My Road Test of the New 2008 Nissan Titan Pick-Up Truck

I drove over 500 miles today in a 2008 Nissan Titan pick-up truck, Nissan's brand-new entry into the super-size pick-up market. My personal vehicle is undergoing some mechanical repair, so I rented a pick-up from a local car rental agency. I had reserved a small pick-up, but when I arrived to retrieve my rental, all they had available in terms of pick-up trucks was the Nissan Titan. So, being a person who is not all that picky in terms of my rental vehicles, I signed the rental contract and drove off towards the Central Valley of California in a big white Nissan Titan with barely 4,000 miles on the odometer. The first thing that struck me about this truck is its immense size; this truck is big! The first time I tried to park I was made fully aware of the size of this truck.

With an extra-long bed and extended cab, the truck is hard to park. I'm used to my own personal pick-up - a Dodge Dakota - and in comparison to my truck, the Titan is much, much bigger. It's also much longer. A fact that becomes all-too apparent the first time you try to park in a generic, run-of-the-mill parking stall. There's no such thing as zipping into a parking lot and shooting straight into a parking stall; that is not possible in this truck! On average, it seems to take me about 3 or 4 attempts to fit the truck in a nice straight line within a standard parking stall. The turning radius is not bad for a truck of this size, but the overall length of the truck makes parking difficult. The flip side to the truck's size is an overwhelming feeling of safety and security in relation to other vehicles on the road. I admit to feeling somewhat cavalier in my driving attitude as I barrel down the highway in the Nissan Titan; I guess it's the same type of feeling that a Rottweiler has when he's in the midst of a poodle party. And with all of the crazy drivers out on the roads these days, I like to feel secure!

Another thing that I must make clear is that this truck is by no means economical. It has a 5.6 liter V-8 engine that produces 305 horsepower. Although I didn't time it, the Titan is supposed to be able to go from 0 to 60 in a little over 7 seconds. A very impressive number for a truck of this size! Over the course of my long trip today I crossed a few steep mountain passes, most notably the famed Grapevine on Interstate 5 just north of Magic Mountain that tops out at 4,144 feet in elevation, and there was never any danger of me not having enough power to effortlessly climb a hill that often proves troublesome for lesser-powered vehicles. The engine is somewhat noisy - as are most powerful engines - but the ride is smooth and the five-speed automatic transmission shifts effortlessly.

But, the flip side to all of this power, of course, is the gas mileage. I drove exactly 541 miles on a full to the rim gas tank. According to the owner's manual in the glove box of the Titan, the gas tank holds 37 gallons. I filled the tank up as far as I could - to the point where gas was going to start leaking out of the nozzle if I tried to add any more fuel - and I managed to drive all 541 miles without having to stop for gas at all. However, over the course of my last 15 miles or so, the fuel warning light came on and the fuel gauge read-out said I had a "range" of 45 miles left. So, I was getting down to the last few drops of gas by the time I made it home. The truck had a little over 1/8th of a tank of gas when I filled up the tank right after leaving the car rental agency, and It cost $98.00 dollars to fill the tank - with gas being $3.05/gallon. I did, however, do quite a bit of mountain driving, at one point I topped out at 6,100 feet, so that obviously had a detrimental effect on the overall gas mileage. But, if a person is in the market for a large truck, gas mileage is probably the least of their concerns anyway.

Overall, I have enjoyed driving the Nissan Titan. On the road it handles and maneuvers well. It has plenty of power and the large bed is great for hauling. The model I am driving is a basic model - it doesn't have any power windows or door locks or cruise control - but it has power brakes and power steering. The only major flaw that I can see is the problem in maneuvering this big truck around. I'm used to driving a much smaller truck, so the size and length of this truck is more apparent to me. Although I am not in the market for a large pick-up at the moment, I would definitely consider the Nissan Titan as a viable truck to consider.