2004 Nissan Titan SE

Few cliques have been as tight as the full-size-pickup truck cadre, with the Big Three owning this mega-volume segment since the dawn of modern mechanical workhorses. Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, and GMC have kicked sand in the face of Toyota for two product generations, as the import-brand powerhouse has sought to gain a sizeable slice of sales that reach annual volumes in the hundreds of thousands for even the midlevel players.

Observing from the sidelines, Nissan learned lessons from Toyota and readied a brilliant product onslaught that's come to define the company's rebirth. About 45 years after Nissan introduced its compact pickup to America, the company rolled out the Titan, its first full-size truck based on the scalable Alpha platform that underpins the Armada, Pathfinder, Xterra, Frontier, and Infiniti QX56.

Rather than serve up a variety of body and powertrain configurations, Nissan struck at the heart of the market with King Cab and Crew Cab models and a single powerful engine. Even the exterior dimensions were simple: The Titan measures 224.2 inches and rides on a 139.8-inch wheelbase in either body style, with the Crew Cab conceding bed length to passenger space. The half-ton truck matches those of the Big Three players within an inch or two for each dimension, adding up to a full-scale pickup, and its production simplification has enabled aggressive pricing and a clear marketing message.

Pickup trucks increasingly are becoming not only commuter vehicles, but family transport. We ordered a five-passenger Crew Cab model, outfitted for comfort and adventure with several feature-rich option packages. Right off the Canton, Mississippi, assembly line, SE trims boast a generous roster of standard equipment, from essential power niceties to the more subtle details, like locking tailgate and rear A/C vents. To this, we upgraded the stereo to a Rockford Fosgate system (bringing along such unrelated items as adjustable pedals and a universal garage-door opener), prepped the truck for towing, and fit the bed with all available cargo-anchoring hardware.