Overview & Reviews

Nissan was born in Japan, and like other marques from its homeland, the brand is known for crafting vehicles that place an emphasis on quality and reliability. The company's roster of products is broad, and includes sporty coupes, family sedans, minivans, trucks and SUVs.

The automaker got its start in 1933 as the Jidosha Seico Co., Ltd. The following year, this outfit merged with another Japanese manufacturer, and the new company was christened Nissan Motor Company, Ltd. Nissan initially marketed its vehicles under the Datsun brand, with the first Datsuns being built in 1934. Postwar, the brand made its presence felt worldwide, building a partnership with the U.K.-based Austin Motor Co. and establishing a presence in the United States. The first Datsuns hit American shores in 1958. Vehicles like the Datsun 1000 were based on Austin platforms.

The '60s witnessed Nissan's merger with Prince Motor Company, a union that helped the Asian manufacturer create more luxury-focused vehicles. In the U.S. it began offering its first vehicle styled for the U.S. market, the Datsun 510 sedan. By the end of the decade, Datsun had exported more than 1 million vehicles. Datsun rose to prominence in the 1970s on the popularity of its 240Z sports car. Powered by an inline six-cylinder engine, the car was coveted for its blend of style, performance and affordability. By the time the '70s drew to a close, the automaker's cumulative vehicle exports had surpassed the 10 million mark.

In 1981, Nissan shelved the Datsun name and began selling vehicles worldwide under the Nissan moniker. The '80s also saw Nissan's launch of a tuning division called Nismo for the development of performance-oriented vehicles and accessories. Nissan also brought its production to American shores, with the construction of a Georgia-based plant.

The early '90s saw Nissan's fortunes rise in the U.S. thanks to fun-to-drive cars like the 300ZX, Maxima and Sentra. But this trend didn't last long and by the late '90s Nissan's offerings consisted of anonymous vehicles. The company's future was uncertain.

After the turn of the new century Nissan bounced back, helped by a 1999 alliance with Renault that boosted the company's finances. Its redesigned Sentra and Altima boosted sales and consumer interest, as did new models like the 350Z sports car, Armada SUV and Titan pickup. Today the manufacturer is known for offering a wide range of well-regarded vehicles, including the popular Murano SUV, the incredible GT-R supercar and the all-electric Leaf.

User Reviews:

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  Good value but lacks some quality - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By egydarceyes - August 28 - 12:09 pm

  Ive added the convenient package and so far Ive put on 30k miles on it. The car is very nice on the inside, very adequate space and comfortable seats. Engine is a bit loud when moving from stand still, CVT is nice for gas mileage but is definitely a snooze at times, dont expect to be passing all cars when you really want to. Head unit is nice but the non-touch 5 inch is made out of bad glass that scratches very easily. Software embedded in the head unit is just plain crap... Needs refreshing and fixing of defects. Nice wheel button controls but wish they were designed a little more moderate. They just seem big and poorly designed.

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  7 Seater was the reason we bought this car. - 2017 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Dan - August 27 - 6:40 pm

  7 people can easily fit in the vehicle and thats the only reason we bought this car. The exterior look was also a factor when we chose this over Honda Pilot. There are lots of Pros if you are looking for a sizable car and here are some Pros: It is very spacious inside. The S Trim also has a touch screen but no useful apps. All the fancy big screen is for radio station selection and climate controls. We played around with SV and SL trims and we werent impressed with the apps included in them.

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  Problems - 2002 Nissan Xterra
  By ANDY - August 24 - 4:30 pm

  In 2002 I bought new Nissan Xterra hoping that this car will be reliable. I bought an extended warranty to protect myself from any potential problems. Just before the warranty expired I have noticed some intermittent noise coming from the engine, I went to the dealer to have it check but they did not hear any unusual noises. Of course after my warranty expire the noise became louder and then the dealer diagnosed a manifold issue, they did not care that I was there before with the some issues (before the warranty expired), so the cost of repair was over $800 dollars. One month later my torsion bar broke and that was another $800 (with front shocks replaced), now I have found out that I need

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  Dont trust the Bridgestone Tires - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By Dixie Gordon - August 17 - 10:00 am

  I purchased a 3.5 Altima SE in May . The next morning I was driving to work, at 65 miles an hour the front of the car began to shimmy. They said the tires were out of round and were at fault, that they had a lot of problems with them, The car was taken to a tire co. It took the Bridgestone dealer 8 tires to find 3 to put on my car I have less than 4 thousand miles on my car at this time, the sunroof is broken, pieces fell out of it the second time I opened it, Trust me, this will be my last Nissan....

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  this pig loves gas - 2007 Nissan Sentra
  By John - August 16 - 10:46 am

  Unfortunately, I did not review this web site before I bought this used car. The dealership salesman oversold the mpg. I am getting avg 24 mpg city and 30 on hwy - he said I would avg 35. Wished I would have gone for the Honda Civic! On the positive side, it rides good, looks good, accels good and like the dash..however the sunshade hits the rearview mirror and the cd fades in and out. Again, its ok, but would not recd because the gas mpg is a loser.

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  Ages fast - 2007 Nissan Versa
  By unhappy with versa - August 14 - 1:36 am

  I have had the car 15 months and in that time the fuel pressure regulator was replaced. At 14 months the car developed a rough idle and strong vibration that could not be repaired and I have been told this is "within normal" for this car. I have never had a rougher idling car in all the small cars I have owned.

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  Junk car - 2007 Nissan Sentra
  By glz - August 11 - 12:20 pm

  Bought this car in 2007. There are a lot of problems and troubles including transmission(replaced, but new one is still noisy ), brakes(fixes with my own cost), screws loose and battery is almost died. I sent this car to dealer several times,(more than 8 times), each time took at least 3-4 days. Only one time took 2 days but did nothing. Dont buy this car, go to Honda or corolla, or others. I sent feedback to the dealer service center and came again to fix my car, they gave me different face.

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  Piece of junk - 2006 Nissan Frontier
  By big ron - August 9 - 3:26 am

  I hate this truck, nothing but trouble. Every sensor went bad. Radiator went bad. Broke on inside one big mess Nissan would not fix. Transmission gone bad. Cant fine a new one. Will never buy another one. Should have stayed with Toyota

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  Poor Choice - 2006 Nissan Maxima
  By Dave - August 8 - 2:00 am

  Amazing to read all of the posts with similar issues. The tires wear out quickly, AC is out, headlight replacement costs over $100 and now the transmission goes! 120K on this car and replacing the tranny, hope to get another year or two out of it. Great looking car and I love the zip but I cant imagine going with another Maxima again.

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  Overall its OK - 2006 Nissan Murano
  By pilotkid21 - August 7 - 12:02 am

  Had my 2006 nissan murano SL AWD since Feb 2013. Overall its an ok car. Gas mileage is alright, im averaging 18 mpg on premium. So far I have had 2 problems. I replaced struts at 102k, bought it at 88k, Electronic coupling assembly broke, repair cost anywhere from $1000-$2000. I simply just unplugged it. Everything else seems to be fine. The CVT takes some getting used to especially on decelaration. As for the BOSE, theres nothing wrong with it at all, its a pretty powerfull system, i dont know why people hate it. Words are loud and clear and the bass is powerful. what more can you want from a sound system.