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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  Electrical Problems - 2006 Nissan Altima
  By toolmangonnabe - December 21 - 10:53 am

  Decent acceleration, firm seats, seems like good quality materials - have held up over 4 years so far. Having MAJOR electrical problems and only have 32,000 miles on the car - dealership has known fixes that last long term but want beau coup bucks to fix is - if they knew this was a problem why not fix it at the factory level? Ive had days where it just decided not to start - this is bull and I wont buy another Nissan. My 2002 Olds Intrigue with 110K mi drives better and has been more reliable (just not as sporty).

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  300 zx power - 1996 Nissan 300ZX
  By manzella womble - December 20 - 2:00 am

  best sports car ever introduced into the market!

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  Fun and powerful - 2003 Nissan Sentra
  By Carlos M Larios - December 20 - 2:00 am

  WEll i just bought my car yesterday...i love the power and i got a great proce on it...1740O w/ moon roof and audio package not including Tax, tags, and freight...the second i got in the car i knew it had to be mine. You can just feel the power that this small car has. i test drove it and loved it. the 6 speed manual tran is a beautiful thing...responsive and generally has a good sports car feel to it. I will update my enrty as time goes by. Honestly dont pass this one up...i was in the market for amazda 6 but when it cam,e down to it the Spec v had the power and enough options to keep me happy and at a good price.

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  Fun Ride but Painful Seat - 2006 Nissan Maxima
  By Houston Commuter - December 19 - 7:40 am

  I commute over an hour each way every day and liked the performance, mileage and range of this car. It has lots of zip in traffic and motors along at 80 with no problem. The exterior styling is distictive and the interior is big enough for a family of 5 on the rare occasions when the family comes along. My only serious complaint is the width and rigidity of the front bucket seats. I find that the little wings on the side of the seat are rock hard and they are putting my leg to sleep, especially on the right side. The problem didnt show itself until I had been driving for about a month and now Im regretting the purchase.

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  This SUV is a beast! - 2017 Nissan Armada
  By Michael C - December 19 - 5:05 am

  After driving the behemoth Chevys / GMCs we almost bought the better handling Expedition except the interior was too drab. The Nissan by contrast is very well designed, comfortable, very (very) quick off the line, handles well and is very quiet. The auto AWD mode is easy to drive but once you switch to other modes, driving gets clunky fast. A couple of complaints however, one is with four children and the back seat in use we like to keep the smaller of the middle seats folded. Unfortunately there is no way to safely secure it in that position, which creates a safety hazard, as it could flip down onto the foot of a third row passenger. The middle row release mechanism is also difficult for kids to manipulate. The Nav and touchscreen interface is poorly designed and the bluetooth has trouble switching between phones of different drivers if the first phone is no longer in the car. Voice commands appear to default only to navigation which is odd. Those issues aside the performance and driving characteristics of this vehicle are second-to-none in this class. Basically youre getting the Infiniti which makes this car a great value.

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  Decent reliability for the money - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By yokiro - December 18 - 1:06 am

  Overall it has been a reliable vehicle -- minus the o2 sensors failing over the years and problems playing CDs.

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  Lots of Problems - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By Susan - December 16 - 11:56 pm

  The style of this Nissan is great. The kids love the skyview windows, which makes the interior seem very cavernous. It seems like Nissan released this vehicle before the ironed out all the kinks though. Should you decide on the Quest be prepared for many problems, such as sunroof/roof leaks, interior trim breakage, rattles, a very confusing control panel, and power door problems, just to name a few of the common ones. Do your research before purchase!

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  My Drive - 2009 Nissan Cube
  By lars - December 16 - 10:33 pm

  All in all a very good first effort the interior layout is nice and very roomy Im 62 400 pounds and it felt o.k. the controls are nicely laid out but some of the options are pure gimmick so keep them to a minimum .

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  Nice handling vehicle. - 2009 Nissan Rogue
  By Two Old Crows - December 14 - 3:23 pm

  Now I understand why all the complaints on this forum about the poor visibility out the rear of these Rogues. I was backing down my driveway at night and scraped the left rear wheel rim on a low stone wall because I couldnt judge distance properly due to the small rear window. Hope my gas mileage improves. Lowest has been 19.9 and highest is 21.6. Vehicle has less than 2000 miles on it, so Im hoping for improvement as my mileage increases. Car drives and handles beautifully.

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  Not like the 93 - 2003 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Lk - December 14 - 10:00 am

  Should have 4 wheel dics brakes! Lose the drum brakes. My 93 stopped much better. Head rest move to freely. No back hatch release.