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On the Way to Vernal with the new Nissan Titan XD Pro 4X.

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All set up for graduation night at Uintah High School.

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When in Vernal one has to get a photo with the Dino that in the background that was all ready for graduation.

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The 2017 TITAN XD Single Cab, like the TITAN XD Crew Cab, will be offered in a choice of two engines – the Cummins® 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel, which is rated at 310 horsepower and 555 lb-ft of torque; and the 5.6-liter Endurance V8, rated at 390 horsepower and 394 lb-ft of torque.

Nissan

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The 2017 TITAN XD Single Cab, like the TITAN XD Crew Cab, will be offered in a choice of two engines – the Cummins® 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel, which is rated at 310 horsepower and 555 lb-ft of torque; and the 5.6-liter Endurance V8, rated at 390 horsepower and 394 lb-ft of torque.

Nissan

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The 2017 TITAN XD Single Cab, like the TITAN XD Crew Cab, will be offered in a choice of two engines – the Cummins® 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel, which is rated at 310 horsepower and 555 lb-ft of torque; and the 5.6-liter Endurance V8, rated at 390 horsepower and 394 lb-ft of torque.

Nissan

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After winning ‘Truck of the Year’ awards from many different organizations, including the one that we belong to the Rocky Mountain Automotive Media, we were looking forward to a week with the Titan now in its second year after a complete overhaul. Our first venture with the Truck was back in March of 2016 in the Platinum Reserve trim, we ended up having to spend most of the week at a conference in St. George which gave us some great time behind the wheel.

However, the current week with truck was over the Memorial Day Weekend and we had all sorts of reasons to take and use the truck as it was meant to be used. Towing, hauling and moving stuff was all part of the plan, about the only thing we didn’t have time for was to take the truck up in the mountains to try out the 4 wheel drive features on the Pro 4X trim, of course after having owned a Xterra Pro 4X we were pretty familiar with all the goodies in that department.

The XD version of the Titan comes complete with a 8 cylinder diesel engine that is made by Cummins, in fact the entire truck is made in Mississippi, right here in the good old US of A, even though it comes from a Japanese based company. Most all of the foreign manufactures now have a presence here in America to make their vehicles.

When it comes to the Titan Nissan has gone all in to come up with a truck that will appeal to buyers that would be willing to switch from a truck line they have driven for many years, could be a hard row to hoe, but after a week in the new Nissan doing all the things he usually does in his own truck, Craig was definitely impressed and would definitely consider this great new truck especially with the new Cummins diesel engine.

As we noticed the last time we drove the XD it is really much more than just an average half ton truck, but yet doesn’t quite have all the abilities of a three quarter ton truck. The engine put out just 310 horsepower, however it is loaded with torque coming in with a massive 555 ft.-lbs. Being on the smaller frame we would really call it a five eighths ton truck, it even comes standard with a goose neck set up to haul a 5th wheel trailer.

It is rated to pull just over 12,000 pounds or 6 tons worth of trailer, so it was timely that Craig had the chance to tow a small trailer out to Vernal for their graduation party. At right around 4500 pounds the Titan didn’t really even know that the trailer was back there, even the mileage didn’t change at all as he kept averaging the same 15 mpg for the entire drive.

Most importantly, the ride of the new Titan is very smooth as it handles all the potholes and other road irregularities with ease. The best part of the ride is the inclusion of Nissans new Zero Gravity seats, they are some of the best on the market today, and after a 3 hour ride out to Vernal- Craig was easily able to get out and do all the work he needed, in fact looking forward to the drive home the next day because it was such a pleasure just to sit in the truck.

We would venture to guess that this truck will pull pretty much anything the normal family has to offer and had no problem with any of Craig’s larger trailers either, easily handling his largest 10,000 plus loaded trailer. One thing he really liked was the Titan seemed to sit a little higher than his current truck making it easier to hook up to his larger trailers with equalizer hitches, he has to take the hitch off of the trailers on his truck because it just sits to low.

With the weight added the Pro 4X handled it very well as it features huge xxx thing under wheels, and Bilstein off road performance shocks that made handling the load easy and kept the truck level, a problem Craig’s current truck has with the heavier trailers as they will push the rear of the truck towards the ground.

About the only complaint when trailering with the new Titan he had was the screen seemed smaller than the 8×8 inch screen he has, and being visually challenged it was harder to see when he was under the hitch. The all-around view camera however is a great addition and the fact that with the push of the camera button the view can be changed to forward and the right side of the truck at low speed was very helpful. The front and rear parking sensors are also a must have if parking in a garage or tight space every day.

The inclusion of the rear bumper assist step was invaluable during the week as Craig had to climb in and out of the back of the truck, from hauling yard waste to the dumpsite to putting sound equipment in the bed for the Memorial Day service as the cemetery, was all made easier with this small convenience. Craig’s current truck has no easy way, except to climb into the bed and since he is getting along in age this is very important.

Inside the Titan XD was loaded with fantastic features, and even some extras that made the ride even that much nicer. The seats were leather appointed with contrast stitching and a Pro 4X logo as were those on the Xterra we had, it just adds that little extra to spice up the interior. There were heated with the addition of the Convenience Package and cooled with the Luxury Package. The steering wheel of course was also heated, and controlled electronically to move up and down and in and out, and would move with the seat for different drivers.

The Utility and Audio package came with a 12 speaker Rockford Fosgate stereo system that could really pump out the tunes as Craig discovered on his ride to and from Vernal without anyone but XM radio to keep him company.

The rear seats were also heated, a great addition for those in the back during the winter, also included for the folks in the rear were vents for heat and AC along with a USB port of charging their devices.

Craig’s favorite part of the truck was that it had an intelligent key, the first truck that we’ve had to test drive that could be started with a push button; he would love to have that feature on his current truck. There was also a remote start on the key fob for the Titan that would make getting it warmed up on cold winter days a snap.

The truck came standard with a spray in bed liner, and rain sensing wipers, rear cross traffic alert and a first for us with a truck of blind spot monitoring, great additions on all fronts and effects that are usually not included on a truck.

We have saved the best for last as Nissan has put their money where their mouth is with the new Titan offering a 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty and industry first. With all these and other great features Craig had to admit he would be hard pressed not to look at the new Titan the next time he needs a truck, there were just to many great features and abilities included.

Nissan has made great strides to put themselves deep into the US truck market, something that is very hard to do having been led by the big three for many many years. Take some time if a truck is in your future and go see the new Titan at either at Ken Garff Nissan in Orem, 285 West University Parkway, 866-448-0127, and at Tim Dahle Nissan Southtowne, 11155 Jordan Gateway, South Jordan, UT 84095 (801) 495-3800

Base Price: $52,230

Price as Driven: $60,250