I hauled my wife out to the dealership to take a look at the new Titans. I'm looking at the XE Crew Cab 4x4, off road package. Any purchase is a long ways off, but I just wanted to get out and check 'em out.
Unfortunately, all they had there were 4x2 models. But I drove it anyway and was pretty impressed. I like the standard cloth material (much higher quality than in my Hardbody) and really liked the standard bench/column shifter combo. I figured I wasn't really going to consider anything but a floor shift model, but this worked very well. The manual shift switch is on the lever itself, and is pretty clunky to use. Best to just leave it in OD I guess (5 sp auto). The center armrest is about as wide as a countertop and it's very comfortable to drive. I like the power pedal adjusters.
The ride is much much better than in my Hardbody! Firmer than the GM models, but still acceptable. Steering was very nice...smallish steering wheel worked very well. The sales lady kept bragging about the steering wheel controls for the radio and cruise and I wanted to say, "hey let go of it, our 7 year old Cadillac has all that."
But I guess it's a nice touch for a full size truck.
I really wanted to drive a 4x4 with the off-road package, since it comes with different shocks and tires than the rear wheel drive models. But this is North Carolina -- I don't guess they have a big demand for 4x4 models, although 4x4 is all I would consider. The engine power was pretty good; exhaust note is nice. Transmission seemed to hunt a lot, but it would take some time to get used to how the 5-sp likes to be driven, so that was probably more my fault than its.
The highway ride was good...firm but comfortable.
I fell in love over the Internet with the Deep Water color (it's a dark blue). They didn't have any...we drove a Canteen 4x2 SE model. The Car & Driver article listed the 0-60 time for the Crew Cab 4x4 as 7.6 seconds, but this 4x2 didn't feel any faster than that. It's gotta be, though, because it doesn't have the extra weight and drag of the 4x4 system. Oh well...it's much faster than my Hardbody so the numbers probably aren't that important anyway.
The literature says the VK56DE engine has 6-bolt mains on the crank bearings. Does that mean that Nissan is moving away from the main bearing girdle that was featured on the KA and VG engines (and possibly others)?
