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:

• 

  Worst car Ive ever owned - 2007 Nissan Versa
  By R. Northcott - October 21 - 6:00 am

  I bought the Nissan Versa the first year it came out. I was looking for good gas mileage and the sticker said 28 city, 35 highway. The mileage was good at first but then I noticed that I was going to the gas station more often so I started tracking my mileage again. Well, I then discovered that I was getting 19 miles to a gallon instead of the 26 or so I got when I first bought the car. I brought it to the dealership where I bought it and another local Nissan dealership and was told nothing was wrong with the car. Im not happy and will never buy another Nissan.

• 

  What were they thinking! - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By ontheroad24/7 - October 14 - 2:00 am

  It gets plenty of looks, and the engine is strong. However it the ergonomics of this craft that werent thought through. I cant tell you how many times I have rapped my knuckles on the gear shift selector,while reaching for the other instrumentation. And a few times while in city traffic, hitting the O/D button and throwing the engine into a 600rpm jump in the attempt. The interior is also too dark, with little to no illumination while driving at night. There is also no ilumination for the multifunctions of the six switches in the steering wheel. So one must memorize there function or turn on the interior lights to use.

• 

  Bad Quality & Problematic Transmission - 2008 Nissan Versa
  By sam - October 11 - 4:13 am

  1. Passenger side door lock broken since purchase, dealer changed. 2. After 2000 miles, hear clicking noises from many places. 3. Suspension broken, dealer changed. 4. Still hear the noises from the base. Dealer said the problem is the heat shield falling down. 5. After 2800 miles hear noise from the transmission. When transmission is cold, I hear a clicking sound once between first and second gear. Only when low speed and cold transmission. 6. Right now the car drives at an average of 21 miles per gallon,half city half highway. 7. Sometimes the driver seat makes a squeaking sound.

• 

  Overpriced!!! - 2002 Nissan Altima
  By Furrball - October 9 - 10:00 am

  A mediocre car, especially for the price. Like others, I had problems with the cars handling in wet weather. The interior cant get much cheaper, there are more recalls on this car than one can imagine, and the engine flooding and not starting was a major nuisance. Also, the power windows intermittently stop working. The dealership, like other Nissan owners have mentioned, is not very helpful. Oh, and if you need to replace a tire, good luck! They are a rare size that must be special-ordered unless you pay the dealers price to replace.

• 

  Rattle Trap - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By Bad Jeff - October 9 - 10:00 am

  Passenger air bag vibrates sounds like blown speaker, been replaced w/new insulators, still no change maybe even worse. Wind noise from door is terrible. Long trip are not even an option take the truck, better ride and only sacriface about 8 to 10 mile to the gallon. Remember were talking v-8 compared to 4-cyl HMMM. Would take the 80 Honda Civic that I traded for it back anyday 40 mpg, and better/funner to drive!!! By the way only getting about 27 mpg on hwy!

• 

  Poor reliability, known problems w/ this model - 2001 Nissan Altima
  By hyperslug - October 3 - 2:48 am

  Seems like a good car overall, but do a search on the "nissan altima intake manifold gasket". Many people have experienced this same problem on this particular model; some have noted the same in their reviews here. A required $600 fix mars an otherwise decent vehicle. The engine is more powerful than other 4-cyls Ive driven, but you pay for it in gas mileage.

• 

  scrap car ..nightmare - 2010 Nissan Rogue
  By dardouri - September 29 - 12:49 pm

  I really dont want this vehicle any more, I see all kind of the problem with this scrap . I bought this car from a dealer Metro nissan in Montreal with 44kkm and guarantee for 4years, after 2 months of driving, I had 2 much problems..., I would have given it back after a month or two!but unfortunately too late 2 change it

• 

  not happy - 2016 Nissan Rogue
  By je - September 29 - 12:24 am

  bought this nissan rouge SL 2015 at gerard nissan ct. first 2 months of driving, i notice that voice recognition doesnt work right. been bringing the vehicle to the dealer but never resolve the problem its been 1 half year already. this year air condition issue, 96 degree outside with my son driving the vehicle, AC not cooling only blowing warm air. or most of the time the cooling is on and off. who ever owned the nissan rouge SL 2015 check your voice recognition say "point of interest and the location" very frustrating!

• 

  last one - 2001 Nissan Pathfinder
  By dont get it - September 25 - 2:00 am

  afte 3 of these babies, its time to move on.......big step down from the 1997 that I had.......the 1997 was bulletproof....yeah it lacked a few ponies, but it was perfect for what the vehicle was intended to do....the extra power has negatively affected its offroad capabilities and the build quality has taken a dive...no wheel shake like others have had, but at 27K this thing feels like its going to fall apart....lousy gas mileage and forced to usepremium to boot........ oh well, they killed a good vehicle

• 

  Tranmission Design Defect - 2003 Nissan Murano
  By jbhog330 - September 24 - 6:46 am

  I just turned over 89750 miles on my Murano. Must to my surprise the transmission has gone bad. Come to find out this is a "typical" problem with this year and the 2004s yet the factory still fails to acknowledge it. The cost to fix, over $5000. Not a small pill to swallow. Nissan owes it to their customers to step up to the plate and rectify the situation. I am joining a class action law suit against Nissan for this defective transmission, specifically pressure sensor unit. This is a SERIOUS potential cause of death due to the way the tranny goes. You could be pulling out into traffic and it will not move for 10-15 seconds. Someone will probably die because Nissan does not want to lose $$