2023 Nissan Titan

Pros

• The V8 engine comes with comfortable front seats.
• A lot of high-tech safety features are built in.

Cons

• There are no other engines or axle ratios that can be used.
• Cargo and towing capacities are the best in their class.
• Poor storage inside the cabin
• Around the corners and in the back, it was hard to see.

A simple V8 engine drives the Titan. If you like V8s, that’s fine, but other trucks have many more options. The Titan we tested went from 0 to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, which is about average for a light-duty pickup with a V8. On the other hand, the V8 and nine-speed automatic make it easy to get power to the ground.

We didn’t think the Titan would act so strangely. On the other hand, the steering could be lighter and smoother, which makes it hard to use at low speeds. For maximum stopping power, you have to put a lot of pressure on the brakes, and on roads with curves, you can feel how heavy this 3-ton truck is.

The Titan can easily handle bumps and potholes in the road and rides well on flat ground. The ride is already comfortable, but the front seats are even better. When you turn on the automatic climate control, it starts working immediately. On the other hand, the fans are thunderous and add to the high level of background noise that is always present in the cabin. At high speeds, you can hear the wind noise, so you have to talk louder on the highway.

The inside looks familiar, with a classic shift lever on the steering wheel and significant, clearly labeled controls that are easy to reach. Inside, there is a lot of hard plastic, but Nissan does an excellent job of using soft materials like wood to highlight the higher trims. Even though other cars in the same class look better, the front and back passenger space is refined.

Large door handles make it easy to get in and out of the Titan. Taller drivers would prefer a lower seat, but the high, commanding view of the road and a telescopic and tilting steering wheel let you settle comfortably. Even with wide, convex side mirrors, visibility over the hood is good, but the blind spots are massive. The blind-spot warning system is a great thing to have.

Most Titans have a 9-inch touchscreen with sharp, clear graphics and smartphone connectivity with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard features. When you wear polarized sunglasses, part of the screen gets washed out. On a high-definition screen, the low resolution of the rearview camera makes it look incredibly grainy and old. Even the Fender stereo could do a better job.

Nissan should be praised for making Safety Shield 360 a standard feature. It is a group of cutting-edge technologies that help the driver. Even when other cars drift in and out of your lane, the adaptive cruise control is very good at smoothly changing your speed. The live on-call concierge service that can fix technical problems and give directions to your car is an excellent feature of the Nissan Connect app.

The Titan has a lot of storage space, but Nissan has yet to make it as innovative or flexible as storage in other trucks. The Titan, for example, has an excellent soft smartphone grip, but it takes up valuable storage space in the middle. Similar smartphone grips are on the Ram 1500 but are hidden and pushed against a wireless charging pad.

The Titan can pull up to 9,310 pounds when it is fully loaded. Even though it’s good enough for a standard trailer, there are better light-duty trucks than this one. A maximum payload of 1,650 pounds is also a little. On the other hand, the bed is enormous. Additionally, you can more easily reach your target by leaning over the edge in full-size pickups of the same size.

On a combined highway and city cycle, the EPA says that a Titan with 4WD gets 18 mpg. This is the same as other V8s, but unlike other companies, Nissan doesn’t have a more fuel-efficient option. On our 115-mile test route, which had different types of driving, our Titan got 18.6 mpg. On this route, many of the cars we test do better than the EPA says they will.

There is little here for the Titan. You can only save money on gas by getting a more fuel-efficient engine, and the warranty needs to be better. The Titan is not a cheap car, making the cabin’s hard plastics look even worse. Now, it’s more work to explain the truck’s costs and trade-offs.

The Nissan Titan doesn’t stand out in any way. It will get you and many other things where you need to go, but other than that, it could be a more exciting experience. Even the powerful V8 engine lacks personality, and their unexpected effects overshadow clever details like the smartphone holder.

Usually, we only look for a full-size car with a few personalities. On the other hand, most of Titan’s competitors have found a way to stand out in some way. Nissan has yet to be able to get around that problem.

In this writing, Nissan has not made official statements about the 2023 Titan. If anything changes, we’ll change our advice, but based on the Titan from last year, The SV trim level is the one we’d recommend. If you can afford it, you should get the SV Convenience package, which includes a larger infotainment screen, an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a power-sliding rear window, and many other extras.