In my limited experience, I like NA engines better than turbo. Nowadays, turbo are tuned for all the torque “right now” (low in the rev range), which some people like, but I think takes away engine character.
I drove a BMW loaner car with a turbo four, a direct two-generation replacement for my NA straight six. I did not like it. There was plenty of power, but the turbo lag was atrocious. Not relevant to your question, but the stop/start function was not integrated well, was abrupt, and drove me crazy.
Also, that Nissan V-6 is a beast. They’ve been making it forever. A variant is in my wife’s Infiniti G37, and we love it.
Now, for a truck, the current turbo torque curves might work. Overall, I’d buy a Ford pickup over a Nissan, but that’s probably the leftover good vibes from my 1997 Expedition. A test drive might dispel that notion.
Was the problem with that BMW turbo lag, or stop/start?
A restart combined with time delay to spin up the turbo might be perceived as “turbo lag”, but really it could be more the start stop system. We have a Kia with a 2.5L turbo, and if you don’t kill the stop start, it’s atrocious from a stoplight when it has to start, get exhaust gases flowing, and spin up the turbo. If it’s idling, there’s really no lag.
You contradict yourself:
“Nowadays, turbo are tuned for all the torque “right now”
“but the turbo lag was atrocious.”