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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  Great Car - 2003 Nissan Sentra
  By Tha P - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Powerful, very fun to drive and comfortable. Good price for the car. The best quality/price in the range of car.

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  One of the best - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By SMS - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Although the car has 3 recalls on it, it is still an excellant automobile to drive and own. All recalls were promptly taken care of by the dealership and aloaner car was provided.

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  First time Nissan Buyer - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By paul stratton - July 24 - 2:00 am

  The design caught my eye. I drove it and was impressed with the handling as well as the power of a 4 cylinder. Ive owned it for a year and have had no problems at all. Standard maintance only. Have taken it on long trips and felt comfortable the entire way.

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  EXCELLENT - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By JIM JR - July 24 - 2:00 am

  AN EXCELLENT VALUE, HOWEVER INTERIOR MATERIALS NOT NEAR QUALITY OF MY 00 MAXIMA

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  Unsatisfied - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By maureen - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Was very excited to purchase a new 02 Altima. Read great ratings, etc. Turns out after 7 months Ive been back to the dealership at least 3 times. Problems with squeeking in fastened seat belts. Need to have shocks replaced after only 7,000 miles. Now have a weird "rotten egg" smell coming through vent when heat is on. Took to dealership wasnt happening at the time it was there so they wouldnt even replace filters to see if that would correct problem. Told me it needed to be happening while car was there. Also lied and said there were no filters in the Altima.

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  Good Car, Room for Improvement - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By Byamba - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Overall a very reliable car. Nice looking. Strong and fast, probably one of the strongest 4cyl (175 horses) engines Ive seen. Fun to drive. Roomy. Interior needs a lot of improvement though. Something could be done to lower the noise. A very good car that needs some refining, so I am looking forward to the 04 version (with standard ABS).

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  05 Frontier - 2005 Nissan Frontier
  By Jeff - July 23 - 11:26 pm

  This is a great truck so far. Just got over 1,000 miles. Gas mileage is very close to the rated 15/20, although you can do better if you take it easy. Everything is where it needs to be. Only problem is a rattle in the dash. It only does it when it is cold and near idle. If I turn on the defroster, the rattle stops. Wanting to get it fixed but not looking foward to the dealer tearing into my dash. Would still buy the truck again. Drove the Tacoma and the Nissan just feels bigger.

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  2005 Nissan Xterra Off Road 6MT 4WD - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By Raj - July 23 - 6:53 pm

  For the price, its quite a roomy SUV with quite a powerful engine. THE CONS: The transmission is quite noisy and feels like driving a truck. Shifting is not as smooth as it would be in a car. Noise carries inside especially when shifting gears. Lacks the smoothe ride of a car or a luxury SUV. The dash is very dreary. Front passenger seat not very comfortable. The vinly lined cargo are tends to get scratched. Bad at handling corners. THE PROS: Fun to drive, especially on straight roads. Good performance(0-60 in under 8 sec). Pricing. Cloth seats have a unique fabric that give it a rugged look. Descent fuel efficieny when you take into account that its a SUV and has a 265hp engine.

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  Lovin My New 2016 Maxima! - 2016 Nissan Maxima
  By Anonymous - July 23 - 12:06 pm

  Ill admit, the Maxima wasnt even one of the cars on my list to consider, since I was so hell-bent on getting a Lexus IS 250, Scion FR-S, or Lexus NX300h. I really wanted a sportier car that was fun to drive with great gas mileage, as I commute everyday, but needed one that could fit at least 5 people. The Lexus NX300h was at the top of my list since it could easily fit in 5 people and had all the features I wanted, but was a bit out of my price range. The Lexus IS250 was a lot more cramped and had a lot less features.. and though I REALLY liked the handling and driving of the Scion, much like the Lexus, it had a lot less features and was even more cramped in the rear seats (leg room was next to zero) and was even worse than the Lexus. As I was looking at the Lexus the dealer had in stock, I noticed a Nissan Maxima, which only had caught my eye because of the beautiful color (Bordeaux Black) I went to test drive the Lexus and Nissan and I was completely blown away by the interior, handling and performance of the Nissan. I test drove the Nissan first and then the Lexus. The Nissan had so many features that the Lexus didnt that I was sold after I had finished driving the Lexus. The interior is amazing, and I love the blind spot indicators, as well as the excellent mpg, and the handling in sport mode is awesome! This car is definitely a head-turner and I always get compliments, especially on the color, styling and interior. The only downsides to this car: 1.) Does not fit 5 people comfortably 2.) The Bose sound system is a little off, as the music tends to fade out at random times while playing music, without messing with any of the controls, but could just be my system. 3.) Navigation could be a little bit easier to use, since it can be dangerous trying to go and type through all the manual input information in different sections for the city, state etc while driving. I find it easier to use the nav on my phone than the one in the car, where you can just enter the address easily.

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  Got Nissan? - 2007 Nissan Sentra
  By southerncali - July 23 - 8:10 am

  Love my white 07 Sentra. Installed the K & N air filter and an exhaust in the back for that vrooom and more mpg but I think my mpg went down because I love to put the pedal to the metal. I get about 370 miles highway. Head turner! Gas mileage at 11,000 miles is still 28 city. Much more horsepower helping that tranny (CVT) on engine with the exhaust. My trade in was an 05 toyota corolla Sport. This Nissan is way better!