And people are moaning about VW emissions...!

More US typical gas guzzling, carbon belching, ego boosting, planet eating heaps of metal nobody needs or can practically park anywhere! This waste of material is so yesterday when other vehicle companies are actually trying to make an effort by listening to customer's needs and figuring out intelligent transportation solutions for planet Earth's survival. This article does nothing to impress, what I assumed, the majority of Gizmag readers look for.

Well I for one sometimes move my 2 tonne mini digger on my trailer...and up to 3 tonnes of sand and gravel....so it looks good to me, I live in France so I use a V10 Touareg.....nothing else will pull those weights and be useful around town. Oh and 25mpg (tank full and tank topped up - not fancy advert figures) and a max speed on the autobahn of 255km/h yes 255 (only once though - it frightened me to death).....

Further to Peter Kelly and KevB
Sometimes I wonder if 'Paris' was all a dream. What we should be getting excited about is fuel efficiency, not power and torque and consequent maximum speed and 0 to 60 times. We cannot hope to win the battle against Global Warming if we carry on with the same old same old attitudes.
It isn't as though the information on the topic is difficult to find. Try skepticalscience.com and Open Mind at https://tamino.wordpress.com/ for starters.
It would be nice to see the media take a lead on this matter.

Mileage isn't bad, but isn't great either. My father's own 5.9l cummins gets a hair above 20-22mpg unladen in a 3/4 ton chassis, so 18mpg with all the advancements in diesel technology is so-so. Having a built-in exhaust brake and sway control is a nice, needed feature though. The size is between that of a 3/4 ton and a 1/2 ton vehicle, but Nissan has their work cut out for them. In parts of the US, where such a vehicle is necessary, it is generally ruled by domestic companies for good reason. They make pretty good trucks. Being a v8 (more moving parts) and its slightly below average fuel consumption, combined with its smaller size, puts it at a disadvantage when put up against Chrysler's newer offerings with their v6 pentastar diesel. Towing and hauling capacity are both good though.
I'd like it for me, but still a little too big. Give me a 1/4 to 1/2 ton chassis with a 4cyl or 6cyl turbo diesel making around 200-220hp and 300-400tq capable of hauling 6000-8000lbs and getting mid to high 20's in the mpg range unladen and you can practically take my money. It can be a 4x4 or not.
As for other commenters, spoken like folks who have never worked a day in their life, shouting comments from across the internet, like armchair quarterbacks who have never broken a real sweat....

@ Michael Wilson
Spoken like someone who doesn't have kids, or if they do, has a funny way of caring for their future.

LOL- that's precious, Michael... Spoken like a dude who lives in his mommy's basement and resents that no one cares what he thinks about anything....
Try getting a lesson in physics before you bore us with your "wants" again- Nissan has presented an excellent vehicle here, your daddy's Dodge is probably 20 yrs old by now- move out so he can afford to buy a Nissan

VW got a ding on their emissions because they cheated the system. All diesels sold in the US now must undergo a certification process concerning their pollutant output. They typically carry a particulate filter, catalytic converter and urea tank. VW skirted the system by foregoing the urea system claiming that their diesels did not pollute as much. Of course, we now know they were lying. Even large diesels like these have the same filters and anti-pollution devices in place. Large=/ dirty. Go do your research VW cheated to try and keep costs down and it wound up costing them dearly.

Vehicles over 8,500 pounds GVW are exempt from posting estimated MPG requirements per the EPA. They are not exempt from emissions laws. The Nissan Titan XD utilizes both urea treatment (filler is next to the fuel port) and particulate filters. Even big rigs hauling 40,000-plus pounds on the freeway have emissions requirements. In my mind, those who cry about "gas guzzling" (even though this is a diesel) and low MPG returns with a vehicle like this truck are clueless about what this truck is for. Can your Prius tow a 12,000 pound trailer? No. So it can be capable of 53 mpg, but not of hauling heavy loads.
I happen to live where people use heavy trucks like this daily. To haul stuff. Just because you don't see it in downtown LA doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I'm a petroleum engineer and I have to move heavy loads all the time. Everyone is not an office boy. Sheesh I didn't know this was a pulpit to dictate to others what to do with their own money,,,But then I have calluses on my hands so what do I know.