Saddling up the Titan for a Western adventure!
The word “Titan” is synonymous with giant or heavyweight, and means something powerful and influential in a certain field. Great name for a truck, don’t you think? The 2017 Nissan Titan Pro-4X is all that and then some. Driving a Titan on our Western adventure to national parks and a dude ranch made our trek comfortable, safe, and loads of fun.
Few things are more American than the great outdoors, exploring National Parks and wrangling horses on a dude ranch. Our family soon learned that the Nissan Titan Pro-4X is the perfect vehicle to do all those things. Journeying from Colorado to Wyoming, we covered 1,400 miles of highways, dirt roads and pure wilderness with ease and in total comfort.
I laughed when I first found out we would be trekking across the West in a Nissan Titan because I am anything BUT a truck girl. Having never owned a truck, I came in with preconceived notions on how this mammoth motorized monster would perform. Shame on me. Turns out, the Nissan Titan was precisely the ideal vehicle to traverse a family vacation out West to go dude ranching and Yellowstone touring.
We saddled up our Titan’s 390 horsepower, 5.6 liter V8 engine on many occasions, from highway driving to rugged, steep offroading. Being an SUV driver, I am accustomed to being up higher and being able to see the road. Boy, the Titan made my SUV feel small by comparison! I may be a truck convert after our 12 day adventure in the Nissan Titan Pro-4X, and here’s why.
The front of the Nissan Titan. Photo: Sherry Boswell
Who this truck is for:
- Singles, couples or families
- Drivers in the market for a full sized pick-up truck
- Adventurers who may travel rough roads or drive off road
- Drivers who occasionally or regularly need 4 wheel drive
- Buyers who want all the amenities and comforts of a car
- Buyers who may need the capability and cargo space for work
- Drivers who appreciate the a truck that is rugged on the outside and plush on the inside
What it costs:
- Base price for the Pro-4X model is $43,290
- Utility and Towing Package adds $1,820
- Luxury Package that includes AroundView mirror adds $750
- Pro 4X Convenience Package that includes Siruis XM, leather appointed seats, intelligent climate control & more adds $3,290
- Total price for model we drove was $52,305
Compare the Nissan Titan to the 2017 Toyota Tundra.
The 2017 Nissan Titan Pro-4X: What Wowed Us
A Smooth Operator: This truck reminds me of the Sade song, “Smooth Operator” because it is just that. Sure, you expect a truck to be rough and tumble and all kickass, but what surprised me most about the Titan is how great it handled the roads.
Since we’ve been home, my kids have both commented in multiple situations how they missed the roomy back seats of the truck and “the Titan would have handled that bump so much better than our car.” Yeah kids, I know. I miss the Titan, too.
Durability and handling on rugged terrain: The 50 minute drive to the dude ranch was all winding, rock and gravel covered roads. I was so thankful we had the Titan because it could totally handle the varying road conditions and we had the trusty 4 wheel drive selections at the ready. A small sedan would have been quite a scary ride, not to mention being in the Titan, our visibility was outstanding.
A clear view of the open road. Photo: Sherry Boswell
Part of what made us feel so safe and secure was the Shift-on-the-Fly 4 wheel drive system. We stopped along the Wind River to capture some drone footage before heading into the national parks, and we drove down a steep embankment to get down to the river. We NEVER would have attempted it in our car or a “regular” sedan. But we couldn’t wait to try it in the Titan.
In fact, this video captures what it was like to drive the Titan on rocky terrain at the dude ranch using the 4 wheel drive…and also how to navigate a bison walking in the road!
Yes, that bison was causing quite a traffic jam, and I only felt safe having one walk that close to our vehicle because we were in the massive Titan!
I’ve learned that the Titan has 3 important components that make it able to handle almost any terrain: skid plates, hill descent control, and a locking rear differential. It also apparently helps that the Titan boasts Bilstein brand shocks. There were developed exclusively for the Titan Pro-4X to provide a comfortable ride while helping provide outstanding control.
Total comfort and space: My son tends to doze off for naps slumped forward. Fortunate for him, the Titan has ample legroom in the back seat. His head never came close to the driver seat.
When he sleeps, he slumps! Photo: Sherry Boswell
We may have overpacked for this 12 day trip, having 6 pieces of luggage and acquiring a cooler. Not a problem for the Nissan Titan or the bedliner. We could have had double the luggage and still had room to spare.
Over-packing is no problem in the Nissan Titan Pro-4X. Photo: Sherry Boswell
Only issue we encountered was needing to unload all our luggage when we arrived at our Yellowstone accommodations as there was no cover for the flatbed. Thankfully, the fold down interior seats enabled us to store our luggage for the day without having to check it all with bell services. Then when we were ready to hit the road after our daylong bus tour of Yellowstone, we returned to the truck, moved the items to the truck bed, and hit the road!
Tons of space! Photo: Sherry Boswell
Here are our 9 Must-Haves for a Comfortable Road Trip Car
Oh the Bells and Whistles!
- Push Button Start: One of my favorite perks with driving a new vehicle is not having traditional keys. I’m in love with having a Push Button Start with the Nissan Intelligent Key. No fumbling in my purse to find my keys; the truck simply starts when the Intelligent Key is inside!
- Sirius XM Satellite Radio: Roadtripping can be divisive because of one main factor: what are we going to listen to? The Titan had us covered and avoiding family drama over the radio by offering Sirius XM satellite radio. My biggest pet peeve with radio? Stations fading in and out and never being able to find one that plays consistent tunes. Sirius XM organizes music by categories, whether it be 80’s music or one dedicated to The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. My kids were thankful not to have to listen to my husband’s usual podcasts!
SiriusXM Radio makes all of us happy. Photo: Sherry Boswell
- A center console that can handle all my stuff: This center console is a beast! It could even fit a small laptop. But my main use for it was for my purse so I could reclaim the space I usually put it for my legs. Here’s the inside scoop on how Nissan created such a large center console: they moved the shift lever to the steering column. Brilliant move! Not to mention the 12V outlet and 120V outlet on back of the console kept our devices charged and ready.
- Blind Spot Warning and dual rear view mirrors: My Achilles heel as a driver is changing lanes and not seeing another car in my blind spot. The Titan helps me out with two amenities: the blind spot warning and dual rear view mirrors. The Blind Spot Warning system lights up on the driver or passenger side mirror and on the Advanced Drive-Assist Display if a vehicle is in the blind spot. If you put your turn signal on, the indicator flashes with a warning chime. Additionally, the dual rear view mirrors angle multiple ways and have a larger zoom on the bottom mirror. I wish I had these on my SUV!
Dual rear view mirrors with blind spot warning. Photo: Sherry Boswell
- The Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection: Speaking of being able to see what’s around you, the around view monitor is another recent advancement that we really loved. This was a huge benefit when parking the Titan or navigating twisty turny roads. The monitor signals when the truck is getting close to something, and even provides a 360 degree view around the truck. This feature is part of the Pro-4X luxury package.
AroundView Mirror provided a 360-degree bird’s eye view. Photo: Nissan
Thinking about a truck? Compare the Nissan to the GMC Canyon Crew Denali.
Kid Favorites on the 2017 Nissan Titan Pro-4X
When I asked my teen and tween what they liked best about the Nissan Titan, here’s what they said.
- “This Rear Window is so cool!” The power slide rear window. My 12 year old seemed stunned when we first popped this window open. It created nice ventilation. In his mind, it was a possible way to access the stuff in the truck bed (not really since it’s small but he fancied that it might work).
- Cupholders Galore: Plenty of cupholders. In our car, we never seem to have enough cupholders. Not the case with the Titan. There were 8 by our count, and most of them were what you call oversized. Perfect for large drink cups for road trips.
- Very comfortable for a road trip: The Titan was a dream for our family of 4 on a road trip covering 1,400 miles. The kids felt the truck had lots of legroom and comfortable seats. Yes, kids, this is because the Titan has Zero Gravity front and rear outboard seats that simulate weightlessness to help reduce fatigue. The result? Seats that are supportive and extremely cozy. Most important to any parent, I didn’t hear a single “he’s touching me” or “she’s on my side” the entire trip. That is worth its weight in GOLD.
- Outlets to charge phones: Pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it? The teen may have spontaneously combusted if she couldn’t text her friends (I partially kid, but partly not), so being able to keep the devices charged and have more than one charging at the same time was vital.
- “It’s a cool color, Mom.” I had to throw this in because my tween said the cayenne red is “really bold and awesome!” He was right: this is a truck that says, “Hey, look at me!” It drew lots of eyeballs and tons of questions as we got in and out of it.
A Rear Window that Wows! Photo: Sherry Boswell
What it Lacked:
- Not so great gas mileage: But it’s not bad considering the hulkish size of this truck. I’d rate this a “meh.” To be fair, most truck enthusiasts who like a truck of this size aren’t going to get down on a 17 mpg average for a vehicle this size.
- No running board: Maybe this seems like a small issue, but leave it to someone of my stature to notice that it lacked a running board. (I’m 5’4”) I felt a little bit of my dignity fade every time I had to grab the handle to hop inside the front seat. If I were to buy this truck I’d add this option.
Plenty of space for all the luggage. Photo: Sherry Boswell
What We Loved:
- Supportive, comfortable seating both in front and back
- Great “get up and go” engine
- Sirius XM satellite radio
- Ample charging outlets and cupholders
- Power slide rear window
What You Need to Know:
- Fuel economy: 15 city/20 highway
- Regular fuel recommended
- Seats 4 fabulously/5 comfortably
- Bumper-to-bumper warranty: 5 years/100,000 miles
- Powertrain warranty: 5 years/100,000 miles
- Base price for Pro 4X model: $43,290. This particular model: $52,305
Summing it up
The Nissan Titan Pro-4X would make an excellent addition to a family or business needing a new truck for hauling or towing. We were wowed by the comfortable, luxurious interior. But what sold us was its handling and durability. It made us feel safe on the Wyoming rocky roads and steep terrain. Be prepared for lots of comments because this truck really grabs people’s attention.
Disclosure: The Nissan Titan Pro-4X was provided for my review during a press trip to Wyoming. The opinions expressed are all my own.
