2020 Nissan Titan Pro-4X Test Drive And Review: A Truck With Merit

When the average buyer in the United States shops for a new pickup truck, the Nissan Titan is currently at the bottom of their list (according to sales figures). If Darwinism applied to the truck market, you’d have to assume that there’s something wrong with the Titan. But after spending a week driving the 2020 Nissan Titan Pro-4X Crew Cab, I’d have to disagree. There’s something else going on in the pickup truck marketplace, and in the automotive world in general. And it doesn’t have much to do with the Titan’s merits or demerits. 

Let’s start with Titan’s merits, which are many.

Titan received a makeover for 2020, and is more attractive than before, both inside and out. A new grille, new front end design, and newly available LED headlights and DRL give a fresh appearance that is assertive and “truck-like” without being overstated or obnoxious. My test vehicle, a Pro-4X trim level model in Crew Cab configuration with a 5.5-foot short bed, was particularly attractive wearing a coat of Baja Storm paint, contrasting nicely with blacked out trim. Nissan has some history of wild graphics, but Titan’s adornment is tasteful and cool. Nissan says “the legendary PRO-4X model features a truck-load of equipment that reads like an off-roader’s wish list, including Bilstein shocks, an electronic locking rear differential, and all-terrain tires.” This combination of equipment lends a great stance to the Titan, making it a truck that looks ready for action, even when standing still in the Kroger parking lot. 

Nissan has gone all-in on one engine choice for the Titan, eschewing the smorgasbord of small-displacement turbocharged engines, turbo and naturally aspirated (non-turbo) V6 engines and naturally aspirated V8 engines that you can find in competitors like Ford, GM and Ram. Each Titan comes with a naturally aspirated 5.6-liter V8 engine tuned to produce 400 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque (segment leading numbers), with a nine-speed automatic transmission and a choice of rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive (like my Pro-4X test truck). The EPA estimates that my 4x4 Pro-4X Crew Cab should achieve 15 mpg city/21 mpg highway/17 mpg combined – numbers which seem accurate for a 5,824-lb truck. 

Titan’s cabin has also been redesigned, and like its exterior, it is truck-like and assertive, but not cartoonish. The standard nine-inch color touchscreen display interface in the center stack is great, and loaded with standard features like NissanConnect with Door-to-Door Navigation, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Voice Recognition, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth hands-free and streaming audio and more. My test truck’s $2,190 Pro-4X Utility Package included Fender Premium Audio with 10 speakers, and a Pro-4X Convenience Package ($3,300) upgraded the seats with leather appointments, contrasting stitching, front-seat heating, and more. The optional ($1,490) Pro-4X Moonroof Package added an airy ambiance to the already spacious cabin, and made the second row feel like an SUV compartment, rather than a pickup truck afterthought. Under-seat storage and other second row conveniences further enhanced the crew cab setup. 

Steering, suspension setup, and overall on-road dynamics were also merits in the Titan’s favor. I really enjoyed driving around in the Titan, and never felt overwhelmed by its size or bulk, as I sometimes to in modern pickups. (My daily driver is a 2003 Ford F-150 SuperCab 4x4 with an eight-foot bed and the turning radius of an ocean liner.)

Other merits have to be the inclusion of standard Nissan Safety Shield 360 (Rear Automatic Braking, Lane Departure Warning, High Beam Assist, Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Warning and Rear Cross Traffic Alert). A five-year/100,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty is also standard, outdoing the other pickup truck competitors.

A few minor demerits for the Titan did turn up. The only bed length available with the Crew Cab Pro-4X trim level is 67.0 inches, which limits its utility for bigger tasks, like comfortably hauling a full-size motorcycle or full sheets of plywood without a bed extender or other add-on. I like a 6.5-foot bed (or longer), because at my height (six feet, two inches), that’s the shortest bed I can comfortably sleep in – and if you own a pickup truck, at some point, you’re going to sleep in it. Pro-4X has a maximum payload of 1,680 lbs. I didn’t have the opportunity to tow with the Titan Pro-4X, which has a maximum towing capacity of 9,210 lbs. It does come with standard Trailer Sway Control (a must) and a trailer brake control and light function check are available.

Since the merits of the Titan clearly outweigh the demerits, there must be other factors that are suppressing sales. Could one be price? A base 2020 Titan King Cab S 4x2 starts at $36,190 – higher than the base price for any of its competitors, by several thousand dollars. While it is easy to load up a modern pickup truck to price levels that boggle the mind, the starting point is probably a factor when it comes to attracting initial interest. The higher point of entry works against Titan – even though it is unavoidable, given the single engine option.

My 2020 Titan Pro-4X Crew Cab 4x4 had a base price of $49,790 ($60,180 as tested). I really liked this truck, and I would suggest that new truck buyers take a look and a drive before defaulting to one of the more popular brands.