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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  2005 Nissan - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By M. Lopez - May 13 - 10:00 am

  Overall, the vehicle is ok. Theres plenty of leg and trunk space and rides smoothly but abit noisy. Since the vehicle has recently been purchased and rest remains to be seen.

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  nissan altima - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By Kelly Bono - May 13 - 10:00 am

  The quality on this car is awsome.

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  DISSAPOINTED - 2006 Nissan Pathfinder
  By MAPA - May 13 - 5:50 am

  I have this suv for only 2 weeks, but Im all ready dissapointed. the outside is great, but the interior is to narrow, as a passenger I dont have enough space to put my purse beside my feet, if I do i feel crumpy. If somebody sits behind me I have to move my seat forward, and then I am uncomfortable; in order for my back passenger to be comfortable. When I get in I have to be careful not to hit my head. I plan to exchange my pathfinder as soon as I can.

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  problems after 75000 miles - 2000 Nissan Quest
  By wik - May 12 - 10:16 pm

  we had minor problems after purchase and during warranty such as replace vcr unit twice and driver window motor replaced, all covered by warranty but makes you wonder what else will go wrong. Our dealer service was great. We got the extended warranty at 75000 miles. At 77,000 the front end had major problems such as axle and tie rods etc all not covered. Now we are told it will need about anoth $1000 in repairs. We are thinking of trading it in. I expected better from a Japanese car when we bought it new. It was cheaper then the honda and toyota and now I know why.

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  Amazing Truck! - 2008 Nissan Titan
  By Joe B. - May 12 - 7:33 pm

  I did my homework. I got the preferred package XE which makes it similar to SE. I test drove all REAL sized trucks, Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota. The Nissan had a spacious cab (felt larger than the others), nice included features, a large engine, lots of power, smooth ride, fun to drive and the girls love it. It was a no brainer!

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  Murano has too many common chronic repair issues - 2006 Nissan Murano
  By Max Magliaro - May 12 - 5:45 pm

  The Murano has so many good things going for it. Comfort, power, 4 wheel drive, roomy, stylish. It is a shame that it has a list of failure points that Nissan has not fairly addressed with its customers. Newer model years after 2006 may be improved. I dont know. But the fact that they did not make good with their customers for the chronic defects in the 2003 - 2006 models is a major black mark in my book. The web is rife with common chronic failures in these vehicles, I have experienced enough of them, and Nissans poor handling of their responsibility to the consumer, that I will never buy Nissan again. Items 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 below are all failures I have noted on the internet with enough frequency that they are clearly chronic defects. 2006 Murano, now has 88,000 miles on it. Among the failures: 1. Front drivers seat bracket broke (I was one of the lucky ones who could get the repair done with a $300 part instead of the whole $1000 carriage). Outrageous. This is a manufacturing defect and should be a free recall replacement. 2. Lower control arms - Just to replace worn-out BUSHINGS? You must be joking. A $250 job with $100 in parts for both sides suddenly costs $900 to replace both control arms. 3. Fuel pump sending unit (all "****" on the mileage display on the dash, and no indication of full/empty) 4. Failed CD player 5. Drivers side power window motor --------------- So far, my CVT transmission has *not* failed, and I got a certificate with the car that extended the warranty on that to 10 years or 120,000 miles. But I am nearing that deadline, and Im fearful that it will quit and leave me stuck with an enormous repair bill. I will probably scrap the car if that happens. --------------- Update: 4-Aug-2016 Since my original review, nothing else major has failed on the car. But there are some minor things: 6. Drivers side sun visor is operable, but is getting loose enough to occasionally droop. I have read of others on the web that have had it get so loose that it wont stay up out of the way of vision. I am anticipating having to make some sort of sleeve or add some set screws to firm-up the pivot point. 7. Cup holder plastics and springs are brittle and break off easily. Ive had to do several repair jobs on these, adding steel pins and plastic solvent cement to really make them hold.

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  Great Truck but - Beware of Brakes - 2005 Nissan Armada
  By Kent - May 12 - 9:43 am

  We bought this SUV the day before Houston was in full evac for Hurricane Rita. It got us out of town and all the way to Dallas without a fuel stop, which was good since there was no fuel! We love the truck and have since moved to Denver. Wish we had 4WD now, but will have to make the best of it. Beware, as many other posts have noted, the rotors will warp at 5K miles. Nissan will fix it, but it is a problem. If youre buying a new 05, make them fix it before delivery. Other than that, it is a fine truck.

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  Very Satisfied - 2007 Nissan Murano
  By carloskid - May 12 - 8:53 am

  This is my second Murano SL. I live in a flat area with mostly 50/45mph speed limits. I average 24.4 mpg without driving like an old fogey. I get the same or better on the hiway. I have experimented, and the car runs fine on regular gas. No difference using midgrade or premium gas.

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  My bad a** xterra - 2010 Nissan Xterra
  By jjabb - May 12 - 2:03 am

  Loving my xterra out here in the Arizona desert. It is the SUV you want. Nice clearance and great power to get you through any terrain.

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  Very Nice - 2008 Nissan Rogue
  By eagleman1963 - May 11 - 7:13 pm

  The Rogue is a very attractive SUV we traded our 2005 Pathfinder in for the Rogue mainly for better gas mileage We have now owned our Rogue for about 3 weeks during this time we took it on a 800 mile road trip it seemed to perform and handle quite well we did notice that on rougher stretches of highway we had some vibration and rattling not what we were use to on the way to our destination we averaged about 22 MPG due to heavy winds part of the way and on the way home about 26.5 MPG not bad but I was hoping for a little better mileage.