Depending upon who reads Nissan’s base price for its new Titan XD, the truck will either be seen as a decent deal or an overpriced, Japanese outsider in a ?Murican-dominated full-size truck market. We’re not here to tell you where your loyalties lie, but as far as diesel-powered, non-heavy-duty full-size pickups go, the Nissan isn’t actually that much more expensive than the one other entrant: Ram’s 1500 diesel. The Titan XD’s $41,485 bottom line seems steep, towering over the base prices of regular full-size pickups, but it’s only $2560 more than the least-expensive Ram 1500 crew cab with the optional EcoDiesel V-6 engine.
Furthermore, the Titan XD?not to be mistaken for the half-ton, gas-only Titan due in 2016?is akin to a three-quarter-ton truck, with a heavy-duty frame and a mighty 5.0-liter Cummins diesel V-8 that frankly steps all over the Ram’s 3.0-liter diesel V-6. In that sense, the least-expensive Titan XD diesel’s $2560 premium over the Ram 1500 Tradesman crew-cab diesel doesn’t seem so high. (The Titan XD is crew-cab-only, so we’ve compared it solely to Ram’s larger four-door 1500 EcoDiesel; less-expensive diesel Rams exist, but with fewer doors.) And the Titan comes with remote keyless entry with pushbutton ignition, Bluetooth connectivity, a soft-opening tailgate, and goes without the poverty-spec black-plastic bumpers and grille affixed to the Ram Tradesman. Also, let’s not forget the N...