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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  Perfect Car! - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By OURTOYS - February 2 - 10:00 am

  This is the first car that I have owned that I absolutley love!! My previous car was a Honda Civic and the Altima is a far superior car than the Civic. I commute in my car about 1 hour everyday. The seats are very comfortable and the controls on the steering wheel are a wonderful feature. It has a lot of headroom, my husband is 65" and he has more than enough room to sit comfortably in the car. I recommend the Altima to everyone I know.

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  2004 MAX SL is a Great Car - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By Ramcon - February 2 - 10:00 am

  After three weeks and 2400 miles I am very pleased with my new Max. Great power and exellent cruising on the highway. It really wants to go! Around town it seems a fair bit bigger than my 95 Maxima but I am getting used to it quickly.

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  Family enjoying 2005 SL - 2005 Nissan Quest
  By Pat - February 2 - 1:53 am

  Well soon add a new baby seat to the 2 infant seats we have in my wifes Passat, so had to move Minivan. My wife did not like having to give up here sportiness and power, but have found a worthy replacment in the Quest. Compared it to the Mazda MVP, which is also sporty, but was smaller and would not "grow" as well with the kids. Only hit 500 miles so far, but love it. Was worried about getting used to the center consol concept, but it did not take long to adjust. Too early to say for sure about reliablity, but looking good so far, and no obvious build problems.

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  After 27,000 miles - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By chris - February 1 - 11:56 pm

  Problems with door rattles have been made acceptable certainly not a complete fix. Do not like "searching" shifts with cruise control - will not maintain speed on hills except with abrupt shift to 3rd and will return to 4th requiring a reset. Mileage on recent 7000 mile trip (plains and mountains) was 25 with 28 as a high (70 to 75 mph). Goodyear Eagle LS tires are terrible, one separating at 27K -- there are very few choices for replacement; I plan on going to a 235/55 size.

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  Excellent Sporty Sedan - 1999 Nissan Maxima
  By glemon - February 1 - 10:40 pm

  My first four door car after owning sports cars then a Nissan Sentra SE-R. Bought off E-bay with 40,000 miles and extended warranty, didnt need the warranty, now at nearly 80,000 and literally nothing has gone wrong with the car, not even a bulb out. Got it because I wanted more room, practicality than my Sentra SE-R drove a 5-speed Maxima and it felt like a SE- R with a little more room, power and torque. Plan on keeping it for a long long time, little to fault with this car

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  Dont be Fooled by the Appearance. Dont Buy Nissan!!!!!!! - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By byebyenissan - February 1 - 9:00 am

  We had the same leaking radiator problem like many people with our 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. The vehicle was 2000 km over the extended warranty limit. We would bring the vehicle to Nissan dealership if we were made aware of the defect sooner. We asked Nissan for assistance. After many phone calls, emails, time spent collect past maintenance record requested by Nissan Canada and months of waiting, we finally got a reply. Below is my response to their reply. "Thank you [Nissan Customer Service rep] for passing the news that Nissan would not do anything for our loss and their defective automobile, and for wasting our time. I can assure you we will spread our words about the quality of Nissan vehicle, so less people will experience what we have experienced. I am happy to report that after this incident we have traded in our Nissan for a Toyota which we have been very happy with, and my dad has sold his Nissan for a Lexus. Even though the resale Nissan worths less than other vehicle of similar type and age, its wonderful to got rid of our headache and future headaches. I will look forward to the day Nissan disappear from this world. Best of luck to all of you working for Nissan." We traded in the Nissan after replaced the radiator. Transmission was still working at the time, but we didnt want to take a chance of keeping a time bomb. The problem is well known among dealships of other car makers, so we got only $8000 for the trade in, but this is better than having to pay $5000 later on repairs. We had so many problems with this vehicle since we purchased it new from a dealership - noises, signal problem, gauge problem, etc. - and spent a lot of money fixing them including getting scammed by dealership (asked to pay for an item under warranty). What we experienced with Nissan is bad vehicle, bad service and ignorance. This is our one time experience with Nissan. Lesson learnt.

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  Best Value Pickup - 2007 Nissan Titan
  By Dave - January 31 - 7:30 pm

  The Titan King Cab XE is powerful, quiet, handles very well and has attained surprisingly good gas mileage so far. On a road trip through the Oregon Cascade Mountain Range with A/C on all the time I achieved 21.4 MPG at speeds of 60 - 65 MPH. Couldnt be happier!

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  Great truck - 2008 Nissan Frontier
  By springbranch - January 31 - 6:10 pm

  Perfect vehicle for someone who needs a work truck and family vehicle at the same time. Not too big, not too small. Rides great.

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  Comfort and Quality - 2008 Nissan Titan
  By Joe - January 31 - 11:00 am

  I wanted a truck that would handle not only my towing and hauling needs but be very comfortable. The ride and handling are first class. The ride is smooth and quiet. The captains chairs are very comfortable. The Rockford Fosgate sound system with the XM radio is exceptional. It makes you feel as though you are driving in a luxury automobile. The build quality is very good. There werent any defects at delivery. The gas mileage is as expected for a large truck with this much power. I get approximately 21 MPG on the highway going around 68 MPH. Around town about 14. The king cab provides plenty of room even for a six foot tall adult. This is a quality vehicle at a bargain price. Great truck

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  SUV that is really solid, not fake - 2004 Nissan Xterra
  By Joaquin - January 31 - 10:16 am

  I have owned this car for 6 months now, and have no complaints at all so far, is solid like a rock, and very fun to drive. Is not like one of those SUV that look much more like a sedan on the inside, is rather basic and rough, but is still very quiet in the inside, seats are comfortable, and has a lot of pockets and compartments all over. AC and heater are great, factory stereo has a decent sound, manual transmission is smooth (for an off-road SUV) and looks fantastic, all your neighbors will notice it, thats for sure.