2010 Nissan Titan Review

For 2010, the Nissan Titan offers greater safety as stability control, side airbags and curtain airbags become standard across all trims. Other than that and the shuffling of option packages, the Titan soldiers on for another year essentially unchanged.

The 2010 Nissan Titan is a good truck, but it's getting long in the tooth. Other full-size trucks outdo the Titan in just about every area.

Seven years ago, Nissan knew what Americans liked in their pickup trucks: Big. Big engine. Big cab. Big towing capacity. So Nissan came barreling out of the gate with the aptly named Titan. It had the size and power needed to make half-ton-truck buyers (and the American truckmakers) take notice, and we even ranked it first in a truck comparison test at the time.

But now entering its seventh model year with no major changes, the tough Titan is now the oldest pickup on the market. All of the trucks from the Detroit Three (our new term for the former "Big Three") have been recently redesigned. Toyota's on its game, too, having introduced the very capable second-generation Tundra a few years ago. With these newer trucks, Chevy, Ford and Toyota have been able to outpace the Titan in terms of power, capability and comfort.

As a testament to what Nissan got right initially, the 2010 Nissan Titan remains a good truck. Its muscular 5.6-liter V8 can easily handle almost any hauling and towing task its owner may throw into or behind it, for instance, and its cabin is spacious and well-equipped. But faced with the above-mentioned deficits as well as the truck's long-running lack of customizable configurations, we'd recommend going with the Silverado, F-150, Ram or Tundra before settling on the Titan.

The 2010 Nissan Titan is available with two-wheel drive or 4WD. There is only one powertrain combination: a 5.6-liter V8 hooked up to a five-speed automatic transmission. The V8 is rated at 317 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. With the optional Tow package, the Titan extended cab is rated to pull up to 9,500 pounds while the crew cab is rated at just 100 pounds less. The transmission features a tow-haul mode for handling heavy loads.

EPA-estimated fuel economy for the Titan 4X4 is 12 mpg city/17 mpg highway and 14 mpg combined. The 2WD Titan rates 1 mpg better across the board.

Standard on all Titans are antilock disc brakes, stability control, front-seat side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags.

In government crash testing, the 2010 Nissan Titan received a perfect five stars for driver protection in frontal impacts and four stars for passenger protection. The Titan earned a "Good" rating (the highest possible) in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety frontal-offset crash testing; however, it scored only a Marginal rating (second worst of four) in that agency's side-impact test.

The 2010 Nissan Titan's precise steering is nicely weighted, which makes the truck relatively nimble and easy to drive on pavement. However, the rather stiff suspension (especially on Pro-4X models) can make the Titan feel skittish in off-road situations. The Titan's tractable 5.6-liter V8 delivers plenty of muscle right from idle. It sounds great, too, but that booming exhaust note can grow tiresome on long drives.

Both King Cab and Crew Cab Titans feature a spacious and functional interior design, with easy-to-use controls and numerous storage bins. Materials quality is only average, however. The rear seats fold up to provide a large load floor for hauling items inside the cab, and the rear doors on extended-cab models open nearly 180 degrees for easier access. With standard and optional features like a durable spray-on bedliner, movable tie-down cleats, handy tailgate illumination and a driver-side lockbox, the Titan can be quite the hard-working truck.