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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  Paint peeling - 2004 Nissan Pathfinder
  By cue - July 8 - 10:00 am

  Upgraded to Nissan at the encouragement of my husband. Have owned since the end of December 2004. Great acceleration and performance. No longer have to stop several times during trips to stretch as the comfort level is very good. Downside is Contacted Nissan regarding Paint peeling but it is not considered under warranty.

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  "A nightmare" - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By LEX - July 5 - 2:56 am

  This car has been nothing more then a pain in the rear end. Nothing but problem from day one.Four times to the dealer for the transmission, three for the front end "Alignment problem". The list goes on and on. If you are thinking of buying this car DONT waste your money and besides to hook it up is too much money for a couple of horsepower.If youre going to buy a nissan get a Maxima or 350z for performance.

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  Electronic Steering Column Lock - 2009 Nissan Altima
  By Jeff Long - July 4 - 5:50 pm

  Got stranded when the ESCL failed. One month out of extended warranty with very low miles, only 5000 miles a year on average, and they denied warranty. So $975 bill for me. Wouldnt buy one again. Had other issues with the car as well.

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  NICE BUT UNDERPOWERED - 2005 Nissan Sentra
  By S BLUM - July 4 - 12:13 am

  Its a nice little car, but feels underpowered. I have the special edition w/ alloy rims, rockford fuzgate stereo, and a little rear spoiler. Overall im happy with the car but that underpowered feeling doesnt go away. Also the gas miliage im getting is lower then the epa estimates. It is 29 mpg overall, but i do atleast a third of my driving on the highway. The 1 other drawback, and its minor is the cup holder. Its by far the worst ever designed. wont hold anything bigger then a 12oz can and theres no room virtically so the larger cups w/ slim bases dont fit either. Had i realized this, I probably would have passed on the car, eventhough it was very good value.

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  Difficult to keep - 2003 Nissan 350Z
  By carolina z lady - July 2 - 5:56 pm

  Bought it on Edmunds rec and loved to drive it until the tire issues came into play. I had so many tire issues. The pressure calibration needed fixing every 65 miles after 20000. Chewed up tires- horrible road noise. Terrible in bad weather- traded it for a vw passat stationwagon in 2004. Relatively pleased with the passat.

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  Xterra "two thumbs up" - 2008 Nissan Xterra
  By Xterra - June 28 - 11:40 am

  Ive only owned this vehicle for about a month, but it didnt take long to realize this is a great vehicle. Test drove jeep grands, and 4 runners. Ive have always driven Toyotas in the past, but theyre too expensive. My advice is save your money and get the xterra, "everything you need and nothing you dont" pretty much sums it up, theyre not fancy but they get the job done.

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  pain to drive - 2009 Nissan Frontier
  By tom - June 21 - 5:50 pm

  I owned the frontier for about 4 mo. Previously owned a gmc sierra ext. Cab 4 dr. I drive the frontier to work every day, siff suspension and jerking of the steering wheel when I hit a pot hole spoils the fun of driving. Ive never seen any car do that before. For some reason u cant turn wheels too fast when puling to park, even with two hands there seems to be strong resistance. Turning radius is awful, cant make a u-turn on a 2-way street, previous truck did it with ease. Engine is not as responsive as I would like it to be, everything is electronic even gas pedal. When need to quickly accelerate at 60 mph it takes 2 sec for transmission to downshift a gear and then it downshift one more gr

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  Noise Maker - 2016 Nissan Altima
  By John - June 18 - 5:30 pm

  I should have test driven vehicle on the highway ay 70mph. Would not have purchased it. Road, engine and wind sounds are terrible. Stay away from Nissan.. High mpg and rebates are a trap, they have cheated on the quality.

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  wouldnt buy another - 2008 Nissan Altima
  By patr1 - June 16 - 8:47 pm

  Leased a 2008 that will be returned in Sept, 2001. Car has 28K miles. Engine sounds like my lawnmower. Brakes sound like metal on metal. The dealer says thats normal?? Would never have another. Pushbutton start stinks, but my wife likes it. Parked the car one day turned it off, I thought. Then came out 3 hours later to find the car still running. Note: be VERY careful if you buy a car with pushbutton start and have an attched garage. People have died from carbon Monoxide poisioning because they thought the car was turned off before retiring to sleep.

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  Gimme traction - 2003 Nissan Maxima
  By MG - June 14 - 2:00 am

  After 9 mos and 7000 miles on my 6spd SE I am pretty unhappy with the car. The shifter is extremely stiff and notchy. You have to work quickly to jam the shifter into gear or the revs drop too low and the car jerks into the next gear. The low and midrange torque is excellent. You never need to rev it up that high which is a good thing because the traction is hands down the worst Ive ever experienced. Dont even THINK about flooring this car in a turn because it will produce a lot of white smoke and very little forward motion. My overall impression is what good is all this power when the car just simply isnt fun to drive hard?