(Photos by Dave Nutting) – If there is a bigger truck story in 2016 than the launch of the all new Nissan Titan, we’re not sure what it is. Nissan has pushed all of their proverbial chips to the center of the table with this all-new rig and we were excited to get our hands on it for a week. The reality is that the previous generation of Titan was not a bad truck but it was overshadowed in every element by the biggest players in the pickup truck market. Starting with a clean sheet of paper was both the most expensive and best thing that Nissan could have done and we’re here to tell you that the work absolutely paid off, especially in the form of the truck we took literally everywhere over the course of a week.

To be specific, our test vehicle was a 2016 Nissan Titan XD PRO-4X crew cab that was powered by the much talked about 5.0L Cummins V8 diesel engine. The price of our truck with all of the assorted options (which we’ll get into in a little while) was $57,820. That is not cheap, nor is it at the top of the price mountain where we have seen trucks that were similar commanding closer to $70,000. The exterior color of our truck was Cayenne Red and the interior hue was black. The truck is big for a half ton and frankly it drives, performs, and has capabilities like a larger truck. With the Pro-4X package on this truck it sits a little higher, had cool General Grabber rubber and our favorite part? Did not have running boards to hamper ground clearance. We really like the look of a big truck and the profile view of the Titan provides just that impression.

Note the lack of running boards. This is a win in our book. Yes, it makes entry and egress a little more work but the payoff is nothing to rip off when four wheeling.

Over the course of the week we had the truck it saw hundreds of miles of mixed cruising from around town to the highway and (as you will see below) horsing around off road. The engine delivered fantastic mileage on the order of 20mpg average for the week. We were not gentle on this truck. The deep well of torque that the Cummins engine provides along with the favorable gearing of the Aisin six speed automatic mean that the truck can get up and gone in short order. No, it is not a drag strip hero but it has a bunch of power and it is fun to continually dip your right foot into that well. The Aisin six speed was good but not perfect over the course of the week. Occasionally it can shift harshly and there were times when it was really hunting for the right gear for a disconcerting amount of time. While this wold not dissuade us from buying a Titan, it is something for potential buyers to be on the lookout for.

In the dirt or on the road, the Titan impressed us. From interior quality and quietness to the power of the Cummins V8, this truck is a 100% legit player now.

The truck does not drive like a half ton and frankly if you covered the badges you would not know it was a Nissan. It feels and drives big, which we like in a truck. The steering has good weight, the right height is such that you feel as though you are in a three quarter ton, and the suspension can occasionally give you that impression over jarring bumps. We like a truck that rides like a truck and doesn’t pretend that it is a car with a lift kit. Make no mistake, we are not impugning the ride quality here because the thing is quiet and smooth but when the road gets choppy you’ll know that you are in a pickup and we’re OK with that. The interior quality and layout are on par or superior to anything that domestic truck builders are selling and it is not relying on gizmos and chrome to distract you from quality deficiencies. This is a nice cab to be in as a driver or passenger. Room is copious throughout.

Nissan designers and engineers crushed it on the cab front. Column shifter leaves huge console and the layout of the dash is perfect. Cover the logos and you wouldn’t be able to guess that this was a Nissan.

Front end styling has been a point of contention for many people and while we can certainly see some similarities between this truck and the previous generation Fords, we’re still fans of the Titan look. The windshield is more heavily raked than the Fords, the massive front skid plate that swings into the front bumper is completely different than anything else we have seen in some time, and when you get right down to it, everything from the headlights to the grill are totally different. Style is a subjective thing, we happen to be fans of the 2016 Titan’s.

Few of the offerings from other manufacturers even come close in the capability department when compared to the Titan PRO-4X, especially optioned like we had ours. Styling naysayers are are barking up the wrong tree, we think.

When Nissan announced that they would be working with Cummins to offer a diesel option in the all-new Titan it sent some shockwaves through the automotive world. After all, since the late 1980s the only place to find a Cummins in a pickup truck from the factory was in a Dodge Ram. Obviously, the Ram engines and the piece in the Titan share nothing but a name. Those big inline six engines dwarf the 302ci V8 in displacement. The V8 is no slouch, though delivering more than 300hp and more than 550 lb-ft of torque to the transmission and beefy rear axle. This results in solid performance and fantastic fuel economy. Nissan is not the guinea pig for this engine, either. The 5.0L V8 has been on the road in working trucks for a few years now.

The engine compartment is certainly full with the Cummins V8 option installed. Gas engines are available as you would expect, but this is the most interesting plant you can get from the factory.

The PRO-4X package on our truck got us an upgraded off-road tuned suspension with Bilstein shocks, hill descent control, an electronic rear locker, shift on the fly four wheel drive, and some cool 18″ wheels wrapped in the General Grabber rubber. The tires were LT275/65/R18 for those of you playing at home. Our Titan was also equipped with the PRO-4X luxury package which got us the eight way ventilated power seats, around view camera monitoring, reverse auto tilting side mirrors, and other coolness like heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, remote start, and a power tilt and telescoping wheel. The utility package added front and rear sonar detection to prevent driving or backing into stuff, LED bed lighting, a power sliding rear cab window, the handy Utili-track moveable cleat system, and a rocking Rockford-Fosgate stereo system. The 12-speaker layout made for some of the best audio we have jammed to in a truck cab for some time.

So the BangShifty verdict?

This is an awesome truck. In fact, I would put it at the top of all the “half ton” trucks that we have driven all year. It can tow over 12,000lbs, it can handle off roading fun with ease, it has tons of payload capacity, and basically it dominates the stat sheet for the category. It does all of this in style and comfort and presents a legitimate challenge to the Big Three truck makers. If you took a group of 50 people and put them in this truck with no badging and no inkling about who built it no one would guess Nissan. If that sounds like an insult, it is not.

To us, this is a rare case of a vehicle being designed and then being produced true to that design, not all watered down and weakened by bean counters or production people who claim that the job cannot be done. If you are in the market for a truck and you fail to shop the Titan, diesel or not, you are making a grave mistake. We were really ticked off about having to give this rig back because it is that good. Don’t believe us? See for yourself.

Check out the rest of Dave Nutting’s photos below –