On or off the highway, Nissan Pickups are pleasant to drive. The power steering combines low effort with good feel, the ride is firm but not unpleasant (better with a load in the bed than when empty, and somewhat bouncy off-road), and handling is typical for pickups. The wide turning circle of 4WD models does require some adjustment for drivers that are unfamiliar with that breed.
All-day trips in a compact pickup can be tiring, but we found our test truck relatively comfortable. In this regard, the Nissans come closer than most small trucks to being acceptable. They are, of course, equipment-sensitive: You will want the bucket seats if you?re required to spend much time inside. A good sound system - such as the AM/FM stereo with cassette player supplied with our test SE - helps, too.
Other, more practical matters to consider when choosing a Nissan are construction details. Long Bed and 4WD models have additional reinforcement for their steel ladder-type chassis, a good feature to have in times of heavy loading or off-road stress. All Nissan Pickup beds are double-walled for strength, and the top-of-the-line SE V6 4x4s have standard plastic bedliners.
And even with 800 lb. of sandbags tucked down in its bed, our test truck hauled along cheerfully.