Nissan Titan North American Press Tour / Whistler, BC
Memebers of PNWX were invited to help Offroad Academy host the Nissan North American press tour for the Nissan Titan. The trip included escorting the press and top dealership owners offroad in the Whistler area and the Offroad Academy's private offroad course. The Titan sports a V8 5.6 Litre engine with 350 horsepower and a new frame that will be the platform for the fullsize Armada SUV and rumored for the new Xterra as well. For tons of information on the Titan visit Nissan USA.
We drove the Titan through the ORA's offroad course that is mostly designed for Land Cruiser's and shorter wheel based vehicles. The turn radius was able to handle all but one tight turn and the 350 hp engine had torque to spare, allowing almost idle speeds to climb the steepest of obstacles. The new traction control gave extra crawling ability in sections where wheel lift would typically stop a normal Xterra. The addition of the front coil overs made for stable smooth transitions in off-camber sections, providing additional stability and driver confidence. A offroad package will be available for those who need it.
After everyone left, we spent time on the course with our Xterras. A variety of obstacles are available to test many situations one would encounter offroading and is built to help the Academy train new owners of SUV's how to use their vehicles. The biggest obstacle was the mud pit. One Xterra in the first crew (earlier in the week) was able to power through both ways, hitting the rev limiter twice to keep the mud terrains spinning through the sandy mud. In the second crew one of our members wasn't so lucky and bogged down going through the hard route. Muddy shoes, a slip in the hole and a winch later got us on our way to spend the evening in Lions Bay overlooking the sound for a great evening. Thanks to the Offroad Academy for showing us a great time, and thanks to Nissan for letting us wheel in their $250,000 prototypes.
