#NissanYearoftheTruck

I was truckin’ this week driving three of Nissan’s new 2017 light trucks – Armada, Pathfinder and Titan. Over a two-day time period in the western U.S., the Nissan Adventure Drive included the highways and byways of the countryside as well as some off-road trails.

Nissan’s overall car and truck sales are up a touch over 9% for the year, just a bit north of 733,000 units. Market share has been growing and is now at 8.5% of total U.S. new vehicle sales.

The all-new 2017 Armada full-size SUV has fresh new exterior design, enhanced performance from a new 5.6-liter Endurance V8 with best-in-class (according to Nissan) 390-horsepower and new 7-speed automatic transmission. There’s a comfortable full-feature cabin and class-exclusive available safety and security features – including Predictive Forward Collision Warning (PFCW), Blind Spot Intervention (BSI), Backup Collision Intervention (BCI) and Around View Monitor (AVM) with Moving Object Detection (MOD).

The new Armada will be offered in a range of three high-content grade levels – SV, SL and Platinum – in both 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive configurations. The 2017 Armada also offers a broad array of standard features, including Nissan Navigation with NavTraffic and NavWeather information (SiriusXM subscription required) and 8.0-inch color display, heated front seats and 13-speaker Bose audio system.

The new 2017 Pathfinder has gotten a major redesign includes new front end with signature boomerang-shaped headlights with LED Daytime Running Lights and available LED headlights. Other exterior enhancements include a new, more aggressive hood, front bumper and fog lights. The outside rearview mirrors now include standard integrated turn signals. In the rear, changes include new taillights and a stronger bumper design.

There’s a new 3.5-liter V6 engine now with a direct injection system. Horsepower increases to 284 and maximum towing capacity now a class-leading 6,000 pounds (when properly equipped). User friendliness features range from Motion-Activated liftgate to updated vehicle connected services. New advanced driver assistance technology includes Forward Emergency Braking, Intelligent Cruise Control and Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection

The new TITAN has already hit the full-size pickup segment in the U.S. for 2016. Now, for the 2017 model year, the Nissan full-size pickup lineup expands with the arrival of the all-new TITAN half-ton. Powered by Nissan’s new 390-horsepower 5.6-liter Endurance V8 engine, the TITAN half-ton will initially be offered in a Crew Cab body in both 4×4 and 4×2 configurations and in five well-equipped grade levels: S, SV, PRO-4X, SL and Platinum Reserve. Single Cab and King Cab variants, along with a V6 engine, will follow at later dates.

The TITAN half-ton has the same aggressive TITAN style, but is built on a completely separate chassis and is about a foot shorter in wheelbase (139.8 inches versus 151.6 inches). At 228.1 inches in length, it is 14.7 inches shorter than the larger TITAN (242.8 inches). All TITANs share the same cabs, and both offer similar ruggedness, durability and innovative interior, bed and driving aid features.

Look for full test drive reports including thoughts about off-roading on these three new Nissan trucks in about a month or so. Armada, Pathfinder and Titan half-ton will be coming to Nissan dealers in Fall 2016.

Nissan also shared that they will have a new SUV announcement in September and reveal a new Crossover in January.

@1ChicagoCarGuy