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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  Disappointed - 2016 Nissan Rogue
  By George - August 27 - 9:21 am

  In my Rogue there is excessive vibration in steering wheel when accelerating at speeds 25 to 50 MPH. Attribute the cause to the powertrain, probably the horrible belt drive transmission Nissan seems to be married to. Could be a bad tranny but I am sure I will get no satisfaction at the dealership. Seats uncomfortable, very hard, not the zero-gravity comfortable seats found in the Altima. Car came with badly out of balance tires. Car is noisy at highway speeds. On the positive side, very beautiful styling, big improvement over the former models. Also, outstanding bodywork and paint. By far the best paint work of any Nissan, especially the ones manufactured in Mexico. I suspect that this car is manufactured in a Kia factory but with a Nissan engine and transmission. Anyway, I am very depressed that I bought this car. Fortunately I am leasing it for only 3 years. I really hate getting stuck with a car that feels cheaply made. Hopefully the dealership can do something about the powertrain vibration. Could be my last Nissan. Dont want anymore CVT transmissions. Horrible. I love Nissan styling. Right now I own 4. But no more unless Nissan puts real transmissions in their cars. I also worry about dependability and being faced with expensive transmission replacements at 90,000 miles.

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  Do not buy a Nissan without researching the CVT tr - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By Dan - August 10 - 9:24 pm

  My 2013 Altima left me stranded in traffic on the highway because of the CVT that Nissan knows is a problem. Wish I had known before I bought one. Never again.

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  AVOID ALL VERSAS AT ALL COST!!! - 2008 Nissan Versa
  By Sandy M - August 5 - 2:20 am

  I bought this car new in 2008. I do all smooth country road driving and very little city driving. After 80,000 miles until now with 122,000 miles I have had to replace the rocker arm (cracked at 80,000 miles), new muffler (hole from corrosion at 80,000), front coil spring broke just sitting in the parking lot (110,000 miles - now they just put a recall on that, which entails Nissan taking off my much thicker new springs and replacing it with theirs, if I want my $1,200 back that I had to payout.), my passenger handle paint is bubbling off, driver door handle sticks in the summer time (it wont spring back when pulled), have to replace the hood latch under the hood now, because it wont close after numerous times of even praying lubricant on it, back seat wouldnt go down until I had to lubricant that to death and many more little crap! I have never had a vehicle with so many problems that shouldnt be a problem until 200,000 miles. I cant change my own plugs... Because you have to drain the antifreeze to take off a cover to get to the #4 plug. AVOID ALL VERSAS! Neighbors have a 2011 and 2013... Nothing but problems for them also.

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  Nissan Selling Lemons - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By 1unhappyowner - July 23 - 10:00 am

  Talk to dealer who sold me car, have purchased vehicles from him before. Said that this vehicle is causing major headaches for Nissan. Has a whole slew of problems. Said he sold three last week and already had to tow two of them in. Do not buy this car and if you have already, I hope you have one of the good ones! I have already had the vehicle into the dealer for repairs, had to be towed once because it just stopped working and this is a brand new vehicle with only 8k miles on it.

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  Horrible - 2008 Nissan Titan
  By m951 - June 20 - 10:00 am

  Not reliable at all. The worst gas mileage. Barely any horsepower. Isnt very good for towing. I hate eveything about it. I upgraded to an 08 tundra and do not regret it one bit. It has way more horse power and towing capacity and is more comfertable, a lot of fun, and much better on gas. Its offroading capabilities are also much better. The tundra has a bigger bed and a much nicer look.

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  DO NOT GET THIS CAR!!! The worst ever!!!! - 2013 Nissan Leaf
  By Alma Caux - June 18 - 7:34 am

  we were very excited about every single thing about this car. LISTEN! Life changes and if your does, then you will have to deal with the worst nightmare of you buy or lease this car! After 3 years with this car we are lucky if we get 45 miles out of it on a full charge!!!! 45!!! its horrible!!! if you forget BECAUSE YOU ARE HUMAN!!! to charge it one night, no car the next day! If you move out of state BECAUSE LIFE CHANGES! then you need to get a place with garage to charge it!!! your job must be near your home or it wont happen! 45 miles!!! plan on that! No place for emergencies! or trips! Second car? be real, if for any reason "the first" car fails, plan on 45 miles with one car! DO NOT GET THIS CAR!

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  not worth much - 2005 Nissan Sentra
  By worstcar - May 30 - 4:17 am

  Car is toast. Kraft Nissan in Tallahassee just told me that the car is toast (engine is toast). They said that they had replaced the head gasket and resealed it. They blamed another company. I checked out the other company, saw hardcopies of the service order, and the results. Im left with the following conclusions: 2005 Nissan Sentra engines dont last 10 years. Kraft Nissan did a poor in their repair What this tells me is that it is foolish to buy a Nissan in Tallahassee. Bad cars and indifferent service.

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  Engine Replacement Already @ 82,000 - 2007 Nissan Sentra
  By hmj8321 - May 25 - 9:05 pm

  I bought a 2007 Nissan Sentra 2.0 with a automatic CVT transmisson back in 2008... I have always keep up on my repairs, oil changes etc. The other day the service engine soon light came on so of course I took it in to be looked at. I was told by the mechanic that the engine needs to be replaced because the second cylinder has low compression which would run $3,000, What a joke! I have only had the car for a little over two years now... I was told by the mechanic that for the year the car was and how many miles it has on it (>82,000) that it should not have happened. Sentras for the year 2007 are nothing but Lemons. I will never ever do business with Nissan again!

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  Second bad review for you! - 2010 Nissan Sentra
  By dancetec121 - May 8 - 10:00 am

  This car was on a flat bed twice before I even had it registered! The computer burnt out twice second time they figured out why the computer burnt out (why they didnt try and figure it out the first time is beyond me) they said it was the the battery port (positive) that was causing it. I will never buy a Nissan again!

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  lemon law - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By paulluap - April 28 - 2:00 am

  problems left front strut left front strut mount left front linkage glove box replaced left side passager window frame replace for wind noise rear deck rattle balanced the tires replaced two tires back arm rest shimmy in the the steering wheel hood out of alignment rear door out of alignment rotors front tie rod buzzing noise in the pass side front dash dash texture is chipping away on drivers side front left vent left wheel bearing all tsb the nissan dealer told me that there is problem with my brakes i will fax detail copies of repair orders