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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  Worst Car - 2004 Nissan Altima
  By Otis Lee Singleton - February 11 - 6:40 am

  The only good experience with this car is when I first bought It. The Keys Deactivated with no one at Nissan able to tell me why but charged to reset them. The exhaust manifold cracked and had to be replaced which they did but not before engine developed a valve noise that they would not help. The driverside window motor went out. The sunroof opens and closes on its own. The interior is cheaply built, the visors and cup holders have broken or screws are falling out. Exhaust donut gasket went out. With all these problems along with a couple factory recalls led me to never to want another Nissan because even contacting Corporate they would not help.

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  Poor Long-TermReliability, Nice Interior - 1996 Nissan Maxima
  By procontrol - January 26 - 10:00 am

  Interior is very nice - roomy and comfortable. Mechanical reliability, however, is poor, relative to other imports Ive owned (Honda, Acura). As you approach and exceed 100k miles, lots of things start to fail on this car and dealer service and parts costs tend to be very high with mediocre service.

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  I am sorry that I bought this car - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By CFF - January 26 - 7:13 am

  I bought this car new because it had been recommended to me as a reliable car. Well, those who told me that were wrong. I hate this car. It has had problems from the moment I bought it. The catalytic converter has been replaced 5 times! They have replaced the belts over and over because there is a squeaking sound that cant be figured out. Yesterday it completely died and a costly repair is needed. I wish I could throw this car away!! There is no room in the backseat or the trunk. I can barely fit a car seat in it. I did not like getting stranded on the side of the road with my 7 month old on a 100 degree day. I will never buy a Nissan again.

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  Not so fast Nissan - 1996 Nissan Altima
  By _impeachbo - January 18 - 11:52 am

  This 1996 Altima GXE was driven by an older lady on her less than frequent trips around Denver. It was bought at fair market price or so I thought. It was gone over by a mechanic prior to purchase, who confirmed the motor mounts were shot, so I took that at face value. Later, the automatic trans seized up, and it became quite apparent from my research that many of these transmissions have a flaw in the valve body design. So fine, if your has not been replaced it will eventually weaken in this crucial area. I am in the process of replacing this transmission, and will need to buy at lease one half shaft with cv joint.

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  a lot of blind spots - 2007 Nissan Versa
  By versa - January 16 - 7:16 pm

  The hachback window is small and not enogh veiw out of it. The post from the side rear windows to the hachback window is to broad that is where the blind spots are. The stupid tringle windows in driver and passengers side windows are also a distraction. The sticker said 25 mpg,in town and 36 mpg highway. Well I have not done much highway driving yet but I do not get any where near 25 mpg where I live and I live in the country.

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  Problems - 2012 Nissan Versa
  By desertrat11 - January 16 - 11:11 am

  I bought my Nissan versa in august of 20111, 1st thing went wrong trim on top of roof fell off, 2nd needed a air filter I thought, 2nd needed a new transmission, 3rd needed new rear brakes, 4th blew a tire on the freeway and lastly contacted Nissan customer consumer affairs and after 3 weeks of playing phone tag their was not a thing they could do for me. And by the way did I mention that my dealership said I have roadside assistance which is only for a tow up to 100 dollars and a rental

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  Nissan quality sinks - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By welshy - January 11 - 2:00 am

  Extremely problematic and the reviews dont tell the issues that this generation is experiencing. Problems to date at mile occurred Fuel sending unit 57K Front U -Joint 57k Catalytic converters (all) 71K Engine 75k (due to converter failure, pieces got into the engine) transmission failure do to design issue with radiator (class action lawsuit pending, I have luckily not had this issue to date)

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  Sloppy handing, massive blind spot, weak power - 2017 Nissan Rogue
  By imvho - December 28 - 1:59 pm

  Rented an AWD version for 5 days for a long weekend trip with myself & SO & our 2 dogs for a trip to a place about 200 miles away. Never in my wildest (worst) dreams would I buy this vehicle. Yes, it has a very comfortable ride over the highway for both driver and front passenger, but the wimpy weak little engine just couldnt get enough guts to pass much of anything on a highway hill. And on the many winding, S-curve, 2-lane country back roads we took were an exercise in terror thanks to the massive blind spot from the huge A pillar on the drivers side - couldnt see if there were cars coming toward me around any curves without craning my neck one way or another. And the handling....well, it was like driving a marshmallow. Sloppy, wishy-washy, imprecise, just plain unpleasant. I had no feel of the road whatsoever. Granted, at the time my primary car was an Acura TL Type-S, so perhaps not fair to compare, but it was 10 years older than this Rogue, so I feel theres no excuse. I ended up buying a 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R Touring and it is almost as pleasing to drive as my beloved Acura. If you value handling, power/torque, as well as passenger comfort, RUN AWAY from the Rogue and give the Outback a try. (The other one to try would be a 2017 Infiniti QX50 - pretty amazing, but the Subaru 3.6R gives almost the same driving experience for a lot less money.)

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  Not so beautiful beauty - 2017 Nissan Sentra
  By Lorrie Hyatt - December 14 - 2:47 pm

  I love the exterior and interior of my 2017 Nissan but I am extremely unhappy about the way it drives. All of the technical bells and whistles work fine but the engine is VERY LOUD. It gets even louder when you try to accelerate . Acceleration is slow so you have to wait until all cards near and far have gone by to change lanes because it moves very slow and the gas peddle seams as though it is pulling back when you try to press the peddle down harder. Cars constantly ride up on the back of me while Im waiting for it to finally speed up Its been to the shop 3 times since I purchased it but the mechanics cant find anything wrong with it. Ive only had it for 4 months and I cant wait to trade it in for something more dependable. Very frustrating.

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  Transmission Nightmare!!!! - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By Tasia matthews - December 12 - 10:04 pm

  After only 70,000 miles my transmission has to be replaced on my 2013 altima. The car begin to shake unexpectedly one day and shut down. Ive never had any mechanical issues with my car since I purchased it at 30,000 miles and Ive always had the recommended maintenance done, so replacing the transmission was a shock! Be prepared to pay over 3K to repair, depending on what dealership fixes it.I would definitely recommend purchasing a extended warranty if you decide to purchase a Nissan . The cvt transmission has the worst reviews Ive ever seen online . Calling corporate is like talking to no-one . They wont do anything !!!!! Im definitely trading my car for a HONDA .