in rebates, when I decided that I would go test drive the other truck that interested me, the Nissan Titan. Like the Ford, it has a cavernous back seat which was my #1 prerequsite in shopping for a new pick-up. Unlike Ford, you can get a 4 door Titan in the base trim model. Nissans come in the base XE, midrange SE and top of the line LE, at least in pickups and SUV's. The only downside to the XE is that it has ugly painted steel wheels, but I figured that once I wore out the stock tires I could get a tire and wheel package that was a bit more flashy.

I fould 2 base model XE 4 door models at the lot, a silver one and a white one. We took out the white one for a test drive. As soon as I drove off the lot, I knew this truck would be a contender in my mind. When I nailed the throttle, my mind was made up. The 5.6 liter, 305 horsepower 32 valve V8 snarled like a NHRA Pro Stock car as we hurtled onto the freeway. This is what 300+ HP is supposed to feel like, I mused to myself. Throttle response was instantaneous as I weaved in and out through traffic. The truck's 5 speed automatic (big plus here) was quick to downsift gears at the command of my right foot. The Nissan also had better lines of sight, ie, less blind spots. The view over the hood was also superior, as was the instrumentation package. The handling was just as good as the Ford's, and the ride down the road was smoother with less vibration, although the Ford seemed to handle large bumps a bit better. Nevertheless, I was hooked!

However, I had some deals outstanding with some Ford dealers. The Nissan stickered about 5,000 less than the F150, although I knew that the Nissan folks would not discount it nearly as aggressively as Ford. The afforementioned Ford dealer was offering 9,000 off with discounts and rebates. The others were similar, but slightly less. I wasn't sure if Nissan was going to be in the game. However, after much haggling and wringing, and almost walking out after I thought we had a deal done, I walked out with the truck right at invoice, minus the 2000 rebate. I won out on most items. I refused to pay for their garbage addendums as it pertained to window treatments, glass etching and paint sealant.

As I unloaded my belongings from my old 2000 F150 XL Supercab (Extended cab), I looked at her with a touch of sadness. Sure she was getting up there at almost 85,000 miles, and had outlived her usefulness in some ways. I was getting weary of not having a usable back seat, a tilt wheel, cruise control, bucket seats and some other creature comforts, as well as a V6 engine that wasn't fast or economical. Yet, she had taken me though some hard times in my life when all I could afford was the most basic of transportation. I needed a big vehicle to accomodate my tall frame and the F150 was my reliable sidekick. It never left me stranded, and only needed non-routine manintenance once; even that was more of an annoyance than a serious problem. I always kept her in good condition mechanically and I hope her new owner does the same.

Anyways, enough with that nostalgia crap. I am thrilled with my new Titan. I keep peeking out through the window so I can see it sitting there in the driveway! I'm just looking for an excuse to go for a ride now!

 

This is not to rag on the new F150 at all, by the way. It's a great truck. If you want a pickup that rides like a Lexus, then the new F150 is for you. I'm just addicted to the additional VROOOOM of the Titan.

I should also say that this truck is mainly a commuter, before you all come at me with Ford's hydroformed boxed steel chasss . It is doubtful that this truck will ever leave the pavement or do any meaningful work, other than towing my tandem jet ski trailer, helping people move furniture or taking a load to the dump.

 

Good for you, I guess. I'm sure the folks at TitanTalk would love to hear this.

I wanted a Ford from the get-go, but felt I should compare other vehicles.
I tested the Titan for s&g's, couldn't get over the overall cheap feel inside and the unappealling outside. I don't care how fast off the line it is, I COULD NOT see this as my truck; too tacky with the typical Nissan styling overkill.

Chevy and Dodge left me cold. Toyota's not a truck.

So, I bought the 150, and absolutely love it.

Seems we're both satisfied. Good luck with your ride.

 

Just keep an eye out for body rust, and don't try to tow anything too heavy. Avoid any off-road conditions, and if you drive it through salted plowed roads, immediately hose it down at a car wash. Nissans rust like there's no tomorrow.

 

Four Wheeler Magazine's truck of the year should not go off road? Dana axles. 33 inch tires from the factory. A lot more ground clearance. Electric locker. Much better approach and departure angles. Just to name a few. Not that Ford is bad off road, but really now, where did you get the idea that the Titan won't go off road?

A truck that won the competition for best 1/2 ton towing in the largest RV mag and also in boat towing mags should not tow anything?

Do you know what the tow rating is on a Titan with the "big tow" package as compared to the F-150 and how those two trucks did in comparison tests? Just wondering. Ford is nice, but what are your facts to support the comment?

I honestly don't know about the rust thing, but you must be thinking about Frontiers or something regarding the off-road capabilities and towing. Only time will tell about the rust. I see a lot of older trucks of all makes, Fords included, with rust. My '77 Jeep CJ-5 is a rust bucket (I think we all know they rust badly), but it is still going strong and will go anywhere (lifted - 36 inch Swampers, rear locker, lots of mods but with original engine, transfer case and diffs.).

 

Really? I believe that goes for most any vehicle out there.

I think those two dim high school kids that ran their Plymouth Breeze down the embankment--soggy at that--to go fishing a the nearby creek probably shouldn't have gone into mud with 195/60/15 tires and I probably didn't need to think of pulling them up several hundred feet to the road with my 4-banger Ranger with balding 14" tires and that lame factory bumper hitch, either. The things I run past when I leave the dock....

Oh yeah, I'm a bit more confident that that USA made steel that ends up in Canton, Mississippi is up for the task. This is not the 80s and aluminum heads on iron engine blocks are okay for use now.....even in diesels! Rick James is dead as well.

No, I don't plan on buying a Titan as a dream rig, unless that International CXT has a Titan-named package on it for some reason.....

 

Body rust in Texas? The only body rust you see here is if you don't take care of the paint and it flakes off in the heat. The bare metal then rusts. OTOH, on a garaged vehicle, the body usually outlasts the engine.

Tow anything too heavy? I sure feel more confident about the ability of this rig to pull a heavy trailer than the 5.4 Ford. Tow ratings not withstanding. I don't have the big tow package either so my rig has a max tow rating of 6500 lbs rather than 9500. Not that I'll ever tow anything that heavy, as I note in my first post.

Salted plowed roads? I live in Austin, Texas.

Don't get me wrong, again, I think the F150 is a great truck. I just bought a better truck, IMHO. Maybe I'll own an F150 in the future again, it's not outside the realm of possiblity. They need to step up to the plate with a 5.4 that achieves a real(!) 300 HP and a 5 speed auto. I don't understand why the F150 does not have that 5 speed auto when it's on the SuperDuty already.

 

Cheap feeling inside? I'm not sure which truck you drove but it wasn't mine. As for the looks, I submit that particular item is very subective. Yes the new F150 is a very smart looking truck. However, I also like the looks of the Titan. So that factor was about a draw for me. I'm also not afraid to say that the F150 has a smoother ride over bumps. While I am not worried about how fast a truck is off the line, the powertrain of the Titan was indeed a deciding factor for me.

I almost did not go test drive the Nissan, which would have resulted in me buying a 5.4 powered SuperCrew. I'm sure I would have been thrilled with it. But having had test driven the Nissan, I knew I could not go back. I'm glad you are as happy with your truck as I am with mine. I would not hesitate to buy another F150 in the future if it met my needs, btw.

 

Too bad you didn't look at the F-250's & PSD/Torqshift. Haven't seen but one of those Titans about two weeks ago, and it almost looked like a real truck. Aren't they the ones that copied the Ford mirror design? As I recall it looked like half-car and half-truck, and kinda had that Chevy "squinting" look on the headlight. Seems to me they're trying to squeeze in on Chevy's piece of the small truck market maybe.

 

The F250 and PSD/Torqueshift were out of my pricerange. I paid $22,400 for the Titan after discounts and rebates, msrp was 26,800. I was looking at similar drive-off prices on the F150 with MSRP's at around 31-32K.

 

Good luck with the Titan.
Glad to see that I'm not the only one who has a price range that excludes new 3/4 ton trucks.

 

Brons2, good luck with the titan. Have you been to titantalk.com? seems like alot of nice people over there. I would buy a titan if they made a regular cab longbed model with a standard trans. That would be cool.

 

congrats on the new truck.

 

I had a Dodge Durango and after taking a trip to the beach with 2 kids realized that it was way too small. My daughter kicks the back of my seat and with my sons rear facing carseat, my wife has to put her seat all the way forward. Ford had the 6 years 0% financing going and I absolutely loved the new F150 from the outside and wanted to take a look at the SuperCrew. I test drove it several times. It had a great ride and I was in love with the exterior styling. The inside however just left me unexcited. I have nothing negative to say about it other than it was nice. The F150 felt solid and sure footed. It was very quiet inside the cabin. Just for s&g's I wanted to test drive the Titan. Although I liked the looks of the F150 slightly better, I still liked the looks of the Titan. I test drove it and immediately fell in love. It was the engine and the interior that decided this for me. It does have more first generation quirks than the F150, but luckily they have all been minor things. It's all personal preference and what gives each of us the personal fuzzy feeling behind the wheel. One thing is certain, I still have swivel neck disease when seeing both of these trucks on the road. No other truck has that effect on me.

 

Just an FYI, the Titan came in 3rd place in Motortrends Truck Trend 4x4 shootout. It's competition came from all of the big boys in off roading that had a locking rear diff. Jeep Rubicon, H1 and H2, Mercedes and Land Rover. Although Nissans trucks aren't known in the U.S. they are used throughout the world in extremely demanding situations and fair very good. Body rust has never been a problem with any Nissan vehicles. I have a coworker with a 12 year old Nissan Maxima. The only rust he has is where it was hit and repaired by a bodyshop. It's only a tiny patch and the car is not garage kept or maintaned very well.