With the new Titan XD, Nissan created a class in-between the light-duty and heavy-duty delineations we’re most familiar with. How? By building a truck with a light-duty size on a heavy-duty frame and equipped with a heavy-duty engine. The Titan XD has a curb weight of 5,600 to 7,300 pounds depending upon configurations and options. It’s been a long time coming for Nissan; it hasn’t had any major design change in the Titan since 2003.
The 2016 SL Diesel (reviewed in the video below by Auto Academics) can tow up to 12,300 lbs. The Cummins 5.0L V-8 Turbo Diesel engine yields an impressive 310-hp and 555 lb-ft. of torque. It also includes an integrated good neck hitch. When not towing anything, the reviewer got 17 MPG and reported that when going at slower speeds, the gear shifting is somewhat abrupt.
The first video provides a good run-through of the Titan XDs specs, and in particular, the interior options. It has some well-thought-out features (and others that aren’t so great, like the magnified mirrors). But an easy way for checking your trailer’s lights from the key-fob? I’ll take it (see minute 9:20 in the second video).
The second video illustrates the Nissan Titan XD's capability for towing at max capacity up the steepest high grade in the U.S. The Fast Lane Truck guys took both the diesel and gas engine version up the Ike Gauntlet – an 8-mile stretch of highway that runs from Dillon, Colo., to the Eisenhower Tunnel at 7% grade. They pulled a 20-ft. cargo trailer filled to max capacity to see which won – the diesel or gas. The results may surprise you. Both trucks averaged about 3 MPG during the task.
