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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  zooming - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By attykim - February 8 - 10:00 am

  I love the body style over the other cars in its class. I would definitely recommend the Bose radio instead of the standard radio. I checked out the leather and its really not all that, so I got the fabric seats instead...so far so good with the car. I do wish that i bought the V6 instead, although the mileage is much better on the 4cyl.

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  This aint so bad... - 2007 Nissan Altima
  By Larry - February 8 - 9:26 am

  After reading a few reviews, I dont understand many of the complaints--this car is not so bad. Weve had it for two months now, and it is a fun, stylish, well-performing car with lots of room. And we also have a C5 vette and a Mustang GT to compare to. Handling and acceleration are very good, and noise level is better than the BMW 735 we had. Unfortunately the in-town gas mileage is about as bad as the GT, ~17 mpg--the vette gets 19-20! And the GT suspension is much less comfortable than the Altima. In comparison buying, it was impossible to get a Honda in the colors and options we wanted, Toyota doesnt have a V6+MT, and the others were too $$. Plus we got $2500 off MSRP.

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  2004 Nissan Quest 3.5 SE MiniVan - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By otsmd - February 8 - 6:26 am

  This was the dealers car.Had 26,000 miles when I got it. Aside from new tires, brakes it has been a charm.Regular maint and oil changes.Great gas mileage on long highway trips. We take driving vacations and it has never let us down. At 130,000 miles needed transmission, rebuilt and running just like before. This was the first major expense since I bought the car.

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  Value, Value, Value... - 2009 Nissan Titan
  By Englander - February 6 - 1:56 am

  Well after spending $21000 on a new 2009 King Cab SE I could not be happier. A lot of people seem to be upset with poor MPG. Its 5.6 V8 with 300+ hp what do expect if you floor it. I have been driving steady and I do a lot of highway miles and 20 mpg is easy. I had a 4 cylinder Frontier and that got about 24 mpg. Its big comfortable and well equipped for the price of a new Altima. I like most looked at other trucks but you cannot beat the value.

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  Cure For The common Car - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By 2005T-Rex2.5S - February 5 - 8:23 pm

  The 2005 Nissan Altima is different from the other mid-sized cars. It feels like a sports car. It has a great sound system, and great sounding 2.5 l I-4. The example that I own is a 2005 Nissan Altima 2.5S with a 4 speed Automatic transmission. It has an base MSRP of 19,500. My example has an MSRP of 23,000. The transmission shifts at just the right moments, however the shifts are very noticable. The interior is all new, and Nissan did a wonderful job with the interior. The plastics are high quality, and the design does not look cheap. The engine has 175 hp, and can make it to 60 mph in an average 7.5 seconds from a standstill. As the sticker on the car says "Cure For the Common Car".

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  I like it - 2001 Nissan Sentra
  By Drex - February 5 - 8:20 am

  I have been content with my Sentra SE. It gets good gas mileage (30s) and has been relatively problem free. The ride on this car is a bit rough at times, but Ive become accustomed to it. Some issues Ive had to repair are the A/C needed to be recharged, O2 sensor replaced, and the drivers side window motor was replaced (automatic windows).

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  some quility/dealer problems - 2003 Nissan 350Z
  By Mike - February 3 - 11:20 am

  Great looks, nice handling(have the track model), crappy build quality. I had this thing in for minor things....it just gets annoying. The dealer refused to fix my faulty window regulator under warrentey becuase I had after market speakers installed. Even though its a known problem. It took 5 trips to Devon Nissan to fix it. After my first trip it got stuck in the down position on a 300 mile trip. Huge after market....I have $10,000 invested in the suspension/brakes/dvd/stereo. It is a sweet set up and grabs attention everywhere. I buy a new car every 12 months so this one is being replaced. Honestly it will probably be my last Nissan due to the build quility and horrible dealer ex

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  what a scam, NISSAN CONNECT - 2016 Nissan Rogue
  By Kelly - February 3 - 9:56 am

  very disappointed, had to pay for sirius to make sure my nissan connect was connected. now I have to pay and additional subscription for the NISSAN CONNECT. You would think that paying over 33K for a vehicle that the technology that was sold with the vehicle would be included with the vehicle.!!!!!!!!

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  Update Report From October, 2010 - 2007 Nissan Xterra
  By hikercamper - February 2 - 9:11 pm

  42,500 Miles. Still under factory warranty - timing chain is being replaced. Gas mileage started dropping, so am having fuel service, including cleaning of fuel injectors and de-carbon valves. Rear shocks will be replaced with Bilstein shocks. Have received two notices from Nissan extending warranties on fuel sensor assembly to 60,000 miles and the radiator assembly to 72,000. Feeling concerned about the mechanical reliability of this vehicle. Thought the Xterra would have held up better than this. Bought new and have owned the Xterra for three and a half years.

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  So far so good - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By girlfriend1 - February 2 - 6:11 pm

  Ive had the car for almost three years. We bought it with 29,000 miles and thus far all has gone well. Gets scary reading the other reviews. Dont like turning radius. All else has been fine.