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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  Piece of Junk - 2002 Nissan Sentra
  By aellis7 - October 2 - 8:16 am

  I bought my Sentra from a man on Craigslist. He had all the paperwork to prove he had taken care of the car. The paint on the hood and roof was fading already, which is on 99% of all the 2002 Sentras. In the last year the computer has gone out, the AC has gone out and the gas mileage and power has gone down to almost nothing. Stay Away from these cars, I have only had bad things happen. Everyone I know that has ever owned a 2002 Nissan Sentra has had pure hell.

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  Chinese Firedrill - 2005 Nissan Frontier
  By fpkarau - September 30 - 8:03 pm

  This is a company vehicle used extensively offroad. Performs well off road. It comes without skid plate and managed to tear oil pan off first 2 months we had it going through a mud hole on a construction site that every other rig on the mountain traversed without incident. Aluminum rim destroyed first month and needed to replace all stock tires as well as they are junk. Most irritating thing about this unit is that is has no keyless entry yet only one key tumbler in drivers side door only. Result is that if you want to enter vehicle from passenger side you have to do a "Chinese firedrill" around the truck to open unit from drivers side door and return to passenger side. Moronic design.

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  didnt due enough homework - 2013 Nissan Frontier
  By budelman - September 18 - 10:03 pm

  Driving truck under 60 mph rides very nice , have to check speed as dont realize your going 60, at 70 mph have to have two hands on steering wheel to keep in the lane, at 80 mph need two fisted death grips to keep vehicle on road feels like driving in hurricane vehicle all over the road, Interior plastic or vinyl scraches too easy pernament scuffs marks just from work boots only 2 weeks old and notice blemishes on back plastic bed wall, although its not possible looks like sun damage, Engine while driving is always shifting gears and speeding up on its own. I have a commercail A license and have driven every type of vehicle you can think of tractor trailer to bucket trucks,. I usally get g

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  <50% battery capacity at 90,000 mi & more issues - 2011 Nissan Leaf
  By Rick SantAngelo - September 10 - 8:52 am

  The gauge is wrong, though I am missing only 4 bars my battery is under 50% of original capacity, a maximum charge from one bar to full is less than 10Kwh, my driving experience is 40 mi or less on a charge at this point in time. At 60,000 miles the dealer checked and told me that 3 bars down (which was my state at the time) was to be expected even though I experienced under 50 miles. My brakes pulse wildly at high speeds and I am on my third set of tires. Based on the revised battery warranty, a buyer should be well aware that their car will be worthless after 5 years and no one in their right mind should buy one used. All along the way my dealer (and the designated technician) demonstrated a total lack of knowledge and expertise on this car, and to this day has no idea about replacing a battery. As recently as this year (5 yrs after introduction) Nissan still does not have any description of what is covered ON A LEAF under their own extended warranty which demonstrates that they have not figured out yet how to deal with this technology.

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  Titan and its Brakes - 2005 Nissan Titan
  By brian - September 10 - 6:46 am

  I have had the truck 1 year. I enjoyed the truck for the first 3000 miles, then the brake problem kicked in, new rotors and pads. 5000 Miles later, new rotors and pads, 3000 miles later new rotors and pads. Do we see a pattern. Did some research, the 04 and 05 models have the smallest brakes on them, when compared to its competiton. New vented rotors and new desighed pads, is that really going to fix the problem.

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  stay away from this piece of garbage - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By wayne - September 6 - 8:20 pm

  tupperware car - beautiful to look at but build quality and materials are junk. it has been in the shop more times than i can count with a less than helpful dealership(stealership). had problems starting, ABS light came on for no reason, crank position sensor went, bouncy ride/rear shocks lack rebound damping, intermittent buzzing from under dash area, turn signals stop clicking, lots of rattles etc. Stay away from this one and buy a camry or accord.

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  Quality like made in china - 2012 Nissan Versa
  By harut_1973 - August 23 - 9:25 pm

  No reliability!!!! This car is piece of junk. The paint peels off all around the car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even in cracks of lights where you can not reach. Not from physical damage. I went to Nissan dealer for windshield pillar paint peeled off, they said it might by from physical damage. Second time the paint peeled off in crack of back light of Quarter panel, they accept that this is warranty issue but they need 2-3 day for fixing it... and no providing car.... I have problem with door window, but I do not want even call them, they will need 5 days for repair it and I will need to rent a car. Cheaper will be to pay for fix. Even contacting global Nissan do not helped. Do not but this c

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  Agrees with the "lemon" review - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By mirandayin - August 18 - 10:00 am

  With my new 2004 Quest, power window went “dead” after 1 month. Windshield Wiper - to date, replaced 3 times, still not “hugging” windshield. Air vents fell out during first week. Loose seat covers - after 2 months, fabric sagged as though they were used for years. Skirt under seat - left "hanging", improper installation. Radio Static on all AM stations Weather stripping comes off, occurs again even after new stripping installed. DVD pops in and out after engine shut off; a new dvd player was re-installed. Front windows rolled all way down on it’s own after I locked and left the vehicle.

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  A big mistake. - 2016 Nissan Rogue
  By Warren lind - August 3 - 2:33 pm

  Bought the Rouge in July. After 600 miles of driving, the gas pedal and steeringwheel started viabrating between 30 and 60 miles per hour. Brought it back to the dealership. They checked it out and found a small vibration. After four times bringing it back to the dealership and my complaints , they brought in the big guns (Factory rep). After a twenty minute drive that I drove to go over the same things the (rep) said exactly what I expected. The vibration is a characteristic of the car. Nothing they can do. Stuck with it. Keep the payments coming please. To me It seems Nissan has no real interest in the problem. Hope that you are not one of the unlucky owners with this problem.

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  Had high hopes - 2014 Nissan Altima
  By hoffenhausen - August 3 - 12:27 pm

  I wanted to like this car. The electrical system has been very shoddy. The key fob malfunctions frequently and the remote doesnt work if it is below freezing. The car squeaks when going over bumps and the dash vibrates at 45 mph. The seats in the car have worn very poorly and look like they have been in the car for over 100k miles. Great looking car, very poor quality. I would buy another Nissan but would steer clear of the Altima