When its current generation was introduced in 2016, the Nissan Titan had a lot of out-of-the-box thinking and compelling points. As it failed to grab market share, however, it dwindled down to just another “not from Detroit” pickup truck. It looks good, but the snazziness has gone.

Compared to most on the market, the Nissan Titan is not even middle of the road. It is “barely on the shoulder” when it comes to towing, hauling, and general pickup truck metrics. But for the price, it’s also one of the better looking and more easy to drive trucks you can buy. Those still count for something.

As the Detroit Three battle it out for “best-in-class” claims about all sorts of things related to what most people think makes pickup trucks great, the Titan and its fellow non-Detroit competitor, the Toyota Tundra, both just drive around acting like… Well, trucks. No pizazz, no reason to finger point and throw a hat. Just doing simple truck stuff.

That is likely the greatest appeal of the Nissan Titan. It’s just a truck. It drives well, it does most truck jobs, and it looks pretty good doing it. If you happen to be from Tennessee, it has the added bonus of being named after your team.

That’s it. That’s all it is. The Titan is just a truck.

The newer design of the Silverado makes it a compelling choice against the Titan. It’s more expensive, but also offers more useful design features for everyday truck use. Built-in bed steps, a more ergonomic trailer plug interface, and smarter camera options are just a few of the upgrades the Chevrolet brings to the table.

The F-150 outsells every other pickup truck by more than double. There’s good reason for that. The Titan, by comparison, is a neophyte when it comes to towing capacity, capability, comfort, and ergonomics. But there are millions of F-150s on the road. So the Titan is more unique.

Both the Titan and the Ram go for “big, bold, strong” as their overall design motifs. The newer models of the Ram pull this off better than the Nissan, but not by much. Most of the decision will come down to the higher comfort levels of the Ram and the better capabilities it offers. The Titan doesn’t have a lot to offer by comparison.

Base price for the Titan is about $42,000 plus delivery. Those fleet models are generally selling for much less than that. Most buyers, however, are going to be in the $47,000 or so range for a well-equipped model. That’s a better price than almost all competitors in the full-sized truck arena for what is being delivered. So it’s compelling.

The table below shows the most common trim levels and how much they will run you.

The current generation of the Nissan Titan was introduced as a full-sized truck in 2016. A few things have changed, such as the dropping of the diesel engine option and the consolidation of body options to just two offerings. But for the most part, the Titan has fundamentally been the same truck for the past 8 years.

Nissan has already announced that the 2023 and 2024 Titan models will be largely unchanged as well, keeping this version of the truck as-is until it is discontinued mid-2024. The Mississippi factory it is made in will be retooling to build electric vehicles and the slow-selling Titan will be retired.

Of all of the trucks on the road, the Titan is the most nimble-feeling to drive. Despite its huge name and large presence, the Titan steers like a small SUV and handles itself well. The V8 engine, now the only option for the truck, is smooth and simple, reminiscent of an earlier time when engines like this provided predictable output with no frills.

The Nissan Titan aims to be just a pickup truck and nothing else. It has few options for luxury upgrades, modern appeal, or muscular performance. It tows less than most others in its class, it hauls fewer pounds than most of its competition, and it won’t likely outrun any of them in a race. And there is no hardcore off-road halo version of the Titan to put in front of dealerships on the stand to attract the country music fans in trucker hats.

Mostly the Nissan Titan is just a truck. It looks better than most, but other than its surprisingly smooth drive, it’s not really noticeable.

The Nissan Titan has not received any crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that we could find. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested the 2021 model, which is nearly identical to the 2022, with mostly good results. The worst result was for headlamps, with everything else coming in at Acceptable or Good (the IIHS’ highest rating is “Good”).

The Nissan Titan is rated as slightly above average amongst full-sized pickup trucks for reliability. RepairPal ranks it just behind the Toyota Tundra and just ahead of the Ford F-150 and Ram 1500 for reliability. Much of this ranking is due to the longer warranty (five years) on the Titan compared to other brands, which brings repair costs down. But the Titan also ranks better in frequency of repairs.

Other reliability metrics also put the Nissan Titan in a favorable light compared to most of its peers. One downside to consider, however, is that the Titan will no longer be produced after the 2024 model year. This could reduce parts availability as the truck ages.

We recommend skipping the base model Nissan Titan S, which is meant mostly for fleet buyers, and going to the SV or Pro-4X model options.

The Titan SV is similar to the base model S, but adds alloy wheels, LED taillamps, and power-folding side mirrors. It also gives access to a full suite of package and individual options not available on the base model. This includes more sophisticated infotainment, better audio, upgraded climate controls, towing options, and a lot of other comfort and convenience items.

The Titan Pro-4X is similar to the SV, but adds off-road equipment and defaults to 4x4 (four-wheel drive) instead of rear-wheel drive. It’s more expensive, but the added upgrades may be worth it to those who spend more time off the pavement or in inclement weather. It also includes the towing (with transmission cooling upgrade) as part of the package.

The Nissan Titan has the best factory warranty of any full-sized pickup truck. It’s a full two years and about 60,000 miles longer than the average. It has been, for the most part, one of the best selling points for this truck.

• Basic: 5 years / 100k miles
• PowerTrain: 5 years / 1000k miles
• Warranty does not follow the vehicle from owner-to-owner in most cases
• If buying used look at our best extended warranties

The Titan, despite its excellent warranty when purchased new, is one of the best deals in pickup trucks used. It loses more value than most other trucks in depreciation, so it’s likely to be the best priced option on a used lot. Because it has changed little since its introduction, most used models will be similar to the new ones in most respects.

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