2023 Nissan Titan XD

Nissan’s varied lineup of SUVs, pickup trucks, and EVs usually perform well in our road tests, but their Overall Scores suffer because of up-and-down reliability and average to below-average owner satisfaction. Inconsistent quality across the brand means some Nissans are a better choice than others. Many of its gasoline vehicles use small turbocharged engines and continuously variable transmissions to give owners both competitive fuel economy and sporty performance. Most new Nissans come standard with a full suite of active safety and driver assist systems. It’s also one of the few remaining brands that sells a sub-compact sedan, the Versa. The compact Sentra, a mainstay within Nissan’s lineup, earned a high score in our road test and is recommended. Nissan was an early EV trailblazer with the Leaf hatchback, and now sells larger five-passenger EV SUVs. Used Nissans have average reliability according to our surveys.

Although the Titan XD (Extra Duty) promises heavy-duty pickup capability without a stiff ride, we found that its capabilities are closer to those of a regular-duty truck. On top of that, it's just as clumsy in the corners as HD trucks. It rides slightly better, however, and consumes a tad less fuel, at 15 mpg. The XD is available with both a new V8 Cummins diesel engine and a 5.6-liter gasoline V8, which is also on the regular-duty Titan. Properly equipped, the XD tows 12,000 pounds and can carry a payload of 2,000 pounds. It also has a built-in goose-neck trailer hitch. A suite of safety and driver-assistance features is offered, including Nissan's surround-view camera system, blind-spot warning, and moving-object detection.