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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  Fun to drive - 2007 Nissan Altima
  By nissanfixr - May 1 - 11:46 am

  I am a Nissan master technician with 30 years in Nissan dealerships. I normally dont get too excited when the new models come out, but after attending new model training on the 07 Altima, and just sitting in one, it just "felt right", and knew I had to have one. Driving the 3.5 V6 was the clincher. I have had it for 18 months and 24,000 miles with no major complaints as far as reliability and drivetrain performance. It keeps up with anything off the line. After 30 mph, it really takes off. Use premium fuel or you will notince some slight hesitation in midrange RPM. Climbing long steep grades with the CVT is impressive when youre passing everything else on the road. A great car.

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  no ride - 2006 Nissan Maxima
  By walking boy - May 1 - 6:26 am

  After 2 months while driving, the gauges went dead along with turn signals, and the fan air etc. Took the car back to the dealer and they took 6 hrs to find the problem ( they think) the part been on order for 31 days. No car.the dealer wont returns calls and left me with a 800 # where you wait 30 min before they take your call. Then all they tell you is youre high priority and your case worker will call you back. Im still waiting for my call back

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  Nissan Dealers Will Not Service their own product - 2015 Nissan NV Cargo
  By Richard - May 1 - 2:06 am

  Before you buy a Nissan NV2500 be aware that there are only certain Nissan dealerships that are allowed to service the vans. I have been turned down at 2 local Nissan dealerships in Southern California for oil changes. If the Dealership is not a "Commercial Dealership" they cannot even change the oil. The ludicracy of this is that the Titan and the Van have the same drive train.

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  100 percent satisfied - 2013 Nissan Leaf
  By sampsr - April 30 - 8:16 pm

  We leased the 2013 SL in June and completely satisfied with the car at this point. They did a great job making it as much like driving a conventional car, which my wife likes. We spent ab out a year thinking about how it would fit our lifestyle and could not think of a single instance were we would be "stuck" without a gasoline motor. I charges quickly with the 240 volt charger. The dashboard technology is great and easy to interpret.

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  Serious safety issue still unresolved - 2012 Nissan Quest
  By hedgehog26 - April 30 - 4:48 am

  First let me say that the van, for the price that I paid for it, is hands down a much better buy than the Odyssey or the Sienna. The exterior styling is I admit a personal preference, but we like it. Interior is awesome! The SL I think is the best trim for the value. I wouldt pay more for some extra features for the LE (not for almost 10k more!). The only major flaw in this van, which Ithink everyone should be warned about before they buy it is the fuel tank problem. This is not the software problem addressed bybthe March 2012 recall. Nissan thought that will fix the problem but it didnt. That recall fix even negatively affected the gas mileage of the van.

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  Superiority Before Its Time - 1998 Nissan Maxima
  By JGree23 - April 30 - 3:46 am

  I bought this car for $3000 with 160K miles. At first I didnt know what to expect out of this car. I had just sold my 2001 Acura Cl Type-S, due to transmission problems made by the manufacturer. After 1 week of being in this car, I was completely shocked that my Acura only had a few things that the Nissan did not. This Nissan has it all, power, comfort, and plenty of room. I stand 6"2 and there was still room behind my seat. This car is a solid driver, refilled every oil and fluid as soon as I got it and car has never gave me a problem. It rides extremely smooth. It simple has everything I need. 22 MPG city/ 28 MPG highway, always used 91 Premium Gas.

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  Biggest piece ive ever bought - 1997 Nissan Pathfinder
  By kyle - April 29 - 8:06 pm

  I bought this car used from my uncle with 98,000 miles and ever since Ive owned it, it has been nothing but trouble. Replaced the manual transmission and drive shaft $1800. Struts and shocks are so bad the car wobbles as youre driving. The drive shaft has already messed up again just recently as an experienced owner I will never buy another Nissan any make or model.

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  2010 Altima 3.5SR - 2010 Nissan Altima
  By Altima - April 29 - 7:30 am

  This is a decent car with a load of techno stuff. I bought mine fully loaded and love every bit of the techy stuff. However, this car will rattle like a can w/ rocks inside. Please beware!!!!! Other than that you will enjoy every bit of it. Its smooth (even with sport tuned suspension), fast, fairly quit and full of gadgets at a decent price. Since this is my 5th nissan I know that they could have done a better job with the cabin rattles. I would definitely buy another one in a sec. In comparison to my 2008 Maxima SL, this car is average. My Max was better quality, had only a few rattles at 25000 miles and faster w/ less horsepower.

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  Great car up until - 1999 Nissan Maxima
  By ballbreaker910 - April 29 - 7:14 am

  I purchased my 99 Maxima in 2010 with 104000 Miles. I was sure this car would be reliable which it was up until I hit a severe bump in the Bronx, NY. The car was never the same since. The exhaust ended up falling off. I repaired that. The axel needed to be replaced. Done. The starter failed. Repaired that. Bushing, ball joints and breaks went. Repaired. Trunk wouldnÂ’t open. Solved that issue. So my mechanic really believed in this car. Then lastly I went out to start the car one day and the car began to sputter. Felt awful. Turned out to be the coil pack. For anyone who knows anything about coil packsÂ… When one failsÂ… The remaining coil packs may be soon to follow. So I spent the $275 to fix

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  My Second Murano - 2009 Nissan Murano
  By Michael - April 29 - 3:23 am

  Just picked up my 2009 Murano. I had a 2005 and loved it. But theres no comparison between the 2 cars. The styling on the 2009 is much better as is the interior. Theres more pop in this one, the ride is quiet and smooth. Mine has the tech, nav, prem, leather and moonroof options. I test drove other cars but came back to the Murano. If youre looking for a mid-size suv that rides like a car youll love the Murano. If you like listening to music youll love the Bose system. Do yourself a favor and test drive this SUV.