2006 Nissan Titan Pickup Reviews & Ratings

Inside, the Nissan Titan feels spacious yet snug at the same time. It's roomy when measured in cubic feet, but it's also organized, with handy storage bins and spaces to tuck stuff away.

Two interior configurations are available. Standard on XE is a front bench seat with column shifter to accommodate up to six passengers. SE and LE come with two front bucket seats (captain's chairs) and a gated floor shifter in a large center console. You can get the bench seat as a credit option upholstered in premium cloth in SE and in leather in LE.

The leather upholstery in the LE models is sporty, attractive and quite pleasing. The rear seats in the LE are covered in matching vinyl that most people will assume is leather. It's a good sleight of hand.

The bucket seats are firm and comfortable. The seat bottoms are relatively flat, making it easy to slide in and out, yet they offer good support and feel like they'd be comfortable on cross-country trips. We find them more comfortable than the cushy seats in the GM trucks or those we've seen in the new Ford F-150, which could use more side support. The Titan LE driver's seat and passenger's seat are power adjustable, with memory on the driver's side. Seat heaters are available.

The King Cab has 60/40 flip-up rear seats, and the nearly flat floor beneath makes loading and toting a wide mix of people and things a breeze. Three people can ride in the back seat, enjoying lots of legroom and headroom, but the upright seatbacks make anything longer than a trip to the restaurant or store feel like a journey. Bottle holders are provided in the rear doors for back-seat riders. Flip up the rear seat bottoms and the King Cab can carry a 160-pound dog in comfort. (We did this.) Hooks provided on the seat bottoms are useful for hanging grocery bags, tote bags, or gear bags so their contents don't end up scattered around the floor. The seatbacks also fold down, adding another cargo-carrying option. Add the benefits of the wide-opening rear doors and the King Cab offers real flexibility.

The Crew Cab is roomy and comfortable whether sitting in the front or rear seats. The Crew Cab offers more front legroom and rear legroom than most other full-size half-ton pickups. The rear seat is large and relaxing, with a full 24 degrees of seatback angle. The rear seats are split 60/40 with bottoms that flip up, revealing much more interior cargo space than what's available in the King Cab. The fold-up seat bottoms leave more usable space available than fold-and-tumble designs. Ample storage is available in the rear compartment, including door storage bins and rear door bottle holders in the armrests.

Titan's interior is smart in function and in looks. Large knobs, handles and grips are easy to operate, even when wearing heavy work gloves. Big knobs are used for the manual heating and air conditioning controls.

The top-line Rockford Fosgate audio system has a big volume knob and large station buttons that can be set simply by holding them down for a couple of seconds. Secondary audio functions are easy to access and operate. An auxiliary input is provided on the dash for plugging in an Apple iPod or other MP3 player.

Thoughtfulness in the design is evident everywhere, inside and out, making the Titan a singularly useful truck. The lid on the center console is flat, so you can set a clipboard there without having it slide off; the lid is indented and lined with rubber for small items. The center console on bench seat models is large enough to accommodate laptops. The center console in bucket seat models is designed to hold DVDs and CDs. Well-designed cup holders provide welcome homes for sleeved grande cappuccinos. Decent-size coat hooks are easily accessed for hanging a coat or a load of dry cleaning. The glove box is large, with a damped lid that doesn't slam open. Battery power points are provided for charging laptops.

An available overhead console offers several storage compartments, including a sunglasses holder large enough to hold those big Ray Bans that won't fit anywhere else. Adjustable pedals are standard on LE to help ensure a perfect driving position, and are especially useful in moving smaller drivers away from the airbag-equipped steering wheel.

The navigation system features a bright screen with two views of the world, and it's easier than most to operate. The system integrates some of the audio functions where appropriate and indicates the status of the air conditioning, but avoids integrating climate functions, so you can quickly turn down the fan speed, without having to call up a menu.

Rear park assist, which comes with the navigation system, is a great aid when parallel parking; the system sounds a beeping tone that increases in frequency as the rear bumper approaches an object, such as a parked car, a short metal pole or a child on a tricycle.

Driving the Nissan Titan is a pleasure. For starters, it offers brilliant throttle response. Its powertrain is perhaps the most responsive among the full-size pickups with comparable engines. The Titan always feels alert and wide awake, like it started the morning with a double espresso. The V8 delivers quick acceleration performance whether launching off the line or pulling a quick pass at speed. It isn't a whisper quiet engine, but has a deep exhaust note that sounds pleasing when accelerating.

The five-speed automatic is equally responsive, quickly downshifting whenever needed. With five gears to choose from, it can always find an appropriate ratio for smooth, rather than abrupt, downshifts. The transmission features a Tow/Haul mode to reduce unnecessary shifting and heat buildup.

Nissan's 5.6-liter V8 produces 300 horsepower. Doubly welcome is the well-shaped torque curve with a peak of 379 pound-feet. The Titan's engine delivers 90 percent of that peak torque across a wide band down to low rpm. Torque, that force that propels you from intersections and pulls heavy trailers up long grades, is particularly important when towing and hauling.

Nissan's Endurance V8 is a modern design with double overhead-cams and 32 valves designed to balance performance and fuel economy. Titan 2WD gets EPA ratings of 14/19 mpg City/Highway, while Titan 4WD models are rated 14/18 mpg. Regular unleaded is recommended.

Towing capacity is 9,500 pounds, which is more often seen in heavy-duty 3/4-ton trucks, not light-duty 1/2-ton trucks like the Titan.

Handling is quick and agile. It's easy to drive the Titan smoothly or quickly or both at the same time. Ride quality is good in most situations, though we found a rippled, well-traveled section of I-405 in Los Angeles that generated an uncomfortable harmonic in a 4WD model. A 2WD Crew Cab we drove seemed to offer a better ride.

Braking is accomplished with four-wheel disc brakes. It's easy to modulate the brakes for smooth stops in everyday driving. Anti-lock brakes come standard with electronic brake-force distribution and Brake Assist. (ABS helps the driver maintain steering control in a skid. EBD improves balance and stopping power by apportioning the braking force to whichever tires are getting the best grip. Brake Assist helps ensure full braking potential in a panic stop.)

4x4 models offer a shift-on-the-fly four-wheel-drive system with an electronically controlled part-time transfer case. Simply turn a knob to shift from two-wheel drive to four-wheel drive. This can be done while driving. At very low speeds, almost a full stop, push in the knob and turn it to shift into low range. The low creeper gear keeps steep descents in the comfort zone. An off-road package includes an electronically activated locking rear differential to help the Titan slog through the toughest conditions.

The Nissan Titan is available in two body styles: an extended King Cab with auxiliary rear doors and a 6-foot, 7-inch bed; and a Crew Cab with a larger cabin, four conventional doors and a 5-foot, 7-inch bed. All Titans are powered by Nissan's 5.6-liter V8 and five-speed automatic. All models are available in 2WD and 4WD. All are offered with flexible-fuel engines (FFV) for no additional cost.

Three trim levels are available: XE, SE, and LE. All come with a high level of standard equipment including a tire-pressure monitor, cruise control, tilt steering and a CD stereo.

The XE 2WD King Cab ($23,250) comes with wind-up windows, manual door locks, cloth upholstery, a split front bench seat that has a fold-down armrest storage bin, a split pop-up rear seat, and 17-inch steel wheels.

The SE King Cab ($25,400) adds captain's chairs with a better grade of cloth, 18-inch aluminum wheels, power everything, and host of other features, including an audio package that can play MP3-formatted CDs. A Popular Package for the SE adds many of the LE's luxury features, but not its leather upholstery, and is available with the Rockford-Fosgate stereo ($1,750).

King Cab LE ($30,200) gets leather seats in front, Rockford-Fosgate audio, fog lights, power adjustable pedals, tubular running boards and all the trick bed features described above. A DVD-based navigation system ($1,800) is optional.

Crew Cab 2WD models include the XE ($26,100), SE ($27,900), and LE ($32,700). Front bench seats are available as a credit option on SE and LE. Crew Cab 4WD models are available in XE ($29,300), SE ($31,100), and LE ($35,750) trim.

Options include a Utility Bed Package with a clever channel system in the bed for flexible tie-down configurations to fit a wide range of cargo; a lockable storage system in the outside of the bed; tailgate lighting; a power point at the rear; and the factory-applied spray-in bedliner.

An off-road package for 4WD models consists of a unique lower-ratio Dana axle, switch-on-demand electronically activated locking rear differential, Rancho performance gas shock absorbers, large all-terrain tires, fog lights, and skid plates for the radiator, oil pan and transfer case. The Trac Package ($300) adds the locking differential to a 2WD XE or SE.

All models can be equipped with XM Satellite Radio ($350). SE and LE Crew Cabs are available with DVD entertainment ($1450); LE Crew Cabs can be ordered with a sunroof ($900).

The Texas Titan package ($2,500), new for 2006, includes 18-inch chrome wheels, chrome step rails, fog lamps, factory spray-on bed liner, special finish dash accents, floor mats with the Texas Star, and a Texas Titan badge.

Safety features include optional front-seat side-impact air bags for torso protection and curtain air bags for head protection ($850). Standard safety features on the 2006 Titan include dual-stage front air bags with seat belt sensors and a front-passenger occupant classification sensor. Titan's front seat belts feature pretensioners and load limiters, adjustable upper anchors; seat belts are your most important line of defense in a crash, so be sure to wear them. In the rear are three-point outboard passenger seat belts and the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tether for CHildren) child seat anchor system. Active front head restraints come standard on all models. VDC electronic stability control is available ($1,200), which helps the driver maintain control by reducing or eliminating skidding in corners.