2016 Nissan Titan

Specifically, the Titan Crew Cab is built on a 139.8-inch wheelbase and is 228.1 inches long, 77.2 inches tall, 79.5 inches wide. The Titan XD Crew Cab is built on a 151.6-inch wheelbase and is 242.7 inches long, 78.0 inches tall, 79.5 inches wide.

The Titan's styling makes it look smaller than its actual dimensions, so it's easy to think of it being smaller than the Fords, GMs and Dodges until it's parked alongside of one of them. Then, it seems to grow in size, slightly exceeding the other trucks in actual dimensions.

For example, a comparable Ram 2500 crew cab with a 6-foot-4 bed rides on a 149.5-inch wheelbase and measures 237.4 inches overall, 73.7 inches tall for 4x2, 77.7 inches for 4x4, 79.1 inches wide. Silverado 2500 Crew Cab with 6-foot-6 box is on a 153.7-inch wheelbase, stretches 239.4 inches in length 78.3 inches tall, and 80.5 inches wide.

The Cummins 5.0-liter V-8 emits a pleasant rumble at idle, felt as a purr from the cab. From outside, a diesel clatter can almost be heard, a confident, satisfying sound, but not loud like the 5.9-liter Cummins inline-6 in early Rams. The 5.0-liter Cummins is smaller than the diesel engines in the heavy-duty pickups, but larger and more powerful than the light-duty diesels. Underway, the diesel feels smooth and sophisticated and responds to the pedal with strong torque. A clever two-stage turbocharger readies it for quick acceleration or effortless cruising with no lag, which makes it an enjoyable driving companion.

The Cummins 5.0-liter V-8 turbodiesel is rated at 310 horsepower at 3,200 rpm and 555 pound-feet of torque at 1,600 rpm.

Compare those figures to 2016 crew cab models with 6.5-inch beds from Chevrolet, Ford, and Ram, all using the receiver hitch: The GM Duramax 6.6-liter V-8 turbodiesel that comes on the Chevy Silverado 2500 is rated 397 hp and 765 lb-ft of torque and comes with the brilliant Allison 6-speed automatic; trailer capacity for a crew cab with 6.5-foot bed is 13,000 pounds. Ford's 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 turbodiesel is rated 440 hp and 860 lb-ft of torque and is paired with a 6-speed automatic; the Ford F-250 Super Duty Crew Cab has a towing capacity of 14,000 pounds. The Ram 2500's 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel, an inline-6, is rated 370 hp and 800 lb-ft of torque, with a 6-speed automatic, for a towing capacity of 17,210 pounds.

Between the two Titan XD engines, the diesel seems the more compelling choice. Towing is the best reason to opt for an XD over a regular Titan, and the diesel is the better choice for towing. A Titan XD V-8 gas-powered pickup may make sense for snow-plow operation or perhaps construction work where heavy hauling is needed. The gas V-8 may be a bit more fun to drive on an everyday basis, but if that's the goal, then a regular Titan with the V-8 would seem to be the ticket.

By heavy-duty standards, the Titan XD steers and handles nicely. It steers more accurately and more responsively than other heavy-duty pickups, feeling much less truck-like than they do. It's very stable at higher speeds and does not require small steering corrections on the highway, and there's no dead spot in the center of the steering.

The Titan XD diesel is rated to tow up to 12,314 pounds, so it can comfortably handle the large number of trailers that fall in the 8,000- to 9,000-pound range.

The Titan XD's payload max is 2,000 pounds with the diesel, 2,594 pounds with the 5.6-liter V-8. A transmission cooler for the heavy-duty 7-speed automatic comes standard. XDs get their own chassis reinforcements to handle the extended-duty cycle. A reinforced front suspension and leaf-spring rear end, and twin-tube rear shocks are coupled with an American Axle differential with an available electronic locking rear differential. Hydraulic cab mounts like the new F-150 are factored in for better ride isolation, and the Titan comes with a choice of 17-, 18-, and 20-inch wheel and tire kits. Brakes are four-wheel discs, but steering remains a recirculating-ball setup.

The Titan XD handles payloads well. Using a Titan XD V-8, we hauled an 850-pound load of gravel neatly packaged in a square bundle on a pallet, secured with tie-downs attached to the utility track system. This with three of us in the truck amounted to a payload of more than 1,400 pounds over more than 100 miles of winding roads and highways. Acceleration was slowed, the transmission sometimes reluctant to downshift, and braking and turning for intersections called for a little more care and smoothness, but overall it was easy to forget the heavy load was back there and we were reminded only when we stopped, walked past the bed and saw it.

The four-wheel ventilated disc brakes on the Titan XD are indeed substantially larger than those on the light-duty pickups and we found them strong and reassuring yet precise.

In back-to-back driving in a Titan XD and Ram 1500 Ecodiesel V-6, the Ram felt smoother and more refined, while the Titan felt more prepared to go off road or pull a heavy trailer. Tow ratings for the Titan XD range from 10,608 to 12,314 pounds.

The heavy-duty pickups will bring a bit more stability to the towing effort, but the Titan XD should be quite stable with a 10,000-pound trailer, much more so than the light-duty pickups, and better able to handle tongue weight from a poorly balanced trailer. It comes with a trailer sway control system.

And it's taller than most of the other trucks, by 1 to 3 inches. Climbing into the Titan XD takes effort, especially if running boards are not used. Step-in height is a couple of inches higher than that of a Ram 1500, but it feels like a mile. From the driver's seat, the Titan hood seems higher than that of other trucks. Two- and four-wheel-drive Titan XD models are the same height, barring tire differences.

Inside, the Zero Gravity front seats are supportive and comfortable and covered in handsome leather that is pleasing to the touch, in the case of the Titan XD Platinum Reserve. Seats and steering wheel are power-adjustable.

A column shifter is used for the heavy-duty 7-speed automatic, preferable to a space-hogging floor shifter. A rotary dial is used to switch among rear-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, and low range, if so equipped.

The center console is big enough to hold a laptop. The navigation screen is on the small side but the rearview camera works well. A driver information center appears in the instrument cluster but can initially be challenging to figure out.

The crew cab's back seats are nearly as comfortable as the front, with plenty of head room, leg room, knee room and hip room. A storage compartment under the second row is provided along with a fold-out flat floor for cargo. That flat floor is relatively high for ingress and egress of all but the most athletic of dogs, however.

A utility-track system is available for the bed and bedsides that works very well for securing cargo, complete with movable cleats tie-downs. Also available are watertight locking storage boxes in the bed accessible without removing a cover. The tailgate is damped and lowers easily instead of slamming down with a thud and it closes easily with one hand, thanks to a strut behind the right-rear taillight assembly. Lights mounted low in the bed illuminate the bed contents, even when a cover is installed.

For towing, the Titan XD comes with a built-in gooseneck tow hitch structure that allows converting from receiver hitch to gooseneck in less than three minutes. The gooseneck hitch can be quickly removed as stowed returning the bed to a smooth cargo floor. Gooseneck hitches dramatically reduce trailer sway and improve maneuverability by putting the attachment point for the hitch ahead of the rear axle.

We expect much better crash-test performance from the new Titan; the current one hasn't been subject to the latest small-overlap crash test implemented by the IIHS over the past couple of years.

The Titan XD offers good outward vision; its towing mirrors are small but effective for towing. They can be extended manually, by standing outside the truck and yanking on them, neither as convenient nor as effective as the big, power-extendable mirrors on the Ford Super Duty. The surround-view camera compensates to maintain the same view whether the mirrors are extended.

The best surprise-and-delight feature for Titan XD owners who tow trailers is the trailer-light check: Walk to the rear of the truck with the remote key fob, press the lock button three times, holding it down on the third press, and the truck walks the owner through a check of all the lighting, flashing each turn signal, the brake lights and the running lights of trailer and truck. This is extremely useful when no one is around to help and beats the various tricks experienced towers use to check brake-light and turn-signal operation. And, of course, it's safer than giving up on the process and hoping all the trailer lights work, since they often do not.

Options include LED headlamps, LED bedrail lighting; a damped tailgate; a bed-mounted power point; a Rockford Fosgate audio system; remote start; and a spray-in bedliner. A navigation system with smartphone connectivity is available. Running boards are available and most will want them to get in and out: As it is, when climbing in and out images of the Hillary Step come to mind.

We haven't had a long enough sample in the 5.6-liter V-8 to draw a meaningful conclusion. We'll update this space when we do.