2016 Nissan Titan XD - Your Questions, Nissan's Answers With Brent Hagan

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

You have questions. Brent Hagan has answers. Here is what you wanted to know about the next-generation Nissan Titan, now in XD flavor.

Hit the jump and keep refreshing until we’re done. We are going to pick off the questions one at a time, updating the post as we go.

Q: Will you report EPA fuel economy for Titan XD even though you don’t have to?

Our plan is not to publish any EPA-like number since there is no EPA standard for vehicles above 8,500 pounds. We don’t want there to be an opportunity for confusion on what we’re releasing and we believe the media will do an excellent job of reporting apples-to-apples fuel economy performance of our new truck.

Q: Is it really a 3/4-ton replacement when it only out tows the F150 and Silverado by 300-500 lbs?

We are not trying to replace 3/4-ton pickups with Titan XD. We have identified customers who’ve stated 3/4-ton pickups are too much for them but half-ton pickups are not quite enough. In speaking to customers, we found that towing performance is more than just a number and that those numbers can be misleading. We feel confident that any customer who puts 12,000 pounds behind Titan XD will see a significant difference in the towing experience compared to its half-ton competitors.

Q: Where is the non-XD version of Titan?

Thanks for noticing there will be another Titan! Hold tight. It’s coming soon. You’ll see it in 2016.

Q: What durability testing was done on the platform?

We have spent years and years testing the durability of Titan XD. Additionally, we’ve leveraged knowledge and components from our commercial vehicles. You can find out a lot more by visiting the Nissan YouTube page and watching our Truckumentary series.

Q: Is the platform the same as the NV cargo van?

The Titan XD platform is not a direct copy of the NV commercial van chassis. However, there are some shared components and we’ve leveraged our learnings with NV to build Titan XD.

Q: As an important industry insider, what’s your guess for the mystery panel-gap car the other day?

Are you sure that didn’t come from a collision repair shop?! Haha!

But seriously, new car designs today are more complex than they’ve ever been and more difficult to manufacture.

Q: What did Nissan do to add structural rigidity to the bed?

The Titan XD has an all new, unique fully-boxed ladder frame. As I stated earlier, the towing experience will be different for Titan XD and the frame is a significant contributor to that experience. When towing 12,000 pounds, you want a stiff and stable platform. The result is going to be a bed that’s tough, durable and secure on a very rigid backbone.

Q: Are there any plans to reduce XD’s weight in order to increase its towing and payload numbers?

For all of our vehicles, we continuously strive to reduce weight to improve efficiency and increase capability. For Titan XD, our priority was to engineer the toughest, strongest truck but also have excellent efficiency. That’s why we partnered with Cummins who has an excellent reputation for durability and efficiency.

Q: What does Titan XD offer that a RAM EcoDiesel doesn’t?

We feel that the customers for those two trucks are very different. The Titan XD customer is going to be a heavy-use customer who’s looking for very high capability and would frequently tow 9,000-plus pounds.

Q: Why would I buy Titan XD over the Ford F-150, aside from greater stability when towing heavy loads?

I wouldn’t brush off the stability aspect because, we think, it’s an important part of the XD concept. It’s not just about towing. It’s about being surefooted in all situations: heavy payload, towing, and everyday driving. Additionally, the Titan XD offers a ton of utility and thoughtful storage features, such as our Utiliti-Track system, our new Titan Box system and innovative trailer light check function. And, in case you haven’t heard, it’s available with a legendary Cummins turbo diesel, too!

Q: Why does Titan XD weigh as much as it does?

As I mentioned previously, one our highest priorities was tough and durable components. Additionally, when towing 12,000-plus pounds, the vehicle mass will actually help its stability.

Q: Will the 5-liter Cummins turbodiesel V-8 have a regeneration cycle similar to the Ram EcoDiesel? If so, does the truck provide indication when it is in a re-gen cycle so the driver knows not to shut it off?

We do have a diesel particulate filter system that will require a “regen” cycle and we do alert the customer with a notification on the meter of active regen. We do not prevent or discourage a customer from turning off the vehicle during that cycle.

We’ve run out of time to answer more questions, but we will do this again at other events — hopefully in a more live, interactive environment — at a later date.

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

More by Mark Stevenson

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 41 comments
  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Dec 03, 2015

    That wasn't much different than listening to a politician. My big concern was and still is GCWR. Low cargo ratings mean the truck has little legally left over for passengers and gear. If he says that this truck was designed to tow heavy a large portion of the time then one would be better served with a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck. 3/4 ton diesel trucks have a 3k cargo rating and a 14-17k tow rating so there would be plenty of built in "overcapacity". Brent Hagan's answers just reaffirm my belief that this truck's "tweener" mission is going to consign it to niche status. Someone had to appeal to those drivers of brown diesel manual transmission station wagons .

    • See 1 previous
    • Big Al from Oz Big Al from Oz on Dec 04, 2015

      Drzhivago138, Your comment that the figures that constantly concern Lou regarding load and tow were more significant 30 years ago for several reasons. 1. More pickups were used as working vehicles. 2. Pickups of 30 years ago didn't have the capability of todays pickups 3. Because pickups are becoming more and more a daily driver, car, CUV/SUV I do believe that people will want a greater range of pickups to choose from, like cars and CUVs/SUVs. Just because the Titan doesn't fit into what the Big Three produce doesn't mean this pickup is of less capability or less refined. Why does a pickup have to fit into a certain bracket or classification has me wondering how well the Big Three have created this image of what a pickup is. The Titan is a huge 1/2 ton or a very light HD. It's a XD Titan, not a F-250 or Ram or otherwise. Lou's concern regarding load and tow is quite baseless. As the vehicle will tow the weight easily. Put 10 000lbs behind the vehicle and this still leaves you with 1 000lbs for the husband, wife and 1.8 kids. The all up weight would be 500lbs of humans. This leaves 500lbs for fuel and a packed lunch.

  • Scoutdude Scoutdude on Dec 03, 2015

    You have to wonder if they'll have some teething problems with adding the outsourced engine, looks like they still have at least one problem to figure out based on this picture. http://i0.wp.com/hooniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/titan-engine-720x720.jpg?resize=720%2C720

  • MRF 95 T-Bird I don’t think even Hoovie would buy this. “I found the cheapest Passat VR6 Syncro wagon” “and passed on it..”
  • ToolGuy New vehicle buyers are suckers and are easily manipulated.
  • ToolGuy If they really do "thin and light" I will be impressed.
  • Jeff "Honda said it would introduce seven new 0 Series vehicles by 2030, with the first models scheduled to reach the market in 2026." My take on this is the earliest these would be on the market is 2026 If then. I think Honda is going to drag their feet on this and 2030 is a more likely date. Honda is probably going to wait and see what the competition does before they do anything.
  • ToolGuy It is called a vehicle assembly plant. The parts come from all over. This part came from a supplier in Mexico, and they had a spill. There are lots of ways to mess up a part. One would think that people interested in cars would eventually pick up on this sort of thing, but I probably expect too much. Carry on.
Next