I just happened to stumble across a Titan XD Diesel SV sitting at a dealership in Topeka Kansas and couldn't resist taking a look and going for a test drive.
Full disclosure. I had been a GM loyalist for life until I recently purchased a Ram 1500 Big Horn 3.0 Diesel. My ram is decently equipped with the 8.4" nav, programmable dash, tow mirrors. it listed at 50k msrp and I picked it up for 40. the ram had so much more to offer in a 1500 than GM and with a diesel, I couldn't resist. It is a fantastic truck. I will make some comparisons here between the ram and nissan. These are just my opinions.
over the past 6 months, I have driven almost every domestic 4x4 engine configuration available. Silverado/GMC 5.3L, 6.2L with and without the max towing 4.10's, Ram 5.7 with 4.10's and 3.55's, 3.0 Diesel with 4.10, 3.55 and 3.21's. Ford 2.7L Turbo, 3.5L turbo, 5.0L. GMC 2500 6.0L and Duramax, Ram 2500 6.4L and Diesel. I may have a problem lol.
I know it is completely hypocritical, but I did not look at any 'import branded' trucks before I purchased my ram. I know the nissan is designed, tested, manufactured in the USA, probably more so than the trucks I drove, but I just didn't look.
So being a truck test driving addict, I had to take the XD for a spin. My first impression seeing it was quite positive. I thought the outside looked great, except the headlights. I just don't care for the headlights, especially from the side. they aren't aggressive enough and give the truck a soft look. I was pleasantly surprised by the initial impression of the interior. Seats were comfy. back seat room was a little less than the ram/ford/gm, but its not bad at all. Nice center console. This SV model had the convenience and comfort package giving it a ton of features. Nav, heated seats, push button start, rear cam, etc, etc.. very well equipped. the absolute best part of this truck is when you pop the hood!! the cummins looks absolutely spectacular tucked in there! they should have put this in the Ram 1500.
when I looked at the sticker, I was almost in shock. how can a truck with a 5.0L cummins this well equipped be 50k?!?!?!? ****, maybe I shouldn't have bought my Ram, is what I was thinking....
Then I noticed no MPG rating on the sticker... hmm. guess this is a considered a commercial vehicle, not a 1500 truck.
firing it up, it sounded great. The odo read about 110 miles, but disturbingly the service engine light was on. oh well, lets take it out. I sat there fumbling through the gauge cluster info center and found the MPG reset. this was my first negative experience, the steering wheel controls are not super intuitive and the gauge cluster info center is not the best. The three position toggle on the steering wheel with the 'enter' button is confusing. the Enter (center position) is used as an input into the gauge cluster and the up/down toggle is the radio seek. the button below it (left/right) is also used with the gauge cluster. this is poor HMI design. I was constantly trying to navigate the gauge cluster and changing the radio station lol. Also, the trip odometer doesn't even show MPG? what the heck? There is only 1 'master' mpg you can reset. Sorry, but the RAM's optional gauge cluster is vastly superior, but then it is also far better than ford or GMs'. The Nissan is on par with what GM offers (non-denali).
Taking off, the engine felt good. it had good power, but nothing like its big brother in the Ram 2500. It felt about like my 3.0L FIAT diesel with 3.55's. not a bad thing, just how it felt. it had lots of torque, just not a lot of punch. The ride quality is ALL 3/4 ton! this is about when I realized this is not a 1500 truck. this IS A 2500. The RAM 2500 with its 5 link rear has a much better ride quality. The ride quality is on par with a GM 2500. I'm not knocking it, its just how it is for a 2500 with conventional suspension.
driving around I played with the controls a bit, the infotainment system, etc... I must say the biggest negative I experienced was how poor the infotainment system is. it is by far the worst of any of the trucks I have test driven. the AM/FM screen is pathetic. It has 6 presets that don't even show the station that is preset to them, just a number 1-6, with a ton of blank/blue screen. The colors are anemic, its pretty much two tone, unless you are in the nav screen. There is a 'camera' button on the lower left of the screen. you would think this would allow you to view the rear camera while driving, like in a GM. Nope. it takes you to a screen with 1 option to change a camera setting. seemingly a completely worthless button. Maybe it has another use, but I couldn't figure it out. I did like it had a 'map' button that always took you directly to the nav map. nice feature. The stereo seemed good, although I'm not an audiophile. Steering was responsive and felt good. brakes were good. overall the interior was decent, but the Ram has the best on the market and a big part of this is the Ram's 8.4 nav system. it is just stellar. I'm sure that isn't a big of a deal to some people as it is to me. I would say the nissan is the middle of the road for interior. It doesn't feel as 'put together' and seamless as the other brands. It feels a bit more like they just picked stuff out of the parts bin and threw it together. I'm not saying it is terrible, just didn't feel great.
now to what a lot of people are asking about. MPG. I reset the gauge doing 65mph on the interstate and drove about 5 miles. it got 18.5. not good. I was expecting low 20's, hoping 23ish. Now it was cold out, about 30* and my ram diesel dropped a few mpgs when the temp dropped, but I was expecting way more. After I got back to the dealer, driving around town a bit and getting on it a few times, the mpg was 14.5. ouch. I couldn't do that poorly with my ram if I beat the crap out of it.
parking it again at the dealer, I looked at it quite a bit. overall, I think it is a **** good truck for the money. i'm not sure what slot it fills though and that has me confused. It has a great price point and is great value for the money. This is a 2500 truck, and if anyone doubts that, the curb weight of this SV is 7152lbs. it IS classified as a 2500, it is NOT a half ton.
If I needed to tow 10-12000 lbs regularly, this would be a great truck. The mpg has me quite confused though. it should be getting far better than 18. maybe it needs broken in, I don't know, but that is a big issue.
it does look like it has some kick ass bed accessories and I'm still in shock you can apparently pick up a '2500' 5.0 cummins for low 40's MSRP. if there are good rebates in a year or two you could get into a 3/4 diesel insanely cheap.
Anyway, not looking for any arguments. just wanted to state my impressions.
Full disclosure. I had been a GM loyalist for life until I recently purchased a Ram 1500 Big Horn 3.0 Diesel. My ram is decently equipped with the 8.4" nav, programmable dash, tow mirrors. it listed at 50k msrp and I picked it up for 40. the ram had so much more to offer in a 1500 than GM and with a diesel, I couldn't resist. It is a fantastic truck. I will make some comparisons here between the ram and nissan. These are just my opinions.
over the past 6 months, I have driven almost every domestic 4x4 engine configuration available. Silverado/GMC 5.3L, 6.2L with and without the max towing 4.10's, Ram 5.7 with 4.10's and 3.55's, 3.0 Diesel with 4.10, 3.55 and 3.21's. Ford 2.7L Turbo, 3.5L turbo, 5.0L. GMC 2500 6.0L and Duramax, Ram 2500 6.4L and Diesel. I may have a problem lol.
I know it is completely hypocritical, but I did not look at any 'import branded' trucks before I purchased my ram. I know the nissan is designed, tested, manufactured in the USA, probably more so than the trucks I drove, but I just didn't look.
So being a truck test driving addict, I had to take the XD for a spin. My first impression seeing it was quite positive. I thought the outside looked great, except the headlights. I just don't care for the headlights, especially from the side. they aren't aggressive enough and give the truck a soft look. I was pleasantly surprised by the initial impression of the interior. Seats were comfy. back seat room was a little less than the ram/ford/gm, but its not bad at all. Nice center console. This SV model had the convenience and comfort package giving it a ton of features. Nav, heated seats, push button start, rear cam, etc, etc.. very well equipped. the absolute best part of this truck is when you pop the hood!! the cummins looks absolutely spectacular tucked in there! they should have put this in the Ram 1500.
when I looked at the sticker, I was almost in shock. how can a truck with a 5.0L cummins this well equipped be 50k?!?!?!? ****, maybe I shouldn't have bought my Ram, is what I was thinking....
Then I noticed no MPG rating on the sticker... hmm. guess this is a considered a commercial vehicle, not a 1500 truck.
firing it up, it sounded great. The odo read about 110 miles, but disturbingly the service engine light was on. oh well, lets take it out. I sat there fumbling through the gauge cluster info center and found the MPG reset. this was my first negative experience, the steering wheel controls are not super intuitive and the gauge cluster info center is not the best. The three position toggle on the steering wheel with the 'enter' button is confusing. the Enter (center position) is used as an input into the gauge cluster and the up/down toggle is the radio seek. the button below it (left/right) is also used with the gauge cluster. this is poor HMI design. I was constantly trying to navigate the gauge cluster and changing the radio station lol. Also, the trip odometer doesn't even show MPG? what the heck? There is only 1 'master' mpg you can reset. Sorry, but the RAM's optional gauge cluster is vastly superior, but then it is also far better than ford or GMs'. The Nissan is on par with what GM offers (non-denali).
Taking off, the engine felt good. it had good power, but nothing like its big brother in the Ram 2500. It felt about like my 3.0L FIAT diesel with 3.55's. not a bad thing, just how it felt. it had lots of torque, just not a lot of punch. The ride quality is ALL 3/4 ton! this is about when I realized this is not a 1500 truck. this IS A 2500. The RAM 2500 with its 5 link rear has a much better ride quality. The ride quality is on par with a GM 2500. I'm not knocking it, its just how it is for a 2500 with conventional suspension.
driving around I played with the controls a bit, the infotainment system, etc... I must say the biggest negative I experienced was how poor the infotainment system is. it is by far the worst of any of the trucks I have test driven. the AM/FM screen is pathetic. It has 6 presets that don't even show the station that is preset to them, just a number 1-6, with a ton of blank/blue screen. The colors are anemic, its pretty much two tone, unless you are in the nav screen. There is a 'camera' button on the lower left of the screen. you would think this would allow you to view the rear camera while driving, like in a GM. Nope. it takes you to a screen with 1 option to change a camera setting. seemingly a completely worthless button. Maybe it has another use, but I couldn't figure it out. I did like it had a 'map' button that always took you directly to the nav map. nice feature. The stereo seemed good, although I'm not an audiophile. Steering was responsive and felt good. brakes were good. overall the interior was decent, but the Ram has the best on the market and a big part of this is the Ram's 8.4 nav system. it is just stellar. I'm sure that isn't a big of a deal to some people as it is to me. I would say the nissan is the middle of the road for interior. It doesn't feel as 'put together' and seamless as the other brands. It feels a bit more like they just picked stuff out of the parts bin and threw it together. I'm not saying it is terrible, just didn't feel great.
now to what a lot of people are asking about. MPG. I reset the gauge doing 65mph on the interstate and drove about 5 miles. it got 18.5. not good. I was expecting low 20's, hoping 23ish. Now it was cold out, about 30* and my ram diesel dropped a few mpgs when the temp dropped, but I was expecting way more. After I got back to the dealer, driving around town a bit and getting on it a few times, the mpg was 14.5. ouch. I couldn't do that poorly with my ram if I beat the crap out of it.
parking it again at the dealer, I looked at it quite a bit. overall, I think it is a **** good truck for the money. i'm not sure what slot it fills though and that has me confused. It has a great price point and is great value for the money. This is a 2500 truck, and if anyone doubts that, the curb weight of this SV is 7152lbs. it IS classified as a 2500, it is NOT a half ton.
If I needed to tow 10-12000 lbs regularly, this would be a great truck. The mpg has me quite confused though. it should be getting far better than 18. maybe it needs broken in, I don't know, but that is a big issue.
it does look like it has some kick ass bed accessories and I'm still in shock you can apparently pick up a '2500' 5.0 cummins for low 40's MSRP. if there are good rebates in a year or two you could get into a 3/4 diesel insanely cheap.
Anyway, not looking for any arguments. just wanted to state my impressions.