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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  Not too Impressed - 2006 Nissan Altima
  By T. Moront - July 5 - 4:43 am

  My 2006 Altima is an attractive car, but it sure has a jerky kind of pick- up. Im not impressed with the motor and power to accelerate when needed. It also does not ride as quiet as I thought it would. The interior is comfortable enough and roomy.

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  Transmission/windows rattle - 2008 Nissan Pathfinder
  By not happy - July 4 - 9:36 am

  This is our first Nissan after having two Toyotas. Big mistake for switching brands. Currently has 2,700 miles. The transmission at around 40 mph in and out of 5th gear starts bucking when youre on and off the gas. The windows rattle when they are down about 2 inches to halfway down. The service manager and Nissan engineer said they never heard of these problems before, what a joke. I showed them several of these reviews they had no comment. Everyone with any of these problems need to file a complaint with Nissan.

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  Few issues but overall solid - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By Scott Swindells - July 3 - 11:28 am

  Purchased this as my first new car out of college in July 2005. Its had a few minor issues but overall has been a solid vehicle. I only expected to keep it for 5 years, but now im planning to drive it until its dead. It had 2 issues brand new from the factory, both warranty repairs, but both left lasting impressions on me. First, one of the rear tail lights wasnt plugged in. Didnt know for a couple months until leaving a bar one night a coworker called me in a panic and said you better get off the road you have a bad tail light! Took it to the dealer and they were like wow it wasnt plugged in all the way and some pins were vent. The other issue was also terrifying. If i was making a right turn with my blinker on, as id exit the turn the blinker would click off, and so would my head lights. Took a bit of jiggling to get it to come back on. Other than oil changes at ~6000 mile intervals Ive only had minor repairs: 1. Crankshaft position sensor (as did everyone else with this car) at 60k 2. Serpentine belt at 90k 3. DIY Brakes and rotors at 90k (needed rotots at 50k though) 4. Front end inner tie rod at 150k 5. Front struts at 150k (needed them since 100k though) The car has really good interior quality. Nothing feels cheap. Leather is nice. Fabrics are nice. Bose is nice. Nothing is falling apart even at 10 years old. Good performance for a 4-cyl. Good gas mileage for a car of the era. The biggest negative about the car is road noise, both bumps and wind. After a highway trip i feel deaf.

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  Affordable Performance Itself - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By AntonToo - July 3 - 10:00 am

  At current prices nothing comes close to this one if sporty versatile package is what you are looking for. Heres the big picture: Go-Kart style fun, seats five(if needed), good trunk space, high 20s for mixed driving MPG, econobox plastics and build quality. Reliable. Cheap. Big After market improovemnt potential, esp handling. For more info visit www.b15sentra.net. See my car and mods write ups here: http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/392 332

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  PHATRIDE - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By MOOLAIR - July 3 - 10:00 am

  Love this car. Seats are exceptionally comfortable. Love that all the information is in a centralized location. I have the 6 speed. Like driving a sports car. Only draw back is the very wide radius turn. Power and speed is awesome. Only drawback is the wide radius turn. Can be a bit of a hassle when parking.

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  Poor navigation - 2016 Nissan Murano
  By Gerald Davis - July 1 - 4:37 am

  The navigation is way off for distance and time. example trip of 266 miles at 4 hours 49 minutes, the navigation shows 324 miles and 5 hours 55 minutes. We called Nissan Customer Affairs, they repeated several times " the system functions as designed" I said your design is incorrect with being this far off. Ask for a supervisor, was told there is no one else to talk to. This is only one of several times we checked all are off. The dealer said there is nothing they can do. you would think a $40,000 vehicle would have an accurate navigation system. My 10 year old Garmin is more accurate that I use in my pickup

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  Big Blue - 2005 Nissan 350Z
  By Sandy L. Komito - June 30 - 8:40 pm

  It is light on its feet and passes quickly and swiftly. Im glad I bought the blue one. Its almost electric. Its easy to locate in a parking lot. The headlights are creative and shed a great deal of light on the road at night. I bought the convenience net that holds items in the back of the hatch. It does a good job.

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  Good car, but beware of a few issues - 2004 Nissan Altima
  By Jersey - June 30 - 6:46 pm

  I am the original owner of a 2004 Altima I purchased in 2003. Its a fun to drive car and has adequate head/legroom for tall drivers (as long as there is no sunroof). Acceleration and handling are very good and I generally get 23 mpg from daily driving. My biggest issues have been the following: Nissan dealerships are not good at diagnosing/fixing problems (Ive used several dealerships with similar results), car wont start after you turn car on/off quickly in cold weather (This is a known "cold start" issue that, based on my experience, Nissan generally does not acknowledge/fix), parts can be expensive. While I enjoy driving the car, my experiences with Nissan are often disappointing.

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  Great Value, but keep the dealer honest! - 2008 Nissan Sentra
  By cpa6 - June 30 - 5:35 am

  I love my Sentra! BUT there were a couple of problems. The rear axle was bent upon purchase causing fishtailing in winter. Found it when I had the alignment ckd. Dealer tried to get out of it, but ended up getting it fixed for free. 90k miles on it so far. Do all my own work. Synthetic oil every 10k miles, CVT fluid myself at 50k, removed the cabin air filter. Grossly overpriced and worthless. Great value and looking forward to another 100k miles! Brakes have lasted far longer than I anticipated.

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  Another bad transmission in Murano - 2003 Nissan Murano
  By Colleen - June 29 - 4:26 pm

  I purchased my 2003 Murano AWD used with 24k miles on it. Like other reviewers, my transmission just failed at 88,319 miles, and it is costing me $6000 to have a reconditioned transmission put in. Nissan customer service said that they were not going to help me with the repair. I am very disappointed with Nissans quality and customer service, and I will not buy another. Also, the CD player stopped functioning at around 75k, and it cost over $450 to fix. The radio shop told me that they saw many Muranos with that problem.