The Nissan Titan is a sturdy workhorse with a civilized ride

Nissan’s full-size Titan half-ton pickup is a handsome and sturdy workhorse, but it struggles when faced with the job of getting closer in sales numbers to the top-selling brands.

To be fair, so do all other full-size trucks not produced by Detroit’s Big Three, and even among the top three it’s a struggle to close in on the Ford F-Series’ longtime lead.

The Nissan Titan is available in Crew Cab, King Cab and Single Cab versions, with three bed lengths, up to five trim levels, and rear-wheel or shift on the fly four-wheel drive.

For 2018, Titan is unchanged but there’s a new Midnight Edition Package offered on 4×4 and 4×2 Crew Cab SV and SL trims. The package creates a beautiful all-black Titan with 20-inch wheels and “Midnight Edition” exterior badging.

Every Titan half-ton model comes with a seven-speed automatic transmission and a 5.6-liter V8 gasoline engine producing 390 horsepower, 394 lb-ft of torque and a fuel economy rating of 15 mpg city, 21 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined.

Maximum towing capacity is 9,740 pounds for 4×2 models and 9,560 pounds for 4×4 models, so this is a truck for general usage, not one for big towing assignments.

Pricing for the base model Titan starts at $36,975 including a $1,295 destination charge.

My tester was a Crew Cab in the offroad-oriented Pro-4X trim, fitted with four-wheel drive, skid plates, tow hooks, a two-speed transfer case with 4Hi and 4Lo, Bilstein off-road shocks, electronic locking rear differential, hill descent control, and P275/70R18 all-terrain tires. A trip to the Reiter Foothills State Park off-road trails in Gold Bar would be fun for sure in this Titan. Someone whose truck needs include the ability to travel on rugged roads would find it a formidable helpmate.

Off-road paraphernalia impacts fuel economy, and the Pro-4X model means a one-mile deduction in both highway and combined driving, for a rating of 15/20/17 mpg.

Titan’s attractive qualities include a civilized ride, quiet and comfortable interior, solid construction, ease of handling, stalwart braking and a 5-year/100,000-mile warranty.

For the more comfort and convenience-oriented among truck buyers, the Titan Crew Cab Pro-4X also offers a considerable number of standard amenities such as cushy front captain’s chairs with eight-way power adjustability and power lumbar support, dual-zone temperature control with a rear-seat air conditioning vent, a 60/40 rear flip-up bench seat with underseat storage and a fold-flat floor, and the Nissan Intelligent Key, for locking, unlocking and starting the truck without having to remove the key from pocket or purse.

The Crew Cab Pro-4X comes with a six-speaker AM/FM audio system with CD player, the Nissan Connect system with navigation, Bluetooth, 7-inch display, USB port, voice recognition for the audio and navigation, and satellite radio.

Utility seekers will take note of this model’s available Utility Package adding LED headlamps, trailer brake controller, cargo lamp, trailer light check function included on the key fob, 120V outlet in the bed, tow mirrors that manually extend and fold and include puddle lamps, and proximity activation for those puddle lamps.

My tester was equipped with that utility package as well as a Pro-4X convenience package and a premium package. With the inclusion of those three packages the tester transcended the nature of work truck and rose to the level of luxury vehicle, featuring such things as a 12-speaker Rockford Fosgate premium audio system, electronic tailgate lock, power sliding rear cab window, heated rear seats, ventilated front seats, all-around view monitor and a heated power steering wheel.

2018 NISSAN TITAN PRO-4X 4X4 CREW CAB

Base price, including destination charge: $46,965

Price as driven: $53,150

Mary Lowry is an independent automotive writer who lives in Snohomish County. She is a member of the Motor Press Guild, and a member and past president of the Northwest Automotive Press Association. Vehicles are provided by the manufacturers as a one-week loan for review purposes only. In no way do the manufacturers control the content of the reviews.