2021 Nissan Titan Pros vs Cons

The 2021 Nissan Titan is a full-size truck with a powerful engine and a cozy interior. This pickup truck is available in two body styles. There's a King Cab with two doors and a Crew Cab version with four doors. This is a capable and reliable truck that can haul and tow with the best of them. It's well suited as a work truck or as a daily driver. The latest Titan will face off against some stiff competition in the crowded market of full-size trucks.

What's New for 2021?

Nissan's Titan received some significant upgrades for 2020. This included new safety features and driver-assist technology. The engine got a performance boost with a few more horses under the hood. All of these additions will be carried over to the 2021 models. There are no major new additions specifically for the 2021 trucks.

Ten Reasons You May Like the 2021 Nissan Titan – The Pros

1. A Smooth and Powerful Engine

Every Nissan Titan comes equipped with a 5.6-liter, 32-valve, DOHC V8 engine. This power plant can crank out 400 horsepower. It also produces a best-in-class 413 pound-feet of torque. You will get plenty of power and torque for hauling a load, towing and even engaging in some off-road fun. The Nissan V8 is also a smooth-operating engine that helps to give the Titan refined road manners. There's no annoying vibrations or extreme loud noises to be found from this big V8.

2. Hauling and Towing Capabilities

The Nissan Titan is a capable truck that offers impressive hauling and towing capacities. It can tow up to 9,400 pounds when properly equipped. Taking a boat or trailer along for the ride is never an issue. The truck bed can be loaded down with up to 1,610 pounds of cargo. For serious work or just an occasional job, the Nissan Titan can get it done.

3. Good Off-Road Performance

The Nissan Titan provides pretty good off-road capabilities. For the best off-road performance, Nissan offers its Pro-4X package. This gets you exceptional ground clearance and a set of big all-terrain tires. Steel skid plates add some protective armor to the truck's underside. The suspension system gets some upgrades for the Pro-4X models. This includes a set of heavy-duty shocks from Bilstein.

4. The Quiet and Comfortable Interior

Nissan has done a great job at sound proofing the cabin for the 2021 Titan. The smooth-running engine doesn't make much noise from vibrations to begin with, but even the road noise is mitigated here. The front seats in the Titan are especially nice. Nissan calls them Zero Gravity seats. They are meant to simulate weightlessness for the ultimate in comfort. The Titan's interior is one of the things that sets it above the competition.

5. A Rugged and Attractive Exterior

The Nissan Titan offers an attractive exterior. It's a rugged and handsome truck that looks equally great on a worksite or at the office. It has a classic design that many automakers are unfortunately starting to move away from. The Titan offers LED headlights, taillights and fog lamps. You can get 18- or 20-inch aluminum-alloy wheels in a number of different styles and colors.

6. Modern, High-Tech Features

Nissan provides a ton of standard features for their latest Titan. One of the modern, high-tech features is the infotainment system. You can get an 8-inch touchscreen display and premium sound system from Fender. This includes 12 speakers and a subwoofer. The system has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. There are numerous ways to connect your smartphone for hands-free calling and streaming your favorite music. Bluetooth technology is on board here. The system also offer voice-commands technology.

7. In-Cab Storage Space

There are plenty of cup holders, pockets and small-item storage spaces throughout the cabin. There's a glove box with ample room. One of the unique features here, though, is an extra hidden storage space beneath the rear seats. The rear seats can be folded up to reveal a locking safe. It's great for things you want to store away from any prying eyes. It's a nice extra feature that you don't always see on trucks in this class.

8. Plenty of Room for Passengers

The 2021 Nissan Titan offers plenty of room for up to five or six people. This depends on the body style you choose with the Crew Cab giving you one extra seat. There is plenty of room at every seat for you to get comfortable in. Head, leg and elbow room are all good here even in those rear seats.

9. One of the Best Warranties Available

Nissan offers one of the best warranty packages available today. It outclasses the warranty of nearly every other full-size truck on the market. This is a bumper-to-bumper warranty that's good for up to five years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. The powertrain, frame, suspension system and more are all covered here.

10. Safety Features and Test Scores

The NHTSA gives the 2021 Nissan Titan a score of four out of five stars in its crash-test ratings. The Titan has a robust, advanced airbag system. There's a Lane Departure Warning, Tire-Pressure Monitor and Blind-Spot Warning available here. The Titan also offers a Rear-View Camera, a front-and-rear Sonar System and Rear Automatic Braking. Last of all, there's a standard security system for theft prevention.

Reasons You May Not Like the 2021 Nissan Titan – The Cons

1. The Limited Choices

When it comes to trucks, automakers normally give buyers endless choices for customization. People want trucks for a variety of different reasons. Most of them can be configured for your specific needs before you pull the trigger on a purchase. The choices are pretty sparse for the 2021 Nissan Titan. There is only one powertrain available. It only comes in two body styles and five trim levels. There are just way fewer options here than what many competitors offer.

2. Boring Interior Style

The interior is super comfortable. It's quiet and spacious. Unfortunately, it's also kind of boring. It is in many ways quite basic and old fashioned. Even with numerous upgrades to the style of the Titan in 2020, Nissan left the interior mostly as is. It's not that it's bad, it just seems like the interior you would find on a truck from the 90s.

3. Poor Fuel Economy

Most trucks suffer in this category to some degree. Sadly, the 2021 Nissan Titan is even worse than many of its competitors when it comes to fuel efficiency. The big V8 engine is a thirsty one. You will barely get 16 miles-per-gallon in the city and 21 miles-per-gallon on the highway with this latest Nissan Titan.

How It Stacks Up to the Competition:

2021 Nissan Titan vs 2021 Ford F-150

Ford's F-150 has been the best-selling full-size truck in North America for over a decade now. This is for good reason. It's an attractive truck with impressive capabilities. The F-150 and Titan are both similarly priced. With the right trim level and powertrain, you can get an F-150 that tows and hauls more than what the Titan can handle. That's not to say that the Titan is weak in those categories, it just falls a bit short of the number-one truck in America.

Where the Nissan Titan really shines is on the inside. The interior and ride quality surpass what the F-150 has to offer. The Titan provides a smoother ride and a quieter cabin. There's more room for passengers to ride comfortably inside of the Titan too. Overall, the Nissan Titan strikes a better balance between utility, ride comfort and convenience features. It's a more well-rounded vehicle.

2021 Nissan Titan vs 2021 Ram 1500

The Ram 1500 is another popular pickup truck in the same class as the Nissan Titan. It offers a lower base price and a wider array of powertrain options. Its most powerful engine, a V8 HEMI, can produce around 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque. This falls a bit short of the Nissan Titan's 400 horses and 413 pound-feet of torque. The Titan has higher towing and hauling capacities as well. The Ram offers slightly better fuel efficiency.

The Nissan Titan once again comes out on top when comparing the interior quality of these two trucks. The Titan front seats are truly special in this class and add a lot to the comfortable ride quality. It's quieter on the inside of the Titan, and the suspension system gives you a smoother ride. Nissan also provides a better warranty than what Ram has to offer. With better performance and comfort, the Nissan Titan is the clear winner here.

Conclusion

Full-size trucks are a popular vehicle on U.S. roads. They appeal to a wide variety of people. Trucks offer a lot of utility and functionality for work purposes. This can be for a single entrepreneur or a company that needs a fleet of vehicles. Trucks offer off-road capabilities for fun or necessity. They can also simply be reliable family transportation that can also haul the occasional load or pull along a trailer or boat for vacations.

This a packed vehicle class with tough competition from American-industry giants like Ford, Ram and Chevy. The Nissan Titan, however, more than holds its own in every category that you can measure a truck's success by. It may not be the best at pulling the heaviest of loads, but it strikes a great balance between capabilities and comfort. It offers one of the most comfortable interiors in its class.