By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(May 14, 2018) Nearly 50 years ago, Scottish musicians Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan wrote and released a song called “Stuck in the Middle with You,” performed by their band Stealers Wheel. It sold over a million copies, eventually peaking at number six on the Billboard charts. Since then a lot has been written about the meaning of the lyrics: there’s a lot of stuff going on around you and you can go either way, trying to make sense of it all.

I reference the hit song as I’m reviewing the 2018 Nissan Titan XD because it mimics the notion of a heavy-duty pickup truck like Ford F-250 Super Duty or Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD, but lacks their credibility and performance. It more closely aligns with light-duty pickups like the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, and Nissan’s own regular-issue Titan.



Nissan first entered the full-sized pickup truck market when it debuted the Titan for the 2004 model year, hoping to pick off market share from Detroit’s top-selling Big Three: Ford F-150, RAM, and Chevrolet Silverado. Sales struggled, and over the next 12 years Nissan paid little attention and mostly neglected the Titan. Nissan sold just 12,140 of the trucks for all of 2015. Compare that to the Ford F-150, which reaches that sales number in just five or six days.

Finally, deciding they wanted a bigger piece of the extremely profitable pickup truck market, Nissan introduced the all-new second-generation Titan for 2016. It had a decidedly new look, more configurations of cab styles, bed lengths, and powertrain options.

The new Titan debuted with a half-ton size and the XD (for “extra duty”) which slots between half-ton trucks and commercial-grade, heavy-duty three-quarter-ton variants. Nissan says the XD is the perfect truck for those who want more than a regular “regular-duty” half-ton pickup, but don’t need a heavy-duty three-quarter ton pickup. Thus, it’s a “middle-grade” pickup.

So while the Titan XD promises “extra duty” capability, we found that it’s towing and payload capacities are actually less than those on the regular-duty Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado trucks. And, like the Ford F-250 and Silverado 2500HD, Titan XD is as big and handles just as clumsily as those models.

Properly equipped, the XD Diesel tested here can tow 12,640 pounds and can carry a payload of 2,420 pounds while the regular duty Ford F-150 can tow 13,200 pounds and carry 3,270 pounds. The regular Titan pickup can tow 9,740 pounds with a payload of 1,950. Therefore, when it comers to pickup trucks, it seems indeed that the Titan XD is “stuck in the middle.” It was hard for us to see the real appeal for the XD trim level.

We thought its appeal could be the available Cummins-sourced 5.0-liter V-8 turbodiesel with its six-speed automatic transmission that delivers 310 horsepower and 555 lb. ft. of torque. But the diesel adds a whopping $4,800 extra over the 390-horsepower 5.6-liter gasoline V-8, and its towing and payload ratings versus the standard gasoline V-8 are negligible. Heavy-duty trucks, including, Titan XD aren’t rated by the EPA for fuel economy. We averaged just a tick over 15 mpg with an empty cargo bed and no towing.

The XD PRO-4X trim level we tested is the off-road oriented model that includes 18-inch alloy wheels, Bilstein shocks, a spray-in bedliner, skid plates, leather seating and other upgraded amenities. The XD trim also comes with extensive standard towing gear including a Class IV trailer hitch, built-in brake controller, larger tow mirrors and an integrated goose-neck hitch for towing fifth-wheel trailers. Adding four-wheel drive to any Titan model costs about $3,000 to $3,500, depending on trim level.

On the road we found our XD wasn’t overly easy to drive. Steering was slow, the ride firm yet seats were comfortable and acceleration anemic, with a zero to 60 mph time of around 10 seconds. We also found parking this brute to be a chore, requiring considerable back-and-forth jockeying to complete the task. There’s an available surround-view camera system that helps.

I did spend a few hours with the XD on some rugged off-road trails and it easily handled everything thrown at it, including challenging rough, boulder strewn and rutted trails, steep inclines, and deep sand dry river beds in Arizona’s Butcher Jones State Park off-road trails.

We liked the XD’s upscale luxury-like interior with cushy, stitched leather seating with eight-way power adjustability, power lumbar supports, ample use of upgraded trim materials and solid construction.

Operating controls are intuitive and simple to use. There are plenty of cup holders, easily accessible USB and auxiliary ports and 12-volt outlets. 60/40 folding rear seats afford an appreciated storage system, keeping valuables out of sight. One feature we found odd was the steering column gear shifter; it does free up space on the center console.

Handy features in the pickup bed include the dual lockable “TITAN Box” storage boxes that sit sight-unseen at street level and hold work or recreational gear. They’re watertight and drainable and can also be used as coolers for food and or beverages while tailgating. They’re easily removable when full cargo bed capacity is needed. We also liked the nicely damped tailgate that slowly lowers rather than coming down with a crash.

While sales of the new Titan improved to 52,924 for 2017, and year over year sales through April 2018 are nearly identical to same period 2017 (and more than four times the previous generation Titan), domestic truck buyers are extremely loyal and difficult to convince to switch brands.

Further, it’s tough to see the value or need of the Titan XD over the heavy-duty offerings from Ford, Chevrolet or Ram. It’s possible the XD fills a void in the market, but to us it seems to be stuck in the middle.

Vital Stats
Base Price: $53,380
Price as Tested: $60,650
Powertrain: Cummins 5.0-liter diesel, 310 hp 555 lb.-ft torque – Aisin 6-speed automatic transmission
Fuel Economy: Not rated
Seating: 5

Crash Test Ratings: NHTSA and IIHS have not crash-tested the 2018 Titan XD

Competes With:
Chevrolet Silverado
Ford F-150
Ram 1500
Toyota Tundra

Fab Features:
Upscale near-luxury interior
Innovative cargo bed and storage
Integrated goose-neck towing hook