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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  Real gas mileage vs. computer reading - 2010 Nissan Altima
  By carolina gal - November 9 - 10:00 am

  First- the good stuff. The outside is sleek and attractive-gets lots of compliments. After getting used to CVT transmission, I like the smoothness. Seats are comfortable. The bad stuff: the defrost is awful-tried hot & cold air. Cheap tires-showing wear in < 3000 miles. Radio controls on steering wheel-can turn on & change stations, but cant turn it off (on my husbands Sentra, a step down, you can). Gets decent mileage on trips, but not overall; computer reading says 27 mpg tank average, but the actual is more like 20-21. Oh, & the clunking sound near right front tire when start out- mechanic says its something resitting. Weird. So- good & bad. Our first Nissan, time will tell.

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  So-far-so-good - 2013 Nissan Frontier
  By deemery - November 7 - 11:12 am

  This replaced my 2000 4x2 Frontier (I got from a friend after he adopted 2 kids and needed a vehicle that could hold multiple car seats :-) That truck ran great, good mileage, relatively low maintenance costs (except for the leaky fuel pump at 100k that cost $1100 to fix). After 800 miles, performance is very good (Im not used to this much power), gas mileage as expected (4x4 not a winner there), comfort is good, interior features are generally good. Overall quite satisfied.

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  V6 is da Bomb - 2004 Nissan Altima
  By FLAspeedy - November 4 - 2:00 am

  I bought the V6 Altima and love the power. I dont have to ask to merge on the expressway. Also, the auto climate control is very functional. I wish Nissan would look to Toyota/VW on the interior quality of materials.

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  still not sure - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By firstmini - November 4 - 2:00 am

  We wanted the Sienna but it wasnt available (order only) and the Toyota dealers would not deal at all. Weve have the van for 3 weeks now and both love it and hate it - not what I expected from an almost $30000 purchase. The ride is great and the handling is fabulous. The gas milage is only around 17mpg (still in "break-in" period), the blower setting defaults to air conditioning (in PA in Nov??), the radio/cd work intermittantly and the power door works intermittanly - the dealer says there is no problem

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  Murano counterpoint - 2004 Nissan Murano
  By muranodriver - November 4 - 2:00 am

  First off, about the sluggish, power- sapping CVT.It isnt.This SUV is very lively.Put your foot down and the RPMs go to peak power,and stay there as the CVT constantly adjusts ratio to maximize acceleration. Motor Trend says "The Murano consistently took 0-60 mph and 1/4 mi acceleration honors." Believe it. There is more road noise than I would like, but otherwise driving dynamics are great.Interior space is fantastic, materials are pleasant to look at and touch.The large dash expanse (a result of the windshield rake) screams mini-van!,but otherwise the cockpit is great.I have the base model, and it includes everything I want.

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  A good bet - 2002 Nissan Sentra
  By Jenny Bee - November 3 - 1:53 pm

  I bought this car in Jan. 2003, and it was a former rental. I was going from an 88 Honda civic to this one, so I was pretty impressed. Its a good looking car. A bit small, but my family of four fits just fine. A few things broke: front pwr. windows wont roll, AC works only on high. I am bummed, but still happy with my choice.

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  2006 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL - Great Car !! - 2006 Nissan Altima
  By ungrecco - November 3 - 8:43 am

  This car has a great engine, good brakes, great interior, xenon headlights, great stereo, nice interior, fold down seats, just about everything I could want in a car (at this price point anyway). I lugged tons of pipe, wood, and materials with the fold down seats - never let me down. Make sure you dont leave the xenons on without the engine. They suck juice fast! Again, great car, spacious, has a luxury element to it (gray with black leather interior). Steering wheel radio controls. I turned in my lease, no regrets!

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  97 Nissan Pathfinder - 1997 Nissan Pathfinder
  By grasshopper - November 2 - 10:00 am

  Its been a good vehicle. The only nits are mileage - but I knew about that going in - and cup holders. Oh, it has two cup holders in the front but one is basically useless. Other than that, it still looks good and the Bose CD is incredible. It also has a great, throaty roar that belies the fact that it is far from a race car.

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  Some minor problem - 2002 Nissan Altima
  By DonCT - November 2 - 10:00 am

  Got it 3/23/2002 and have 2500 miles on it. It handles very good, and has amazing acceleration. Some minor problems:1)this thing is a gas hog.I get an average of 25MPG but I have to put premium in it. 2)There are some cheap interior details: The center console and the trunk have to be slammed hard to be closed.The center area in the dash is made out of cheap plastic.3)I am getting some noise on my left side when I am doing over a 100MPH but since the noise comes and goes randomly I wont worry about it.4)My right speaker vibrates too much when I crank the stereo and listen to something with a lot of bass but I can always turn the voume down!

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  All around good car - 1997 Nissan Maxima
  By higginsps - October 31 - 6:30 pm

  I bought this car 2 years old with 22K, it now is approaching 200K. Its been a very reliable, safe, and fun car. It is easy to park and I still get 27 MPG... use 91 or higher octane youll see the difference! Exhaust is still factory original.