2017 Nissan Titan 4x4 pickup: Bigger than a politician's ego

It is huge, gargantuan - bigger than a politician's ego.

It stretches 20 feet, 2.7 inches (over 6 meters).

It is nearly seven feet wide ( 2.1 meters) and weighs 8,500 pounds (3,855kg) gross vehicle weight, sans passengers or cargo.

You turn corners in this one very carefully.

Welcome the new-for-2016 Nissan Titan XD Diesel SL 4x4 crew cab truck. It's a monster, yet one designed to fit above heavy-duty Dodge Rams and below the heavy-duty Goliaths manufactured by Ford and Chevrolet.

You don't bring the Titan XD into congested cities unless you are looking for scratches or an opportunity to bruise someone else. I was looking for neither. I just had to drop something off. But I got the ignoble finger salute anyway.

The Titan XD seems to make other automobile drivers angry. Keep it on the highway or work site. Don't bring it downtown. Certainly, don't try to park it in one of those cramped downtown garages. You'll be greeted with more hostility than Sen. Ted Cruz at a Trump convention.

This is a real truck. A work truck. It has every advanced electronic safety option, including rear parking sensors and blind-side monitoring. It is built on a fully boxed ladder frame. The suspension is fully independent. The 5-liter, 32-valve, turbocharged (forced air) V-8 Cummins diesel engine (310 horsepower, 555 pound-feet of torque) is a brute.

The thing can pull up to 10,610 pounds and haul 1,470 pounds. I learned that from reading the Titan specification sheet. I wish I had been pulling something on my travels around Washington and Virginia. Maybe then, fellow motorists would have treated me better.

"Ah, leave him alone. Give him a break. He's a working man," that sort of thing.

Instead, I was driving around in a completely empty, big, blue, shiny Titan XD crew cab truck. Why? It was like the whole world was asking that question. "Why? Why are you taking up all of this space? Get out of here!"

I even got a "warning" parking ticket at a doctor's office. It seems I had left the Titan XD in a parking spot for more than the allotted hour. I had done the same thing with passenger cars with absolutely no problem. But the guard who gave me the ticket wanted to make a point. The Titan XD was gobbling too much space. It had to move.

The Titan XD also has a big thirst for diesel. I barely averaged a combined city-highway mileage of 19 miles per gallon.

The luxury cabin treatment in this one seemed a bit out of place - ebony leather-covered seats with contrast stitching. The Titan XD seemed less interested in play than work. But I welcomed other perks, such as the seven-inch touch screen and onboard navigation system.

Driving this one on the highway was a relatively smooth task. City driving in something this large was a chore. I was glad the workweek ended.

---

Bottom line: The Nissan Titan XD diesel is a work truck designed for work sites. It gets in the way of genteel traffic.

Ride, acceleration and handling: The ride is smooth to uncomfortably rough, depending on road surface. No sharp turns in this one, please.

Head-turning quotient: It is big, aggressive-looking. The Titan name fits.

Body style/layout: The new Titan XD Diesel is a front-engine truck available in rear-wheel, or tested four-wheel-drive. The diesel model is new. A gasoline model is standard. There are five Titan XD trim levels - S, SV, Pro-4X, SL and Platinum Reserve.

Titan XD Diesel engine/transmission: It is a 5-liter, turbocharged, 32-valve Cummins V-8 diesel (310 horsepower, 555 pound-feet of torque) linked to a six-speed automatic transmission.

Capacities: Seating is for five to six people, depending on seating configuration. Truck bed length is 6 feet, 5 inches. The Titan XD Diesel can tow up to 10,610 pounds or haul 1,470 pounds. Fuel capacity is 26 gallons. Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel required.

Note: The Titan XD Diesel has an additional 4.5-gallon tank for fluid to treat diesel exhaust.

Safety: Standard equipment includes front and rear ventilated disc brakes; four-wheel antilock brake system; emergency braking assistance; stability and traction control; tire pressure monitoring; side and head air bags.

Note: An advanced electronic safety package is available. Buy it.

Pricing: The 2016 Nissan Titan XD Diesel with four-wheel drive starts at $52,030. Price as tested is $56,400, including $3,175 in options (advanced electronic safety, onboard navigation and other items) and a $1,195 factory-to-dealer shipment charge. Estimated dealer's price as tested is $53,400.