
The Nissan Titan XD has had a lot of work put into it. It's clear that Nissan doesn't just want a participation ribbon. They want to really compete in the truck segment. A great truck to measure against is the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. Up until the introduction of the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel there was no diesel available in the full-size pickup segment. Nissan saw that success and set their aim on beating out Ram for that top diesel spot.
The Nissan Titan XD is using an all-new 5.0L Cummins V8 Turbo Diesel. It comes out on top of the Ram's 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel in every measure (though we don't know about fuel economy yet.) The Titan's diesel engine has 310 horsepower, and produces a whopping 555 lb-ft of torque. Compare that to the EcoDiesel that has 240 horsepower, and 420 lb-ft of torque.
When it comes to capability the Titan XD also beats out the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. The Titan's >2,000 lbs payload beats out the 1,620 lbs payload of the Ecodiesel. It also beats it out on towing capacity with the Titan being able to handle >12,000 lbs and the EcoDiesel only capable of 9,200 lbs.
Perhaps Chrysler will be kicking itself for declining Cummins' offer to provide the 5.0L V8 for the Ram 1500.
With the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel receiving a record 8,000 orders in the three days after its launch, Nissan is undoubtedly hoping that they can see similar success by offering the same thing, but bigger. Fuel economy could favor the EcoDiesel, and there will be some who want to go with the smaller size of the EcoDiesel as well, but the US is a country where bigger is better when it comes to trucks. If Nissan can offer the biggest, most capable, and best diesel truck in the segment, Ram should be scared and so should the others in the segment as well.