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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  2 years old & not happy - 2008 Nissan Altima
  By moorem1 - September 15 - 2:40 am

  Had owned a Maxima previously, thats why went back to Nissan. Not as pleased this time. Before 2 yrs old battery went dead. Replacement on stock battery was 50%. After market battery would have been 100%. Since new battery the brake light (indicating emergency brake is on) comes on randomly. Also the slip light & VDC light come on randomly. Seems to be sluggish at times.

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  Real SUV - 2006 Nissan Xterra
  By PW Xterra - September 15 - 12:33 am

  Xterra S 4x2 with autmatic. This truck is the most fun to drive out of any I have ever driven. The throttle response is excellent. The engine outperforms any SUV Ive driven. Its not a bad gas guzzler, although it burns more fuel than a Ford Escape or Jeep Liberty. it pays off from the Fords and the Jeeps when it comes to reliability. If you buy any truck like one of those, itll be in the shop more, and youll pay for it there. Besides, the Xterra is much more versatile for any type of driving than those are. the fold flat seats have been perfect for me. This SUV is exactly what I need. Its got all the basics, organized so that its design is effective for a daily driver.

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  Fresh design - 2008 Nissan Titan
  By nodak08 - September 14 - 3:43 pm

  The new design is very fresh and simple. The ride is excellent. I narrowed my choice down to two makes, the tundra or the titan. I picked the titan because for the dollar I got more features for my dollar. I felt the ride in both was superior to the chevy, ford, or dodge.

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  its a 4 speed automatic wasnt in selection but its great - 2000 Nissan Xterra
  By kms1990 - September 14 - 4:37 am

  i love my xterra she has a bumpy ride but its a truck frame so it is designed to be tough not smooth it runs like a beast but as with most v6 suvs it feels underpowered on acceleration up hills on freeway onramps but if you give it a good amount of gas pedal push it will downshift and get up there it looks great to me definitely distinctive the interior is a little bland but well built and comfy seats sit low in front so it feels like sittin in a sporty car thats lifted 10" because you can see above most things blind spots are minimal which is good it has alot of storage space and is well built and fun to drive especially off road where it loves to be great suv i would buy again

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  Couldnt be happier! - 2012 Nissan Maxima
  By kc16 - September 13 - 4:25 pm

  My husband and I looked at and test drove many high-end sedans from Lexus ES 350, Audi A4, Infinity to C Class Mercedes Benz. The designer cars didnt impress us. Seriously. It all came down to personal preference and what would work best for our family. We did narrow it down to the ES and Maxima, but the ES has really short head space. We are tall people. My hubby is over 6 ft. and Im 5 ft. 7. And each time we test drove an ES, I kept thinking "old man car". Plus the breaking wasnt smooth and it was downright boring to drive and we were worried about the Toyota/Lexus recalls. We purchased a black 2012 Maxima with gray interior with red stitching and couldnt be happier. We got a great deal on a SV Premium Package with rear spoiler. With its ample headspace, heated steering wheel, heated and air conditioned seats, Bose stereo, nav system, and double moon roof, we got all the perks we wanted and then some. Its a good-looking car thats a blast to drive. Looks and drives like a sports car. The manufacturer recommends premium gas, but the dealership said we could use regular with no problem. The only thing we dont like is the effortless acceleration. If weÂ’re not careful, weÂ’ll be racking up some serious speeding tickets, yall. This is our favorite car weve owned yet. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!"

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  The Note sings - 2015 Nissan Versa Note
  By jbullerjahn - September 12 - 8:43 pm

  The Note is an interesting piece in a sea of sameness. Even with only 600 miles on the clock, Ive been averaging about 35 miles combined highway and city. I have the SV with the CVT and am very happy with it. It seems to gave enough scoot, but with only 600 miles on the clock, Im not doing any hard driving yet. The Note is a car where reading the owners manual is a definite plus, though I found a few features on my own. Ill list them in the next section. Its a roomy, reasonably quiet, though the bluetooth and media volume buttons are not intuitive. The up and down button is the phone, while the button going across is the volume control.

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  Great Machine - 1995 Nissan Maxima
  By happy owner - September 12 - 11:20 am

  This is my second Maxima, I also owned a 1991, which I drove to its death at 250,000 miles. I also own a 2003 with 102,000 miles. This 1995 currently has 175,000. It is a fabulous machine to drive, I had some replacements problems by having to replace alternator, starter, CV axles, a couple of fuel injectors, infamous knock sensor and the coolant temp sensor apart from regular brake, tune up, oil changes. I think the tricky thing is when the one of the fuel injectors starts acting up, the car/computer thinks the knock sensor and the temp sensor is bad, which was not the case with my and actually one of the injector was going bad. Parts are expensive but a reliable car.

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  Great car for the money - 2011 Nissan Juke
  By zoolander1 - September 11 - 6:38 pm

  I bought this car yesterday. I test drove it last week. I downgraded from a 2009 A4 quattro premium as I wanted to lower my debt. I liked how the car feels for the money: at $20k it offers great value with its strong turbo engine. I loved the seats materials although I feel they sit low and Im 511". I also liked the stereo features and the stiff handling which gives you the sporty feeling. Not a boring car. I still have to experience the claimed MPG which in the manual tranny is a little lower that in the CVT.

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  Will Never buy another Nissan - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By JAM - September 11 - 1:43 pm

  The van drives nice and is a comfortable ride. Have had a lot of problems. Engine power problems, door leaks, gas gauge not working, etc. Every time we take it to the dealership for repairs, they cannot find the problem. I am told that they will not fix the problem unless they can duplicate it. Bad service policy. They also never can find any error codes on the computer. On my American cars, the mechanics can always find error codes telling them the problems. I have no faith in the Nissan technology or service structure. I will never buy another Nissan.

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  The Z almost right - 2004 Nissan 350Z
  By Matt_S - September 11 - 12:36 pm

  Everything about the Z is great except.... They still havent fixed the tire feathering problem on the 2004, I just turned 10,000 miles and I have the problem. If you search the web a bunch of people still do. Nissan still does not have a proper fix yet. Also Im disappointed that the base model doesnt come with cruise control. A 27,000 dollar vehicle should come with cruise, Im sure it was some jerk in the marketing department who took it off of the base model so people would have to play the extra 2k to get the enthusiast model. Other than that it has been a great car. But I will not put tires on it every 8k miles. Nissan YOU NEED TO FIX THIS!