The redesigned Titan is an honest truck. From the entry-level Titan Single Cab S to the Titan XD Crew Cab Platinum Reserve with the Cummins V8, the range features a Titan for everyone. But despite all its good points, the Titan lacks in the safety department.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put a 2017 Nissan Titan SV Crew Cab to the test and, shockingly, the full-size workhorse didn’t fare well. The IIHS’ small overlap crash test was too much for the Titan. Without further ado, the Institute's whiz kids have rated the half-ton Titan “marginal.”
“The driver space was not maintained well,” the IIHS notes, “with lower interior intrusion measuring as much as 27 cm (10.6 in) at the lower hinge pillar and 21 cm (8.26 in) at the parking brake pedal.” The instrument panel moved 16 cm (6.3 in), whereas the hinge pillar moved 19 cm (7.4 in).
Translated to injuries, the crash test dummy indicates that the left lower leg, left foot, and right lower leg are most at risk. On the upside, the seat belt and airbags did their job just fine. And to the Titan’s defense, the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 were rated “marginal” as well. The Ford F-150 is the only full-size pickup to be rated “good” in this specific crash scenario.
In the Institute’s other tests (moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, head restraints, and seats), the Nissan Titan received straight “good” marks. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also tested the pickup's headlight performance, and the results are not exactly pretty. Due to inadequate visibility on the left side of the road and on curves, as well as some glare, both headlight variants available for the half-ton Titan are “marginal.”
In 2016, Nissan managed to sell 21,880 Titans in the U.S. The king of the full-size pickup genre, however, is Ford’s F-Series (820,799 units).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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