Oh boy, it’s that time of the year again. It’s time to put on the boxing gloves, insert your mouth guard, and ring that bell because the 2024 Nissan Titan wants to have a word with the proverbial “King” of automobiles: the Ford F-150. You all know the F-150: the best-selling vehicle in the Country and the de facto choice for pickup drivers, correct? That is statistically correct, yes, but why is that? Simply put, the F-150 is decent in its base configuration, and the far lower starting cost makes it an easy win, right? No, that is not the case.
For people who care about trucks with power, it is not so cut and dry. The situation gets a lot grimmer for Ford’s full-size pickup truck in its base configuration, while Nissan’s behemoth has room to show us all its capabilities. Many of you know where I’m going with this, but for those who have not taken the time to put two-and-two together – more specifically, the Nissan Titan and Ford F-150 – you will learn a thing or two. I believe today is a great day to compare the two, so let’s figure out why the Nissan Titan may be the driver in the Ford F-150’s rearview mirror that’s quickly catching up to the competition.
The Truth Behind the F-150’s Pricing
There is no official pricing for the 2024 Ford F-150, but it likely won’t stray from its predecessors’ sales tactics. Let me explain. The 2023 F-150 XL – the base model from last year – has an MSRP of $33,835, so let’s use that as a ballpark estimate of the 2024 model. So, at first glance, the 2024 Nissan Titan’s MSRP of $45,770 is pricier, but why is that? The 2024 Titan has features you will not find on the base F-150, starting with its performance.
Those who want comparable performance to the base Titan will be spending more than the MSRP of the Ford F-150 anyway, as adding the turbocharged 2.7L V6 engine to Ford’s truck costs over $1,000 at least if adding it to the base model or the XLT. And do not forget, this would require a custom order, as the vehicles found at the dealership will likely be stock configurations of their respective trims, in which case securing better performance is too costly to consider. For those who want to purchase a trim with the V6 engine included from the get-go, the Lariat is the first trim on the list to do so. There is a bit of a problem, however. The 2023 F-150 Lariat has an MSRP of $57,480. By then, you are already looking at prices for the Titan XD – the Titan’s pricier, albeit more performant sibling.
Nissan Took a Different Route
I alluded to the Titan’s performance being better than the F-150 in its base configuration, which is very much the case. Nissan boasts class-leading horsepower for the 2024 Titan, and with 400 hp at your fingertips, these claims aren’t fruitless and give the MSRP a bit more leeway. Along with the 400 hp is 413 lb-ft of torque, both of which stem from the standard 5.6L V8 engine commonly known as the ‘Endurance’ engine. The F-150 – either the XL or XLT – comes with the 3.3L V6 engine that only outputs 290 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque, so you can trust the Titan to give drivers 38% greater horsepower and a 56% greater torque output over the base F-150 engine.
Does the F-150’s base powertrain have any advantage over the Titan’s Endurance engine? Sure: the F-150’s base engine sports a higher payload capacity and a 10-speed automatic transmission over the Titan’s 9-speed automatic transmission. Drivers will not be losing as much versatility by switching to a 9-speed automatic transmission as one would by losing the amount of towing capacity they would be missing with the F-150’s 3.3L V6 engine over the Titan’s engine, which the F-150 has a 12% lower towing capacity in its base configuration with 8,200 lbs instead of the 9,310 lbs people get with the base Titan.
A Small Change Goes a Long Way
The 2024 Nissan Titan’s base-level performance is one reason why the higher price tag is not only justified for consumers but calls for a more robust pickup truck. But that is not the whole story. The 2024 Nissan Titan takes the opportunity to include more standard features over vehicles like the F-150, which is another way that Nissan has created a truck with a more premium feel without delving deeper into the assortment of trims or placing a custom order before buying the truck.
The features I’m referencing are all thanks in part to technology implemented into the rear side of the Titan, which are features that require quite the spending to acquire on the F-150. If you know anything about safety suites like Nissan Safety Shield 360 and the sensors it can implement around the vehicle’s exterior, you may know what these sensors allow for. These sensors will enable the base Titan to have features like a Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Rear Automatic Braking, and a Blind Spot Monitoring System.
Unsurprisingly, the base F-150 and its lower starting price do not include these features. There is an argument to be made about the F-150’s more entry-friendly cost for beginners, but at that point, beginners may as well save money and purchase the Ford Maverick if they want a Ford vehicle. For a true modern-day full-size pickup truck experience complete with the best state-of-the-art safety features, you must understand that buying a truck like this will not be cheap. In the case of the 2023 F-150, features like a Blind Spot Information System do not come standard, and the first trim level to go with it with no extra customization required – the XLT – costs over $8,000 more than the base trim. Again, these prices are based on the 2023 model, but it is safe to assume we will all be singing a similar song with the 2024 pricing and how its trims are presented within the lineup.
More to Spend, More to Lose, Less to Fear
Nissan is not oblivious that their pickup truck costs more than the F-150, and as a corporation, is fully aware that the F-150 is the best-selling pickup truck. Nissan’s approach to the Titan is not to compromise but to give drivers everything they deserve for the money they are spending. Aside from performance, safety features, and various other amenities, perhaps the most generous portion of why someone should purchase the pricier vehicle is because Nissan will help drivers protect their investment longer than Ford will. Nissan boasts of having a best-in-class truck warranty for owners of their vehicles, and that is the case with the 2024 models.
The 2024 Ford Warranty Guide states that a new Ford vehicle will receive a Bumper-to-Bumper warranty – a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty. This is standard fare for Ford vehicles and is anything but unexpected. With a brand new Nissan truck like the 2024 Titan, drivers will get a similar bumper-to-bumper warranty, but in the form of a 5-year/100,000-mile warranty, which is more than twice the amount of mileage range and almost twice as long to protect your investment.
The Small Wins Add Up
Do not get me wrong, there are many reasons why the Ford F-150 is the best-selling vehicle, and in some ways, it deserves its status as such, given the history of the automobile. However, in the modern day, there is more than the F-150, and it is with manufacturers like Nissan that Ford has to sometimes go back to the drawing board because of slight bits of innovation over time that eventually add up into something hard not to recommend to people. The Nissan Titan is the type of vehicle that pickup truck drivers, whether in the market for a new one or will be in the coming years, should keep their eye on because you know that Ford sure is.
