Nissan News: Nissan Titan XD Loses Diesel and Single Cab

[Drew Dowdell]

A little over a week ago we told you that Nissan was going to start cutting parts of its model lineup.  Some of the low hanging fruit for Nissan are the variants of the Nissan Titan. Nissan Titan sales are down 22.6 percent, selling only 18,026 copies in the first half of 2019.

The biggest news is that Nissan will be killing off the Cummins diesel option for the Titan XD. The 5 liter turbocharged  V8 produces 310 horsepower and 555 lb-ft of torque.  For 2020, the Titan XD will be powered solely by the 5.6 liter gasoline V8 unless Nissan has a card up their sleeve to offer something else.

Also going away will be the standard cab variants of the Titan and Titan XD, leaving just the extended cab and crew cab in the lineup.

For 2020, the truck will be receiving a light refresh. The exterior is getting a face lift and the interior is lightly updated plus gaining a new infotainment system with a larger screen. 

We reviewed the 2016 Nissan Titan XD with the Cummins diesel back in May 2016 and came away impressed but confused by its place in the market. Take a read to find out why. 

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[ccap41]

It would be pretty awesome if Ram could steal that engine and have either an entry level diesel in their HD or a premium engine in their 1500. 

[Drew Dowdell]

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

It would be pretty awesome if Ram could steal that engine and have either an entry level diesel in their HD or a premium engine in their 1500. 

The diesel was originally designed for Ram in the first place.   The problem is, it tends to be thirsty in the Titan XD, but part of that could just be because the Titan XD weighs so much relative to other trucks its size and capability. 

[ccap41]

2 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

The diesel was originally designed for Ram in the first place.   The problem is, it tends to be thirsty in the Titan XD, but part of that could just be because the Titan XD weighs so much relative to other trucks its size and capability. 

Exactly! It's got a home waiting for it over at Ram..

Thirsty but it also isn't the tiny diesels like the 3.0's. This one could do serious work and still get adequate fuel economy. 

Edited August 7, 2019 by ccap41

[riviera74]

Neither Nissan nor Toyota have a place in the truck market.  Maybe Nissan will wisely leave the truck space here for the domestics.

[regfootball]

A friend of mine purchased a titan diesel when they came out and negotiated a return the next day when he found out the diesel wasn’t compatible with the oft mandated biodiesel specs some states are pushing.  Nissan May or may not have reengineered things to correct those faults. So the diesel got off on the wrong foot to begin with. 

The other problem titan is having is the truck shakes / shimmies badly due to chassis design. And it’s evidently a problem tough to fix and a lot of owners have returned their trucks because of it. 

[Drew Dowdell]

4 minutes ago, regfootball said:

A friend of mine purchased a titan diesel when they came out and negotiated a return the next day when he found out the diesel wasn’t compatible with the oft mandated biodiesel specs some states are pushing.  Nissan May or may not have reengineered things to correct those faults. So the diesel got off on the wrong foot to begin with. 

That would have been Cummins' job. 

[Miradart]

Not wanting to nitpick, but: "Also going away will be the standard cab variants of the Titan and Titan XD, leaving just the standard cab and quad cab in the lineup."
 

Is the standard cab in or out?  Did you mean Single cab?  And what is their 'standard' cab configuration?  I'm so confoozed!  

Sad to see their Cummins engine go though.  I thought that was the one thing that could help them break out in the market.  Now, they're just another truck company with an oversized payload capacity for what people actually use, and a thirsty gas engine to move it.

As FCA already has their own in-house diesel for the Ram and Jeep, I can't see them doing anything with this Cummins.

 

[G. David Felt]

No surprise here, the two base cab designs will keep things going but I could see them just kill this in 2 to 3 years depending on their contract obligations.

[riviera74]

5 hours ago, dfelt said:

No surprise here, the two base cab designs will keep things going but I could see them just hill this in 2 to 3 years depending on their contract obligations.

Again, why does Nissan build trucks nobody is willing to buy?  Especially when the Silverado/Sierra twins beckon . . . . .

[balthazar]

^ ??

[G. David Felt]

12 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Again, why does Nissan build trucks nobody is willing to buy?  Especially when the Silverado/Sierra twins beckon . . . . .

True, but they are failing to sell due to the butt ugly face on them and the less impressive interiors. After all they dropped to #3, clearly the public is not impressed either.

[Drew Dowdell]

21 hours ago, Miradart said:

Not wanting to nitpick, but: "Also going away will be the standard cab variants of the Titan and Titan XD, leaving just the standard cab and quad cab in the lineup."
 

Is the standard cab in or out?  Did you mean Single cab?  And what is their 'standard' cab configuration?  I'm so confoozed!  

Sad to see their Cummins engine go though.  I thought that was the one thing that could help them break out in the market.  Now, they're just another truck company with an oversized payload capacity for what people actually use, and a thirsty gas engine to move it.

As FCA already has their own in-house diesel for the Ram and Jeep, I can't see them doing anything with this Cummins.

 

Doh! You got me.  The extended cab and crew cab are staying. 

[smk4565]

That 5.6 V8 is super old.  The Titan needs more engine options, not less.  They also needs newer engines, not only is that V8 old, but those VQ V6's in most of the Nissan/Infiniti cars are from 10-15 years ago.

The Titan as it is needs to be a price leader, it needs a $5,000 price cut to get to a $28k base price for a King Cab model.   They should undercut every F150 model by $5k.

[riviera74]

1 hour ago, smk4565 said:

That 5.6 V8 is super old.  The Titan needs more engine options, not less.  They also needs newer engines, not only is that V8 old, but those VQ V6's in most of the Nissan/Infiniti cars are from 10-15 years ago.

The Titan as it is needs to be a price leader, it needs a $5,000 price cut to get to a $28k base price for a King Cab model.   They should undercut every F150 model by $5k.

Nissan should but I doubt they will do just that.

As for the Silverado/Sierra twins, they could stand a mid-cycle upgrade of their interiors.  As for the face, I partially agree with the Silverado, the Sierra less so.  However, truck buyers disagree so both issues need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

[ccap41]

The V8 is old and thirsty but it performs plenty well otherwise, 390hp/394tq w/ a 7spd. 

[Drew Dowdell]

Nissan has a 3.0 liter twin turbo they could use. 400 HP and 350 lb-ft of torque from 1600 - 5200 rpm

[smk4565]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Nissan has a 3.0 liter twin turbo they could use. 400 HP and 350 lb-ft of torque from 1600 - 5200 rpm

Right and a 3 liter engine would get better mileage than a 5.7 liter.

My car’s V8 basically has the same power/torque output of the 2020 Titan but my car is a 2008.  Nissan shouldn’t be selling 2008 power in 2020 unless they are selling at huge discounts.

[ccap41]

Truck engines are built much more for reliability and real work than any other engine in vehicles.

Look/listen/read what engineers talk about when talking about engines that are in both trucks and cars(2.3 Ford, 2.7 Ford, 3.5 Ford, 6.2 GM, etc.). They talk about that in the new 7.3 Ford as well even though it isn't a shared engine. 

The buyers demand different characteristics and uses from them.

7 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Right and a 3 liter engine would get better mileage than a 5.7 liter.

My car’s V8 basically has the same power/torque output of the 2020 Titan but my car is a 2008.  Nissan shouldn’t be selling 2008 power in 2020 unless they are selling at huge discounts.

What's 2020 power? 400/420? That's not all that significant.

I would say it should be more efficient rather than more powerful. 

[smk4565]

The power of the Titan is fine, but it is about 4 mpg behind the F150.   15/21 on the Titan isn't very good when Chevy has a 30 mpg Silverado.  

[Scout]

The XD was/is a solution to a problem nobody had. Both the Titan and Frontier need a complete overhaul to make them competitive with today's offerings.  

Withth so many people getting *luxury trucks Nissan could at least dig into the Infiniti parts bin to make the interior more pleasant. It would at least be something. 

[riviera74]

1 hour ago, Scout said:

The XD was/is a solution to a problem nobody had. Both the Titan and Frontier need a complete overhaul to make them competitive with today's offerings.  

Withth so many people getting *luxury trucks Nissan could at least dig into the Infiniti parts bin to make the interior more pleasant. It would at least be something. 

For luxury trucks, Infiniti barely cuts the mustard.  Their infotainment system belongs in 2012, not 2020.  Moreover, truck buyers are far more brand loyal than car buyers ever were.  This is why Nissan fails and why FORD is#1 in pickup trucks.

[G. David Felt]

20 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

For luxury trucks, Infiniti barely cuts the mustard.  Their infotainment system belongs in 2012, not 2020.  Moreover, truck buyers are far more brand loyal than car buyers ever were.  This is why Nissan fails and why FORD is#1 in pickup trucks.

Are ya sure you want to be that nice about 2012 and not maybe 2002?   

[riviera74]

4 hours ago, dfelt said:

Are ya sure you want to be that nice about 2012 and not maybe 2002?   

Infotainment systems barely existed prior to 2009, so 2012 makes a lot more sense.  Besides, Nissan/Infiniti needs to borrow Audi's MMI (that is about to be replaced) in order to be competitive again.