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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  Initial Impressions - 2008 Nissan Rogue
  By Jim C. - December 4 - 4:53 pm

  Decided it was time to trade my 2002 A4 for a less costly cross-over. Looked at Mazda CX7, Honda CR-V, Saturn Vue and Toyota RAV4. All of them were well built with good features. Rogue had the most going for it. Loaded mine with AWD, SL, premium package, leather, moonroof. I am in the first week of ownership and so far no regrets.

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  A good truck to own - 2005 Nissan Titan
  By nolan - December 1 - 1:23 pm

  The Nissan Titan is a stong truck no dout about it, it does lack fuel economy but hey 305 horses its a stong truck for towing and for going offroad. and with entertament for kids all roud good truck.

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  Brillian Silver SV King Cab 4 Cylinder Auto - 2017 Nissan Frontier
  By M.G. - November 29 - 10:51 pm

  This is my second Frontier.The first was a 2009 King Cab SE that was trouble free the entire time I owned it.Since I am retiring shortly I decided on getting myself a new truck and since my first Frontier was so reliable I opted for the same truck.The fact Nissan was offering $2750 off plus the dealers incentive made this a really easy buy.The interior has a few minor differences over the 2009 but they are very slight.This truck only has 320 miles on it but the old 2009 would give me 21-24 mpgs out on the highway and around 19 in town so I am sure this one will be similar.I really like the graphite colored interior and the seats are better styled than the old 2009 version.The steering also is better than the older truck and pulling into a tight parking spot seems a lot easier in the new one.Two options my=ine came with was the plastic bedliner and the fender splash guards.I put a BAKFLIP MX4 tonneau cover on it last week.After a year of ownership I will probably do an update on the truck.

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  So far not to bad but getting nervous - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By Jake - November 28 - 11:33 pm

  142k and aside from the usual brakes, tires, etc I only had some stupid bracket underneath break and needed a new muffler. But now I need the timing chain replaced and might as well do the water pump. The mechanic is trying to warn me about spending $1500 on the timing chain when these are notorious for oil pressure problems. I have no current oil problems but I need this car to last up to 200k miles. I havent had a payment in four years so $1500 seems like nothing, way better than a car payment!

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  A Real Disappointment - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By Nathan - November 28 - 1:53 pm

  My wife and I bought the 6-speed Maxima because, while we needed a 4-dr sedan, I still wanted a performance- oriented vehicle. The Maxima fit this description and, aside from the Altima, had the most bang for the buck. In addition, being a Japanese make, we felt this would be a reliable vehicle that would be with us for many years to come. HOWEVER, in the 3.5 years that we have owned the car, we have been to a Nissan dealer no fewer than a dozen times due to problems. At least twice as many visits I have ever had to make to the dealer for problems with ALL of the other cars I have ever owned. Of note, we had to get a new transmission at 32K and finally a new engine at 49K. Time to trade.

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  Good Dependable Car - 1997 Nissan Maxima
  By wingcomdr - November 25 - 5:10 pm

  Bought as lease return with 29K-now has 94K. Great window visibility over the Camry and is a big reason we got it. Plenty of power. Drives very well and holds the road. Replaced muffler at 59K & 74K, starter at 61K & 88K, otherwise regular maintenance-fluid changes at regular intervals-have kept this car relatively free of costly repairs. Gas mileage city is 21-24 and hwy 26-30 based on records of every fillup since we bought it. Replaced original tires at 49K and put on Michelin xOne and have 45K on them-they need replacing in another 5-10K. All accessories work well other than antenna. A good solid performer.

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  Cant have it all, I guess? - 2002 Nissan Frontier
  By jshoota - November 24 - 10:00 am

  Has the gas mileage of a V8. 3.3L to small. I had to buy a high performance air filter and exhaust to help with the "get up". I liked the compact style, because Im able to get in tighter more remote spots, than the bigger trucks. Even though the rear seating is cramped, my buddies and I dealt with it just fine, during the hunting seasons. Climbs up(with stock tires)with no problems, and some pretty steep inclines. I had to have my steering stoppers regreased, because they were squeaking/creeking on sharp U-turns w/bumps. Brakes started to make a high pitch squeak noise, when going 20-30 mph. Brake pads were fine, the discs needed to be resurfaced.

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  Lower Quality interior than piror years - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By dschnatz - November 24 - 10:00 am

  My 4th Maxima. This is by far the poorest quality interior ever had with Maxima. Dependability & quality are still big draw but gone is the rich leather & cushy seats. More austere interior with your choice of quasi titanium or plastic formica veneer faux woodgrain trim. Dont put your arm on the armrest after the car sits in the sun awhile. OUCH! May entice Altima crowd to move up a model, but left us grannies out in the cold. Sorely tempted by Infinity which is basically the old Maxima, but husband had other ideas. Missing my 1996 Maxima with rich cushy black leather interior & great comfort. (& no tacky plastic trim panels)

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  Expensive but fun. - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By seth16 - November 23 - 11:51 pm

  Ive had this car for about a year now. I have both ups & downs with it. First of all, it is a extremely fun car to drive...the 3.5L engine is amazing, very powerful. Faster then most sports cars under $30,000. The interior overall is good, the seats are soft and comfy. It IS NOT squishy in the back, lots of leg room. Only flaws are the knobs, they seem very big and bulky. The ride is smooth when going fast, but when going slow it feels rough in general. I think the car is very good looking, has a sport look too it. I have put around $3,000 in the car for repairs in the last year. ABS brakes were broken, steering problems, new battery & O2 sensors. NO engine problems yet.

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  Love it but needs some improvements!!! - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Kelly - November 22 - 8:13 pm

  The car is a very nice car and I love the power. Have taken the car on two long trips. One I was alone so it was fine the other was very cramped. Not made for traveling, or maybe i just travel with too much stuff. Has pretty much every feature available. However the car seems very thin and I sometimes feel unsafe. The car looks great though, I love the new body style! If you buy one, buy it with all the features you want, dont put aftermarket xm radio or subs in it or you will have trouble if you have radio problems. The dealerships like to blame problems on other people!!! They think you like to spend hours at the dealership for no reason at all. They can never find anything wrong