2022 GMC Sierra 1500 vs 2022 Nissan Titan

• 2022 GMC Sierra 1500

  

  Starting at

  $32,495*

  2022 Nissan Titan

  

  Starting at

  $39,000 est

  420	Horsepower (hp)	400
  13,200	Maximum Towing Capacity (lbs)	9,310
  13.4	Screen (in)	9

  There are few segments in the auto industry as fought-over as the full-size, light-duty truck market. With so many vehicles to choose from, it can be difficult to figure out which one has everything you need; narrowing down your options gets a lot easier when you consider just two models at a time to see how they stack up. Looking at the 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 vs 2022 Nissan Titan, for example, it becomes quite clear that while the Titan has a lot to offer, it really cannot stack up compared to GMC's legendary pickup.

  For starters, you have four engines to choose from with the GMC Sierra, while the Nissan Titan has just a single engine on offer. To be fair, the engine that Nissan provides is quite good, so they at least offer a decent amount of power for their truck. That being said, having more options gives you the freedom to get exactly what you want with your next pickup, plus the available V8 engine in the Sierra is more powerful than the Titan's engine. You can also choose a diesel engine with the GMC model, something that is completely lacking from Nissan, and all of this gives you far greater towing capacity than the Titan can manage.

  Even looking at the starting engine in the GMC Sierra 1500, it delivers more towing capacity than the Nissan Titan can handle; the most powerful engines in the Sierra leave the Titan well behind. In terms of technology, the Nissan Titan has some good features, but it is overshadowed by everything that GMC offers on the newly updated Sierra 1500. While the Titan has an optional 9-inch infotainment display, the GMC Sierra's available 13.4-inch infotainment screen makes it easy to use navigation, find a song you are looking for, and much more. The GMC Sierra also features available Super Cruise technology, with support for towing, to give you a hands-free driving experience.

• Engines

  

  In many ways, the engine is the most important part of any vehicle since so much of the performance and driving experience comes from the drivetrain. With a full-size truck, you could argue that it is even more important, especially if you are interested in doing some towing. There is no better place to start when looking at a couple of vehicles than the engine, and this is an area in which the GMC Sierra really shines.

  A Single Nissan V8

  We will start with the 2022 Nissan Titan because it is simple: there is just one engine offered by Nissan, so there are no decisions to make. The good news is that it is a pretty decent engine: a 5.6L V8 that delivers 400 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque, which comes paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission. While this is a solid drivetrain, the bad news is that there are no other options if you are looking for something else. If you do not need this much muscle, want more power, or prefer a diesel engine, then you are out of luck with the Titan.

  Four Chevy Engine Options

  The 2022 GMC Sierra 1500, however, gives you four different options to choose from so you can get exactly the right engine for what you are looking for. It starts with a standard 2.7L I-4 turbocharged engine that offers 310 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, which comes with an 8-speed automatic transmission. If you want more power than this, then you can choose an available 5.3L V8 that delivers 355 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque. This is a bit less torque since the standard engine was recently tuned for better performance, but a nice increase in horsepower. This V8 and the other two engines available for the GMC Sierra are paired with a 10-speed automatic.

  If you are looking for a lot more power in your truck, then there is an available 6.2L V8 engine that delivers an impressive 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque, far surpassing what is offered by Nissan in the Titan. For truck owners who prefer a diesel option, then there is an available 3.0L I-6 turbo diesel that offers 277 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. In years past, choosing the diesel engine meant losing out on a lot of towing potential, but improvements for the 2022 model allow a Sierra with the diesel to tow slightly more than one with the 6.2L V8 engine.

• Capability

  

  Powerful engines and cutting-edge technology are great, but for a lot of people, what matters most is the real-world capability of their truck. This comes down to two things: payload, which is the weight you can load onto a pickup, and towing, which is how much weight you can pull behind your truck. While the Nissan Titan does pretty well in this regard, it pales in comparison to what the GMC Sierra 1500 can do.

  Before looking at numbers, however, keep in mind that the amount of weight you can load onto or pull with your truck will depend on various factors, including the configuration and engine you choose (with the GMC Sierra). To keep things simple, these are going to be maximum values for these two trucks; you will want to check the actual payload and towing ratings for a specific model you are interested in.

  By the Numbers

  When properly equipped, the 2022 Nissan Titan can manage up to 1,690 lbs of maximum payload capacity and up to 9,310 lbs of maximum towing. Since there are no other engines available for the Titan, this is the limit of how much weight it can handle, and you do not have any options. While that might be enough weight for some truck owners, it falls behind a lot of other full-size pickups, including the GMC Sierra.

  The 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 can handle up to 2,240 lbs of maximum payload capacity when properly configured. That is a huge difference; the Sierra can handle more than 500 lbs or roughly 30% more payload than the Titan. Since there are four engines available on the Sierra, we will look at the maximum towing for each of the engines offers when properly equipped:

  • 2.7L I-4: 9,400 lbs
  • 5.3L V8: 11,200 lbs
  • 6.2L V8: 13,000 lbs
  • 3.0L Diesel: 13,200 lbs

  As you can see, even the standard engine for the GMC Sierra can pull more weight than the Nissan Titan – not by a huge amount, but it still showcases the trailer-focused mindset of the engineers at GM. Once you look at the more powerful engines, the difference really becomes remarkable. For 2022, several updates allow the diesel engine to tow 4,000 lbs more than last year's model, making this year's Sierra better than ever before.

• Technology

  

  While engines and towing are very important, it is always a good idea to look at the kind of systems and technology that you will interact with on a daily basis while owning your truck. Inside the 2022 Nissan Titan, an 8-inch infotainment display comes standard, though a 9-inch screen is available. The Zero Gravity seats from Nissan are certainly comfortable, but otherwise, the interior is quite lacking in terms of the kind of technology we would like to see. A wireless charging pad is available, as is a fairly impressive Fender premium sound system, but otherwise, it leaves much to be wanted.

  GMC's Premium Features

  By comparison, the 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 has been fully updated with some of the most impressive features we have ever seen. While the starting trim has a smaller screen, all other Sierra models come with a 13.4-inch infotainment display standard, along with a 12-inch digital, configurable instrument cluster. Combine this with an available 15-inch head-up display, and you get an incredible array of information available to you, plus an available 12-speaker Bose Centerpoint premium surround sound system for amazing audio.

  Perhaps most exciting, however, is that GM's Super Cruise technology, which allows for hands-free driving on more than 200,000 miles of roads in the US and Canada, is now available on the GMC Sierra. This includes support for towing, allowing you to take advantage of this impressive technology even with some weight behind your truck. A number of innovative off-road technologies are also available thanks to the new AT4X trim, which features Terrain Mode, allowing for one-pedal rock crawling so you can focus on the trail.

The 2022 Sierra is Waiting at Rick Hendrick