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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  A Disappointment - 2010 Nissan Altima
  By csaltzman - May 29 - 10:00 am

  I made the mistake of trading a 2007 Avalon for the 2010 Altima for better gas mileage and on the basis of a favorable rating from Consumer Reports. The Altimas "premium" Bose sound system has only a single-disk CD player, but worse than that, the car suffers from engine noise and rattles. It goes over bumps like a tank. The various electronic displays for temperature, mileage, and so on are widely inaccurate. In short, the car is a major disappointment, and I shall unload it as soon as I can.

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  05 Armada - 2005 Nissan Armada
  By Mike - May 25 - 3:06 pm

  Terrible build quality. Plastic pieces falling off under the dash, paper thin sheet metal body, underpowered A/C, and poorly fitting interior panels. Hard to reach and difficult to control seat/mirror memory.

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  Avoid a 45K error. - 2014 Nissan Pathfinder
  By hp1236 - May 19 - 4:16 am

  I bought a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Plat with Premium options and the vehicle had 9 miles on it. I drove the vehicle 50 miles to my home and the next morning there was an i-Key system error or similar. A little later the check engine light came on. OBD code was P0850. I was told there was a fob programming but it turned out to be a shifter assembly part needed to be replaced. Needless to say, I had to bring the vehicle back to get it fixed. A couple of days later my wife was sitting in the passenger seat and I noticed the passenger airbag was off. Back to the dealer and I am told the seat was not calibrated. They fixed it, yesterday the issue with the airbag is back.

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  2006 Nissan Altima - Scary Car to drive - 2006 Nissan Altima
  By Kzande - May 18 - 11:16 pm

  I purchased a 2006 Nissan Altima after hearing about how reliable these cars are. I have had nothing but bad luck with this car. The car does not come standard with ABS or traction. The car spins out and slides in the rain resulting in 3 car accidents since I bought the car. I had never been in an accident with any other car. The handling in this car is HORRIBLE. It Is very top heavy. The brakes have a tendency to slow the car down a low speeds and the shifting is hard for an automatic transmission. Rethink purchasing a Nissan Altima or make sure you get the ABS package.

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  Not satisfied - 2002 Nissan Frontier
  By murman - May 18 - 2:00 am

  Hard riding truck. Lots of squeaks and rattles that the dealer has been unable to eliminate.Truck is underpowered and yields poor fuel economy.Cheap interior, especially carpeting and upholstery.

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  Read the reviews before buying or leasing - 2013 Nissan Altima
  By rboas1 - May 13 - 11:54 am

  The 2013 Altima is a science project from Nissan that the consumer is leasing or buying unknowingly being stuck with a car that has major flaws, one being the CVT chattering issue that Nissan claims is normal. It is like having a manual transmission and attempting to start off in 3rd gear, doors that rub against the lower side panels during cold weather (dealer repaired after 2 days in the body shop), whining noise coming from power steering, blind side warning lights that come on within the cabin at random during rainy days. These issues are reported on any site that reviews the 2013 Altima, but the Nissan rep claims it is the first time she has heard of them.

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  Not Reliable - 2012 Nissan Versa
  By Ashley E. - May 7 - 9:16 am

  My 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan has 101k miles and the transmission is bad. I have researched and have seen where older Versa models were covered under an extended CVT warranty due to premature transmission failure. Why is this not the case for the 2012? It is completely unacceptable that a 5 year old car bought brand new, maintenanced regularly has a bad transmission. It made me stall and have no power or ability to accelerate in the middle of a busy intersection! It has done this 3 times! My children were in the car! Completely unacceptable. This is dangerous. The CVT is very poorly designed and very unreliable, not to mention dangerous. The Versa has been one problem after another. We had to replace the fuel pump at 60k mileage! That is absolutely ridiculous! This car is extremely poor designed and Nissan is no help, and does not back up its cars. Nissan is not reliable as they were once were in regards to quality and reliability. Extremely disappointed.

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  I hate this car - 2003 Nissan Xterra
  By hatemyxterra - May 5 - 9:15 am

  I bought the car in December with 71,000 miles. I just put it in the shop for something (not sure yet), it was loosing power and slipping. It has NO power and the 4WD sucks. I got stuck in my driveway in 1 inch of snow for 30 minutes one day, and the tires are good on it. Its gotten stuck other times too. Ive had nothing but problems with the car since I got it, and I did my research on it before I bought it, no mechanical issues before. It has none of the benifits of an SUV. Also, it is very difficult to shift gears. I have to force it into first, second, and reverse a lot of the time.

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  04 nissan sentra - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By Christina - May 1 - 7:36 pm

  I purchased this car trying to save a little money. Well little did I know it would be no money saver. Common problems I have found are the cd gets stuck and wont come out-makes a clicking noise. I suppose I will have to have that replaced. In addition, I have problems starting the car. Check engine light comes on randomly. Have had sensors replaced. Have only had it for a month. First time Nissan owner and last.

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  Starts with "L" ends with "emon" - 2013 Nissan Pathfinder
  By mpom - April 28 - 5:44 am

  My 2013 Nissan pathfinder has had transmission problems for months and I have repeatedly given Nissan the opportunity to fix it and have had the transmission replaced once. Yesterday it stalled in the middle of an intersection with traffic coming in both directions and my two children in the car. I will not drive this car again. I paid $43,000 for a car I am afraid to drive or put my children in. Nissan needs to correct these problems and stop putting people at risk.