I will be as honest and up front as I can be with the comparison between the two. A little background. I bought my Titan about 6 weeks ago...have basically had problem after problem. First, the heat did not work...would only blow cold. The temp on the rearview mirror never worked, even after three trips to dealer. There was a clunk in the rear end that happened when taking off, I had a ticking when accelerating (resetting spark plugs did not fix)...multiple rattles and ticks inside cab. After several trips to dealer with nothing fixed and false promises and parts replaced, I decided to cut my losses and get the FX4 150 (what I wanted originally, but too expensive at time I was looking). I traded in the Titan (nice little loss) on the Ford Friday night (10-22-04). Below are my takes on both vehicles.
A/C-Heat: Well, considering my Titan's heat never worked, I would give the nod in that dept. to the 150..hehe. From the little I have tinkered with the 150's A/C I would say that it cools just fine, however it IS about 50 outside, so can't give an honest opinion on that one. There are no noises with the a/c as there are with the Titan...just smooth and quiet. The vents on the 150 to me look a little nicer, but offer no more functionality than the Titan.
Interior: The 150 has the one up over the Titan as far as initial look. The vents, dash, seats, door panels just grab your attention more than the Titan as you open the door. The controls for the a/c are probably a touch cheaper looking on the 150 than on the Titan. Both are equally as functional.
Ride quality: This is one area where there are mixed feelings from a lot of people. I for one like a truck to drive like a truck, therefore in my opinion the 150 feels better. To me it feels more planted on the road and there is more feedback from the road to me through the footpetals and seat. The Titan felt like a car on a truck frame. To some that is a good thing, for me it wasn't. The 150 is definitely stiffer up and down and side to side. That was immediately noticeable to me within a couple of miles of driving it.
Interior noise: This is a big up for the 150. This is by far one of the most quiet trucks I have driven. It's a good thing there are no ticks or knocks b/c I would definitely be able to hear them if that were the case. The Titan has the 150 beat in the exhaust noise for sure...there is no growl with the 150...pretty quiet actually. There is minimal engine noise as well...the tires are Rugged Trail TA's, 18 inch...not much road noise from them either. I would said comparable if not a bit more quiet from the tires than the Titan, but it's hard to tell since it's sealed up so tight inside.
Engine: The Titan has a big advantage here. I honestly do not know if it is the engine that makes the difference or the fact that the Titan has 5 gears vs. the Ford's 4. I would say probably a combination of the two. There appears to be a good bit more torque down low on the Titan. I haven't really gotten on it since I only have a couple hundred miles on it so far, but down low there is a difference. Like I stated before, the Titan has a better engine/exhaust growl than the Ford. I don't necessarily miss that, but I know some that would. The transmission on the Ford is equally as smooth as the Titan, although it feels as though it does shift more often than the Titan...would be a toss up for me at this point.
Exterior: In my opinion, the Ford kills the Titan in this dept. I was never a fan of the look of the Titan from the get go, but I wanted to give it a shot hoping it would grow on me...it didn't. Even the off-road edition looks too much like a 2 wheel drive model in my opinion. The Ford seems to sit up nice and high and much more level. It looks more like a truck should look. The Titan's cab forward design and sloped front end just didn't do it for me. I had the Kingcab, and I will admit that I liked the crew's looks a little bit better. The Fx4 I have is a supercrew...doesn't get any better looking than that truck.
Seating: The Titan's seats are softer than the Ford's for sure. I had the bench seating on the Titan and have it on the Ford as well. I can't say that the Titan's were more comfortable, but they were definitely softer. Once again, I like my trucks to feel like trucks, not cars on truck frames, so I will call a toss up on this one.
Stereo: The rockford fosgate stereo definitely beats up on the stock Ford system. The Ford really has very little base compared to the Nissan. I know there were a lot of people on here who didn't like the nissan stereo, but I for one thought it was pretty nice sounding for stock. The controls for both systems are a toss up, however the Ford that I have does not have the controls on the steering wheel...I do miss that.
Overall initial fit and finish: I have to give this to the Ford. When I got the Nissan home the first day I noticed some seals around the rear window hanging down, a couple of bolts missing in the door panels, the wires loose behind the rearview mirror. I have yet to find anything like that on the Ford. Everything looks to be buttoned up tightly on the 150. Another big advantage on the Ford is lack of engine/driveline/dash noises. I took my 150 on a long test ride listening for all of these things before I made the purchase...something I should have done with the Nissan. There is not a tick/thump/clunk/squeak in the Ford. It is very nice to be able to drive down the street without the radio on and not hear a thing but the wind and engine. I have to give a huge thumbs up to the ford in this dept. That is really the main reason (besides looks) that I ditched the Titan.
I have tried to be as impartial as possible. I do believe Titan has a good truck, but I think they have a couple of years to go with design changes before it'll be a serious threat to the big three. Like I stated above, the engine gets the definite nod...they just need to work on what's surrounding it a bit and they will be in the hunt.
This is all my opinion, so keep the flames out of it. If anyone is considering jumping ship and has additional questions just pm me and I'll get back to you with as honest a response as possible.
Below is a pic of my new 150. It's an 04' by the way...1.3 miles upon delivery.
take care,
Alan
A/C-Heat: Well, considering my Titan's heat never worked, I would give the nod in that dept. to the 150..hehe. From the little I have tinkered with the 150's A/C I would say that it cools just fine, however it IS about 50 outside, so can't give an honest opinion on that one. There are no noises with the a/c as there are with the Titan...just smooth and quiet. The vents on the 150 to me look a little nicer, but offer no more functionality than the Titan.
Interior: The 150 has the one up over the Titan as far as initial look. The vents, dash, seats, door panels just grab your attention more than the Titan as you open the door. The controls for the a/c are probably a touch cheaper looking on the 150 than on the Titan. Both are equally as functional.
Ride quality: This is one area where there are mixed feelings from a lot of people. I for one like a truck to drive like a truck, therefore in my opinion the 150 feels better. To me it feels more planted on the road and there is more feedback from the road to me through the footpetals and seat. The Titan felt like a car on a truck frame. To some that is a good thing, for me it wasn't. The 150 is definitely stiffer up and down and side to side. That was immediately noticeable to me within a couple of miles of driving it.
Interior noise: This is a big up for the 150. This is by far one of the most quiet trucks I have driven. It's a good thing there are no ticks or knocks b/c I would definitely be able to hear them if that were the case. The Titan has the 150 beat in the exhaust noise for sure...there is no growl with the 150...pretty quiet actually. There is minimal engine noise as well...the tires are Rugged Trail TA's, 18 inch...not much road noise from them either. I would said comparable if not a bit more quiet from the tires than the Titan, but it's hard to tell since it's sealed up so tight inside.
Engine: The Titan has a big advantage here. I honestly do not know if it is the engine that makes the difference or the fact that the Titan has 5 gears vs. the Ford's 4. I would say probably a combination of the two. There appears to be a good bit more torque down low on the Titan. I haven't really gotten on it since I only have a couple hundred miles on it so far, but down low there is a difference. Like I stated before, the Titan has a better engine/exhaust growl than the Ford. I don't necessarily miss that, but I know some that would. The transmission on the Ford is equally as smooth as the Titan, although it feels as though it does shift more often than the Titan...would be a toss up for me at this point.
Exterior: In my opinion, the Ford kills the Titan in this dept. I was never a fan of the look of the Titan from the get go, but I wanted to give it a shot hoping it would grow on me...it didn't. Even the off-road edition looks too much like a 2 wheel drive model in my opinion. The Ford seems to sit up nice and high and much more level. It looks more like a truck should look. The Titan's cab forward design and sloped front end just didn't do it for me. I had the Kingcab, and I will admit that I liked the crew's looks a little bit better. The Fx4 I have is a supercrew...doesn't get any better looking than that truck.
Seating: The Titan's seats are softer than the Ford's for sure. I had the bench seating on the Titan and have it on the Ford as well. I can't say that the Titan's were more comfortable, but they were definitely softer. Once again, I like my trucks to feel like trucks, not cars on truck frames, so I will call a toss up on this one.
Stereo: The rockford fosgate stereo definitely beats up on the stock Ford system. The Ford really has very little base compared to the Nissan. I know there were a lot of people on here who didn't like the nissan stereo, but I for one thought it was pretty nice sounding for stock. The controls for both systems are a toss up, however the Ford that I have does not have the controls on the steering wheel...I do miss that.
Overall initial fit and finish: I have to give this to the Ford. When I got the Nissan home the first day I noticed some seals around the rear window hanging down, a couple of bolts missing in the door panels, the wires loose behind the rearview mirror. I have yet to find anything like that on the Ford. Everything looks to be buttoned up tightly on the 150. Another big advantage on the Ford is lack of engine/driveline/dash noises. I took my 150 on a long test ride listening for all of these things before I made the purchase...something I should have done with the Nissan. There is not a tick/thump/clunk/squeak in the Ford. It is very nice to be able to drive down the street without the radio on and not hear a thing but the wind and engine. I have to give a huge thumbs up to the ford in this dept. That is really the main reason (besides looks) that I ditched the Titan.
I have tried to be as impartial as possible. I do believe Titan has a good truck, but I think they have a couple of years to go with design changes before it'll be a serious threat to the big three. Like I stated above, the engine gets the definite nod...they just need to work on what's surrounding it a bit and they will be in the hunt.
This is all my opinion, so keep the flames out of it. If anyone is considering jumping ship and has additional questions just pm me and I'll get back to you with as honest a response as possible.
Below is a pic of my new 150. It's an 04' by the way...1.3 miles upon delivery.
take care,
Alan
