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2008 Nissan Titan Crew Cab SE 4X4 Long Bed Road Test

Ten years ago, if you had asked me if Nissan would build a full-size truck that

An all-American truck from a brand you wouldn't normally associate with all-American trucks. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

could run with the American big dogs you wouldn't have received so much of an answer as a blank stare, and maybe a bit of a chuckle. At the time, Nissan was like most of the other mainstream Japanese automakers, namely it had a vested interest in the compact truck market. It had the Frontier, a solid little truck that evolved from the aptly-named durable Hardbody. However, Nissan was fixated on the bigger picture of expanding its sales and product lineup in North America. That meant designing bigger and better vehicles, the sort of SUVs and trucks that we like, or at least liked before gas prices went haywire. In a way, despite its Japanese badge, this is a true all-American vehicle. It was designed for North Americans, is built by North Americans (specifically North Americans from Canton, Mississippi) and gets sold to North Americans.

Meet the F-Alpha platform, the hardworking backbone designed for serious work and play. F-Alpha, with its fully-boxed frame, first debuted on the Titan, but it's gone on to underpin almost every other mid-to-large “truckish” Nissan currently on sale, including the Frontier, Xterra, Pathfinder and the Armada. When the Titan was launched, it achieved the title

Titan's got an exclusive locking storage box behind the rear wheel. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

of Japan's first true full-size, quarter ton pickup truck, beating out key rival Toyota by several years thanks to the larger company sticking to its 9/10ths size truck. F-Alpha has no problems proving its strengths, as it can tow a maximum of 9,100 pounds and has a maximum payload of 1,650 pounds, both figures plenty strong enough for this class. For a while it was a segment leader, but since then two of the Titan's biggest competitors went back to the drawing board.

My first impression of the recently revised Titan is that it feels big and solid. It doesn't attempt to shrink its largeness, perhaps done purposely to stress the fact that indeed this is a full-size Nissan truck. Still, it is quiet at both low and highway speeds. As with any pickup truck, there are various suspension tuning setups available, with the Titan I tested feeling quite softly sprung, more so than the Silverado and Ram I drove recently, and much more so than the Tundra. Generally, half-ton trucks ride better when loaded down than empty, but the Titan seemed to defy these rules, isolating the usual

There's only one engine; it's nice, strong but it's one of the reasons why it's so expensive. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

shimmy and shake. There's very little by the way of back-end bounce and the truck feels well controlled over rougher roads. Opt for the towing package or the PRO-4X off-road package with its beefy Rancho shocks and things will no doubt change, but in this form the Titan was at ease racking up miles or slogging about in the daily commute.

Another reason why the Titan is so habitable is because of its interior. It's not just a case of features, or luxuries, it's the way that the truck feels. The plastics, while nothing to write home about, feel tightly put together with small tolerances and impressive fit and finish. You expect these types of trucks to be built primarily for work, with cabin styling, fit and finish and features added as a sort of afterthought, but this isn't the impression the Titan exudes. Take, for instance, the fabrics used on the seats. The weave feels durable and ready to live up to a life of hard work, but it doesn't feel like the stuff of work appliances, or worse, cheap. So is the Titan's cabin is at the top of the pickup world, despite not having wood, leather and digital this or that? It certainly is amongst the best I've tested.

It's not complicated, or even particularly luxurious. The Titan is, however, impressively constructed. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

It isn't perfect though. The foam on the seats is way too soft, although it indirectly adds dampening via your backside; spend more than three hours in the driver's seat and you'll start to feel it. Every half-ton pickup truck is immensely wide, and you've got to really lean over to reach some of the stereo and climate controls. It also doesn't help that the back-lit marker on the chrome ringed HVAC controls is impossible to see for fan speed and temperature unless at night. Kudos go to the impressive Rockford Fosgate 10-speaker speaker system, as it ensures that you'll never miss a beat when rocking out to your Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters or what have you, and yes, there's an aux-in jack for your iPod or MP3 player.

Nissan will sell you a Titan in either King Cab or Crew Cab configurations, with your choice between a bench or buckets up front. As a proper four door, the Titan has no shortage of room, with ample rear legroom for those taller than six feet. With two smaller rear doors, the Titan King Cab offers easy access with rear-hinged doors that swing open 168-degrees.

Folding armrests with lots of storage never ceases to amaze. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

Another thing worth noting is that the Titan can now be had with a long bed and a crew cab like this one, something that's a rarity in the quarter ton truck world. It's handy if you intend to use your truck for both hauling people and hauling goods. There's no disputing the usefulness of the sealed and lockable compartment behind the driver's side rear wheel well, the slow, soft drop of the tailgate or the very clever built-in anchoring system in the bed.

All this talk of work, hauling and towing leads us to the all-important subject of power, and there's only one engine with the Titan, a 5.6-liter V8. This big, hairy-chested eight-cylinder was recently updated to produce more power. Minor tuning has liberated extra horsepower and torque, increasing from 305 horsepower and 379 lb-ft of torque to 317 horses and 385 lb-ft of torque. It's amply powerful. Once warmed up, the Titan's V8 is smooth and quiet, and also a rather willing performer. Mated to a five-speed automatic with a tow/haul mode, it's a useful companion for towing, and when it's not pulling something it feels more like a sports car. It will launch

Charge forward with the 5.6-liter V8 and the manual-mode function on the 5-spd auto. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

to 60 mph in the mid seven-second range, leaving most V8-powered pickups in the dust, with the exception of the newest breed of sport trucks like the 381-hp Tundra 5.7L or the Sierra Denali with its 403-horsepower 6.2-liter V8.

I'm no marketing man, but for all of its V8-ness, its strengths, towing and hauling capabilities and bigness, the Titan just isn't like its domestic half-ton counterparts. As much as I like the Titan as a truck, its fundamental flaw is that it appears to be conceived for personal and family use, not for the commercial world, which may explain its relative obscurity despite being on sale for quite some time.

Although it's possible to get a base Titan with windy windows, manual locks and gray plastic bumpers, it's still a relatively expensive truck to buy. Whereas most pickup trucks start in the low to mid 20s, the Titan starts right at the mid 20s mark. Why so much? Consider the fact that there isn't a “regular cab” Titan in the lineup, plus the reality that its big, expensive V8 comes standard, and the fact that all Titans are relatively well equipped, and it all makes sense. This is one of the primary differences

It might have been designed to mimic a domestic workhorse, but its marketing is different. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

between something like an F-150 or a Chevrolet Silverado and the Titan. Nissan's half-ton was meant for privateers, those who like their trucks as toys and tools for the occasional home reno job.

Nissan has just updated the Titan for 2008, a sign that it isn't tossing in the white towel despite slower than average sales. These newer trucks are hard to tell apart from previous models, but if you look for the different headlamps, wheels and colors, not to mention more dramatic changes inside and much better sound deadening and overall refinement, you'll be able to point them out. I have to say that the Titan not only seems to be progressing in the right direction due to these many upgrades, but also by increasing the permutations it comes in, like long wheelbase model, plus revised trim levels that focus on specific markets like off-roading and luxury. Upgrades, such as Bluetooth connectivity, a bigger nav screen and other luxury toys further push the Titan into territory occupied by the most elite of pickup trucks.

Before Nissan jumped into the full-size pickup truck game, it knew that there was one challenge that it had to face, acceptance. While predictions were made that the majority of new buyers stepping up to the Titan would be leaving their Frontiers, Nissan knew it had to reign in buyers from other companies in order to result in a lucrative business case. As it turns out, brand loyalty is amongst the strongest in the half-ton market, and as a newcomer Nissan faced, faces, and will continue to face dismissal simply on the grounds that it isn't a Ford, Chevy, GMC or Dodge, despite the fact that it is in many aspects just as good and in some, even better. This is a problem that will take time – and only time – to solve. But with persistence, Nissan should eventually succeed. After all, the Titan is very good, and in the end good products normally win out.

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