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:

• 

  Poor man BMW wannabe, that was never RWD - 1997 Nissan Maxima
  By MaxRX7 - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Good bang for buck. no comparsion to toyota and honduh.

• 

  what a blast! - 2002 Nissan Pathfinder
  By MD mudpup - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Bought a superblack se 4wd w/options: s94, l92, f95 & go5. Paid $210 over CR wholesale price, $1200 under invoice. Took the $1k cash back. Test-drove the envoy, trailblazer, 4 runner, montero... Envoy – nice if you like driving a couch, trailblazer – piece of @#*!. the rest were nice. If you want performance buy a pathfinder. Torque – you got it! Pounces off the line. DOHC v-6 can definitely get it out of its own way. Engine braking – great. Rides nice (it’s a suv, its going to lean a little bit in a turn, buy a porsche if you want handling). im 65" 280 and i fit nice. do yourself a favor and test drive them all and make your choice. i did and picked the pathfinder - what a blast!

• 

  2002 Nissan Pathfinder SE 4x4 Auto - 2002 Nissan Pathfinder
  By jgoveia - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Excellent all-around performer with a very potent engine. First-class reliability. It could use improvement in fuel efficiency.

• 

  Great bang for the buck - 2001 Nissan Sentra
  By magagne - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Dont know why there are not more Sentra SE on the road..its fast, handles like a dream, and is just fun to drive!

• 

  2002 Sentra - Nothing but problems - 2002 Nissan Sentra
  By Vicki - May 4 - 2:00 am

  I bought my New 2002 Sentra in December 2001 & I have had nothing but problems with it since then. I am dissappointed with the performance of the vehicle. At 200 miles the service engine light came on, and they had to replace my thermostat & gasket. Once the problem was fixed my service engine light came on again at 427 miles. Only this time the dealership had my car for 18 days. I have also had trunk release problems and the radio stations get bad reception. I dont know if I just got a bad seed or that Nissan isnt making quality products, but I am very unhappy with the car and would not recommed this car to anyone.

• 

  ankurs review - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By tnivana - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Awesome!

• 

  2002 Nissan Maxima SE 3.5 6sp - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By robert morrison - May 4 - 2:00 am

  This car is a blast to drive! It has more power and better performance than my 1989 Mustang GT. Build quality is first rate. Luxury features like trip computer, dual memory driver seat, homelink, nav. system, and dual front/ side air bags, now make it compete in the luxury sedan segment. GREAT CAR!!!

• 

  Driv It, Youll buy it - 2002 Nissan Altima
  By Nick DeLeo - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Just Drive the car and youll see, the only bad point is when it rains, if you smoke and the windows open even a crack, you get drenched, not so big a deal though.

• 

  The Good, Bad and Ugly - 2004 Nissan Frontier
  By JonR - May 4 - 2:00 am

  My 2nd Nissan Pickup-last was a 98- great-this one not quite as good. This one had good ride, dependability, great mileage. Owned 6 years, 42,000 miles- same tires mileage between 25 and 28 normal, and on trip to Yellowstone, 32+ amazing! Range 290- 330 miles cause gas gauge design always made truck look like it was running out! Full was 9 Oclock, 1/2 was 7 pm and empty was 6 PM. Very bad on confidence. Overall, truck performed ok but emission controls choked what could have been more horsepower. Problems were, Steering wheel squeaked from new, Oxy sensor failed, Parking brake cable fell off mount, Horn quit in snowy winter, rattle in headliner. All in all a good truck but some small issues

• 

  Bought another one - 2006 Nissan Xterra
  By modern nissan - May 4 - 2:00 am

  I love how it handles, and I feel good in the xterra. It has masculine lines, and gives me confidence in my surroundings. The gas milage is good if you know how to drive the Exterra. I had a 2006 Exterra and traded it in for a FX35 Infinity which is smaller that i thought. But great car. just not for me. The cost of the Exterra is well worth the money. I purchased another one just this week, and I hope they will still make them in the future.