(MONEY Magazine) – Every good country song, it seems, has a pickup truck. But the latest pickups look ready for a night at the opera. That's especially true of the redesigned Ford F-150 (pictured above), the deluxe example of the truck drivin' trend: pickups that work harder and look more rugged than ever but add serious room, comfort and luxury for millions of households that now choose pickups as everyday transportation. Marlboro men might howl, but it was only a matter of time before pickups started grazing the softer suburban pastures that SUVs discovered years ago.

For Ford, whose F-Series has been the nation's top-selling model--car or truck--for 21 straight years, the redesign of its high-profit hauler comes just in time. That's because the all-new Nissan Titan, the first genuine, full-size pickup from a Japanese automaker, is a fist aimed squarely at Detroit's jaw.

The message? Japanese automakers, already flooding the U.S. market with hot-selling SUVs, can and will build pickups as big and ornery--and family-friendly--as anything coming from Ford, GM or Dodge.

After testing the Ford and Nissan both on-and off-road, I can say the Ford earns my enthusiastic nod. The F-150, in fact, makes a compelling case as the most complete, luxurious pickup ever. But MONEY readers with a yen for the Mississippi-built Titan won't go wrong. It's a formidable player, drawing heavily on Nissan's 45-year history in America's small-pickup market. That experience shows in the Titan's aggressive styling, unique features and, well, Titanic power. Let the face-off begin.

FORD F-150

Base price: $22,010 to $36,365 Engines: 4.6-liter V-8, 231 horsepower/203 pound-feet torque; 5.4-liter V-8, 300 horsepower/365 pound-feet torque Fuel economy: 15 mpg city/19 highway

The Ford's sturdier new styling is just right: masculine but not cartoonishly macho. Yet even the handsome exterior can't prepare you for what's inside--especially in the FX4 off-road and Lariat luxury versions, the most upscale of five distinct F-Series trim levels. It's as if the Queer Eye boys got hold of a pickup, and the elegant interior makeover would not look out of place in a luxury sedan. I'm especially fond of the FX4's snazzy cabin, with its stitched black leather, metal accents and floor-mounted automatic shifter. Seats are supercomfortable, and the Ford is measurably quieter inside than any rival.

A redesigned chassis delivers a ninefold increase in torsional rigidity. In plain English, that means a rattle-free body and precise suspension control over choppy roads. The new rack-and-pinion steering is vastly more responsive and rewarding than the previous recirculating ball unit.

In keeping with the movement toward bigger cabins, the F-Series' passenger compartment gets a six-inch stretch, creating useful storage in Regular Cab models and more rear-seat legroom in SuperCab models. Even the affordable Regular Cab now comes with rear doors, so you don't have to fold seats forward to stow gear behind them. The SuperCrews' still larger cab offers the most stretch-out space of all and features four full-size, forward-swinging doors. Choose cargo beds in 5 1/2-, 6 1/2- or eight-foot lengths, basic Styleside or curvier Flareside bed styles and, of course, two-or four-wheel drive. Beds are now two inches deeper to carry more payload.

Coolest features? A mechanical helper that makes the heavy tailgate feel featherlight to raise or lower, and the power-sliding rear cab window on uplevel models.

If you're considering an affordable XL or XLT model, skip the underwhelming 4.6-liter V-8 and head straight for the newly upgraded 5.4-liter Triton V-8. It's well worth the extra $895 for this three-valve-per-cylinder engine with 300 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of tow-friendly torque. (The beefier engine is standard on the FX4 and Lariat.) Big, four-wheel, anti-lock disk brakes are standard on all models, and the brake pedal's feel is excellent.

Ford's beauty is also a beast: The F-150 can carry up to 2,900 pounds of payload and tow up to 9,900 pounds, more than any other standard half-ton pickup.

NISSAN TITAN

Base price: $25,000 to $33,000 (est.) Engine: 5.6-liter V-8, 305 horsepower/379 pound-feet torque Fuel economy: 14 mpg city/19 highway

Detroit is wearily familiar with Japan's m.o.: opening that first crack in a market's door, then blowing it down with a case of dynamite. Now on the pickup porch, Nissan is definitely packing explosives: namely, the Titan's high-tech, 32-valve V-8 with 305 horsepower and a burly 379 pound-feet of torque. Mate that to a terrific five-speed automatic transmission (competitors offer just four speeds), and the Nissan's power train holds the edge in thrust and versatility over the Ford's.

Avoiding the mistake of the too small Toyota Tundra, Nissan has matched the Ford's dimensions almost to the inch, and it claims the most interior volume and front and rear legroom of any comparable pickup. But the cabin also admits more noise from the outside world than the cocooning F-150.

The Titan will also offer far fewer configurations than the F-Series when it goes on sale in December. There are four-door King Cab and roomier Crew Cab models in three grades of standard equipment and a choice of two- or four-wheel drive. But for now at least, you can't choose among bed lengths, bed styles or engines.

Rack-and-pinion steering and a well-tuned suspension make for notably nimble handling for such a big truck. The ride is a bit firm, in the Nissan mode; give Nissan kudos for standard electronic stability control and optional side-and head-curtain air bags.

Unfortunately, the Nissan mode also means another lackluster interior, the Achilles' heel of so many otherwise excellent Nissan vehicles. Fine touches such as a center console big enough to hold a laptop are offset by negatives like meager plastics and unattractive cloth seats. And where the Ford's cabin designs, however luxurious, still suggest a tough pickup, the Titan's lack that essential truck character: Close your eyes to the industrial-strength exterior, and you might as well be sitting in any Nissan sedan or sports car.

The Titan does recover ably with several thoughtful features: movable cleats that slide along five channels in the bed, for a wealth of tie-down locations; rear-hinged doors that swing out nearly 180 degrees on King Cab models, making it easier to access the back seat; a factory-installed coating to protect the bed against dings and scratches. As with the Ford, there's an optional DVD entertainment system; unlike the Ford, a navigation system is also available.

Where Ford can sell 800,000 F-Series in a good year, Nissan is aiming for 100,000 sales with its full-size debut. Pickup loyalty runs deep, but Nissan shouldn't have a problem carving a nice little niche from people who don't pledge lifelong fealty to the red-white-and-blue brands. In the big-pickup leagues, consider the Titan Rookie of the Year. But the championship goes to Ford.