In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Titan XD are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Nissan Titan XD has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Titan XD has standard Automatic Emergency Braking, which use forward mounted sensors to warn the driver of a possible collision ahead. If the driver doesn’t react and the system determines a collision is imminent, it automatically applies the brakes at full-force in order to reduce the force of the crash or avoid it altogether. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn't offer collision warning or crash mitigation brakes.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Titan XD has standard Rear Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Titan XD. But it costs extra on the Ram 1500 Classic.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Titan XD PRO-4X’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Nissan Titan XD PRO-4X/Platinum has Daytime Running Lights to help keep it more visible under all conditions. Canadian government studies show that driving with lights during the day reduces accidents by 11% by making vehicles more conspicuous. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer Daytime Running Lights.
The Titan XD’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.
The Titan XD (except SV) offers an optional Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Ram 1500 Classic only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
The Titan XD has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Ram 1500 Classic’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Titan XD’s standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
The Titan XD’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Titan XD and the Ram 1500 Classic have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding and rearview cameras.
The Nissan Titan XD weighs 981 to 2320 pounds more than the Ram 1500 Classic. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.