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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  Nice SUV, Very roomy and comfortable drive - 2014 Nissan Armada
  By tropo - September 8 - 9:29 am

  Got the truck from CarMax Nissan in MD. The truck is very comfortable to drive, and very roomy inside.

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  31,000 miles later.... - 2008 Nissan Altima
  By Moneyman - September 8 - 6:03 am

  So any review after a few weeks is worthless. Finally 31k later, here we go...Overall I really like this car. Ive been averaging 29.8mpg in the winter (letting it run a little too). Thats most impressive. CVT is pretty fun to drive. Ive had a torque bolt tightened, I believe?, and the seat had a little wobble/click to it. Both fixed. There is the "popping noise that I hear at lights/after you shut it off. I will be asking about that next oil change, doesnt seem to effect anything. Overall a great car so far for mileage and comfort (Im 61" 220) just dont put your kids in the back too! Im not sure if its the tires, but they stink in the winter! My wife takes my truck! Would buy another

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  Dont get it! - 2009 Nissan Altima
  By Nissan Altima - September 7 - 3:16 pm

  I just bought a new Nissan 2.5S Altima - my advice, dont get one! As I drove off the lot, it was drizzing - the windshield wipers have a loud annoying - clack ... clack .. clack .. The blinker is a cheap - click click, click click. The storage under the radio wont shut, its stuck open and the cheap plastic shifter cover pops off. Im having buyers remorse after 5 minutes off the lot! - my 2002 Camry can do 5000 or 7500 miles between old changes, the Altima is ~3500 miles. The CVT is what sold me. Its good but the car doesnt feel right. oh well, live an learn.

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  It worked but - 2006 Nissan Sentra
  By Not again - September 6 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car used in 08 w/ 66k miles on it. Within 1st month, fuel injector pump needed to be replaced. Within 1st yr, 2 motor mounts needed to be replaced 3 times each to no fault of my own, leaving my mechanic puzzled. My mechanic says this car has lots of electrical problems. I bought this car because a friend had one that I loved but ended up being a better car for passenger. It didnt drive very well & the transmission didnt like to shift smoothly. Auto open trunk also stopped working for no apparent reason. I would have kept driving it if it wasnt totaled in an accident (to no fault of the Sentra, poor thing couldnt compete with an SUV!) The seat belts and airbags work great!

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  Premium Look, High Comfort, Excellent Features... - 2016 Nissan Murano
  By Tom Farmer - September 6 - 12:45 am

  Weve had our 2015 Murano Platinum AWD a couple of months. We auditioned the Lincoln MKX, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Acura MDX, and the Murano was the clear price / value / content winner. Pros: looks distinctive, like nothing else out there, in a class of dull lookalike vanilla vehicles. Got a good deal; big discounts and Nissan incentives are available. Acceleration is good and the CVT is rewarding to drive; no weird clunks or gear hangups. You can stir the transmission as a Tiptronic-style virtual manual, although this is no sports car. Extremely comfortable seats and cockpit in general. Great driving position; the dimensions of the car, and ride height, feel just right and really pleasing. Back seat space is terrific. Onboard technology is impressive (adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitor, forward collision warning, 360-degree radar-guided camera view, etc.) and all worked perfectly from day one. Rear seats fold flat. Dash and controls are well laid out and easy to learn. Platinum trim level is pretty luxurious -- on paper the car could pass as an Infiniti. Cons: stowage space puny unless you fold the rear seats down; there was more in our smaller Jetta Sportwagen. Some expected options unavailable, like rain-sensing wipers and lane-drift warning. Side and rear visibility is terrible; if the 360-degree camera ever conks out I dont think I can parallel-park the thing. MPG is all over the place -- 27 on a recent highway drive, but during stop-and-go duty the readout goes as low as 11 or 12. Fit and finish is disappointing: some plastic panels in prominent places, like the front-seat footwells, dont mate well and the look is inappropriately cheap in a car whose sticker tops out around $46k. Some switchwork feels shoddy and low-rent, like itll snap off in your hand next time you touch it. And our new car developed a terrible dash area buzz/rattle before it hit 500 miles; our dealer dismantled the fascia and found stripped-out screws of the wrong size holding things together. Thanks, Alabama. Overall: beautiful styling, solid value for money, a unique choice on the crossover landscape, but while brochure photos suggest comparisons with true luxury vehicles, subpar assembly quality and feel/fit/finish mean you wont actually confuse the Murano with a BMW.

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  Great SUV with bad Brakes - 2005 Nissan Armada
  By luey - September 4 - 4:20 pm

  Ive had my Armada for 8 months now. the truck is great for our three kids and two dogs. The only draw back so far has been a constant problem weve had with our brakes. Apparently the truck is too heavy for the brakes. They only last about 4000 miles before the steering wheel vibrates. With that said Our Nissan dealer has fixed the problem usually the same day I call them. It takes about 4 hours, and there is a heavy duty brake and caliper set up that will be available soon?!?

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  Reliable Altima - 2001 Nissan Altima
  By njbaseball - September 4 - 2:53 pm

  I bought my 2001 Nissan Altima brand new. With over 120,000 miles on the odometer nothingÂ’s gone wrong with this car so far. I did replace the original hubcaps after 40,000 miles because of the racket they made; aftermarket hubcaps donÂ’t make noise! Otherwise this car has never been back to the dealer for anything except accident repair. I do change the oil & filter every 3000 miles, transmission fluid and coolant fluid every 30,000 miles, so the car is cared for.

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  Real Fun to Driver - 2002 Nissan Altima
  By Misos - September 4 - 1:50 pm

  The music system :-(. There are some sounds at high speed. :( Rest is superb. :)

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  Passenger seat - 2010 Nissan Altima Hybrid
  By Aktija - September 3 - 11:30 pm

  Passenger seat with the premium package has only two manual positions. Forward and reclining back. The seat cannot be elevated. It is very low, slightly sloping forward which makes longer rides uncomfortable. It is also inconvenient for shorter people.

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  Lots of truck for the buck! Fantastic! - 2008 Nissan Xterra
  By Bill - September 3 - 10:26 pm

  Weve always been a Nissan family and bought our latest two, an 07 Sentra S (my daily driver) and 06 Xterra Off-Road (spouses daily driver), in 10/06. While I rarely drove the Xterra, I loved being high up and having power to spare when I did, so much in fact that I just traded my Sentra for a 08 Xterra. Even the base trim offers great bang for the buck. The 4.0L V6 is a beast, the 5 spd A/T meshes well with it, and it came with standard features that not even my S trim Sentra came with, including cruise, ABS, VDC and EBD (traction control). Its my first SUV and my first RWD vehicle, but its dimensions are easy to acclimate to, and its handling, though still SUV- like, is quite confident.