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:

• 

  better then the rest at that price - 2010 Nissan Maxima
  By Fl. Frank - December 4 - 10:00 am

  this is the 1st Yr. of my 2nd new Max. I like the car better than my last one (04) in comfort and style. The cvt takes time to get used to, I think it might be the engine noise at shifts? One thing I miss is the 6 pack cd player. We bought the crimson Blk. with Cafe inside,happy with that as it turns heads and draws Attn. when parked. I changed my grill to a SS wire type found on the Jags. took off the Nissan badging too,also added hand painted custom pin stripe and blacked in rear windows and lighter tint in the front ones. I wished they would have made the rear seat to fold down like my old one, Separating the nav. from the back up camera price nice touch. Having a Great Dlr. is nice too.

• 

  Too cool for school! - 2010 Nissan Murano
  By David - December 4 - 10:00 am

  I recently switched from an Xterra to the Murano, and although I am still getting used to the change in platform-truck to car platform, I am very pleased. The Murano is an excellent ride, smooth, great pickup and really brings a bit of sporty fun to driving. Not for trucking through the woods, but the LE is well trimmed, leather is comfortable, stereo is excellent. I love driving it.

• 

  Noisy - 2010 Nissan Altima
  By John - December 4 - 10:00 am

  Only have 3000 miles on this car. Transmission is noisy till it hits cruising speed. Road noise is terrible. Replaced orignal tires to see if that was the problem, but the noise level is still there and I am out $700 for tires. My Toyota Tacoma pickup is quieter than this car. If you want a quiet car dont buy this one. Be sure you drive it on a chip sealed road before you buy.

• 

  I will never buy Nissan again - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By Horrible Van - December 4 - 8:03 am

  We bought the Quest believing that Nissan makes a good product. We were disappointed from the start. The gear lever came off, the seat adjustment came off several times, the door button fell inside the panel, the arm rests wont stay even, the sliding doors rattle and we were told nothing could be done. The exterior is cheap and gets dinged easily. The front nose cone is cheap plastic and breaks constantly requiring replacement of the entire cone. The tires are a rip off as you can only buy one type of tire at a high price. The car has been a complete disapointment.

• 

  Poor build quality - 2005 Nissan Armada
  By Ron - December 4 - 5:23 am

  Im not sure at what factory my Armada was assembled, but there were simply too many parts that were either not installed at all, or installed broken. Also, the under dash squeaks and window rattles are driving me nuts. I did get the brakes fixed, but the parts that needed fixing were the redesigned parts, so Im not confident theyre truly fixed. I love the power, but given the choice, would not buy this vehicle again.

• 

  20000, CVT Problems - 2013 Nissan Sentra
  By CVTsStink - December 3 - 9:34 am

  The warranty is only as good as the company backing it. Nissan has a CVT issue and, as normal isnt doing much about it. My last Nissan, CVT issues at 20,000. Nissan needs to step up. Cant get Nissan to keep the car long enough to get the car to do it. Ive been on a intermittent slip going on 8 months now, about have gotten hit twice now. If you buy one, get a standard shift. Advice is to stay away, I hate to admit it, but go buy a Toyota.

• 

  Its a truck... Really. - 2009 Nissan Frontier
  By Scott - December 3 - 9:33 am

  After considering a variety of cars to upgrade to from my previous vehicle, I chose the Frontier as it provided a high level of features, great build quality, and is very comfortable to drive both around the city and on long HWY hauls. As a commuter vehicle, the Frontier has all the necessary comforts and features of a comparable sedan while also handling well. However, as I also needed a vehicle that would accommodate the tools and supplies used for home renovation, the Frontier was an easy choice to make as even with the 5ft bed it

• 

  Bench Seat Collapse - 2005 Nissan Titan
  By Steve Coleman - December 3 - 7:53 am

  I have a 2004 4WD SE with split bench seats with cloth interior. Looks like the 2005 suffers from the same seat issues. Whats with the sagging split bench driver and passenger seats. Im 210 lbs and the Maxima I traded in had awesome support in the seat. I feel like the seat is slowly collapsing on any trip over fifteen minutes. And the material starting to come apart at the decorative stitches. The tailgate pivot pin is loosening up and looks like it may work its way loose. Time to visit the dealer. And yes, Im soon going to be on my third brake job which means the new heavy duty ventilated rotors and hopefully dustfree brake pads. Otherwise the truck is great! Steve

• 

  excellent except for ignition coils - 1999 Nissan Maxima
  By Bill Barber - December 3 - 4:10 am

  excellent car, very reliable and fun to drive, 5 speed, except for 2 very annoying issues, the ignition coils that Nissan is aware of and wont fix and brake calipers

• 

  Get ready to shell out huge $$$ for repairs - 2006 Nissan Armada
  By vfabrici - December 2 - 11:36 pm

  We have owned the truck since new, it now has about 220k miles. Im going to give the truck overall an f, The amount spent on repairs is really high, specifically for things that should have lasted the life of the truck. 2) at less than 60k miles the exhaust manifolds warped. This was an obscene $3600 repair. 3) Factory radio/cd player died in less than 3 years, a $800 repair. 4) Radiator had to be replaced at less than 100k miles, almost $1000. 5) Dealer screwed the car up and ruined the fuel pump while doing factory warranty work on the gas gauge. They then refused to acknowledge they caused the problem. Truck went in running fine, came out limping home, could barely go