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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  Great on gas, but has a few problems - 1997 Nissan Sentra
  By SHEILA - February 10 - 6:33 pm

  I purchased my 1997 Nissan Sentra in 1998,overall it has been very reliable. The good: not even the harsh winters of Minnesots have stopped this car from running. Also, you cant beat the gas mileage. The bad: Ive had consistent problems with the windshield wipers not working, and the check engine light coming on. In January 2005, the master cylinder went out. The cost to repair this, plus get new rear brakes was over $1,000. This has been the only major repair Ive needed, but I am wondering if this is the beginning of the end for this car-which still has less than 100,000 miles on it. One warning, this is a tiny car. My significant other, at 6" 4looks like a circus clown trying to fold his frame into the passenger seat.

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  A nice looking lemon - 2000 Nissan Maxima
  By Anthony - February 9 - 6:43 pm

  I bought this car a year ago because I heard Nissan are good cars sense then I had to replace spark plugs and compact because of vibration, alternator, now radiator is not keeping any water in it, it stalls out when Im at a traffic light. I now have a bad taste in mouth concerning this car and on tire time at a $150.00 a piece

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  four door sports car - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By martin060 - February 9 - 1:16 pm

  The Maxima is well designed and powerful car

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  Quality Of Parts Questionable. - 2005 Nissan Xterra
  By bingee - February 8 - 12:20 am

  The rear bumper started rusting after just 3 years. This is a car that is garage kept. Now the fuel gauge doesnt work because the fuel level sensor is defective. Its a $600 fix that has been a problem with Nissans since 2000. So why do they continue to install defective parts year after year? And there are lots of rattles. No more Nissans for me.

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  Our favorite car of all - 1998 Nissan Maxima
  By Ralph - February 6 - 11:40 am

  We bought it used at 11k miles, and it is now at around 168k miles. We had 2 Maxima before this one-a 78 and an 81. We have had outstanding reliability experience with all three. Ours is the SE model with heated leather seats (which my wife loves). The engine has plenty of power, and it gets fairly good mileage for the performance level. Our average has been about 25 MPG, and up to around 30 MPG on long summer trips. I do the routine preventative maintenance consistently, and we have had no reliability problems at all. Everything works as expected and nothing falls apart repeatedly like the domestic autos we owned in the gap between our 81 Maxima and the 98 we have now.

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  Good - 2000 Nissan Quest
  By okiedokie - February 6 - 9:53 am

  Van has been very economical and useful. No major problems mechanically. Recalled for accelerator sticking problems. Fixed but sticking again. Safety in question. Paint job was terrible. Had it 4 months and had pits all over it down to metal. Garage kept and in town, on NO dirt or gravel roads. Nissan said "Bugs" must have done it. Would not repaint it. Warranty wouldnt cover it. Still driving it with pits in the paint! Has 58,000 miles now and still runs good. Changed oil and tires and thats it. twenty six miles per gallon highway miles. GREAT on mileage.

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  My 2011 Maxima - 2011 Nissan Maxima
  By davejohnky - February 6 - 7:32 am

  Ive had it long enough to ensure a quantify review. Ive had no issues with anything in or in the car. Mine is maxed out and is a pure pleasure to drive. No Mechanical issues whatsoever. My has the sport suspension so its a bit bumpy on poor roads, on good roads its a dream. The Trans in this car is not for performance, its to save on gas, its NOT a sports car regardless of what Nissan says, cvt cant be a sports transmission. I find myself using the paddle shifters much of the time.

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  look out hemi - 2005 Nissan Titan
  By jeff nash - February 6 - 2:10 am

  This is the third nissan truck I have owned. All have been excellent in reliability. The Titan is an excellent performer. The 5.6 is very responsive and really comes to life when you kick in the passing gear. The 5-speed auto- matic tranny is the smoothest I ever felt. I love the boxed frame rales. fuel economy is fair so far the best I have achieved is 16.7 mpg driving Like my grandpaw. I only have 1200 miles on this truck so hopefully it will improve some. With the nissan gold plan a 100,000 mile bumper-bumper or seven years, You cant go wrong. Why dont domestics stand by their product like that? This coming from a chevy fan. The truck is 60% american, chevy/ford about the same

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  Great car to drive, technology needs work. - 2015 Nissan Altima
  By Meg Morgan - February 5 - 10:12 pm

  First off, great car to drive. Comfortable, great pickup, terrific gas mileage, looks good. On the downside, before you buy, make sure your phone will work with their hands-free text messaging. There are a lot of phones that DO NOT work with outgoing text messaging (which is really just a series of pre-scripted messages; there is no "talk-to-text" messaging), including the iPhone 6. They blame Apple but that certainly doesnt stop them from touting it as a great feature. I did get my incoming texts to work at first, sometimes, although if there is more than one that comes in, it would only read the first one to me, not any subsequent texts. Really annoying. Why bother? Id also get the choices of "send text, read text or call back," through voice prompt. Id say, "send text," to which it system responds, "text messaging is not available." So why is it offering it as a choice? Second issue is their blind spot assist. In my car, the drivers side works really well, but not the passenger side. It would work at lower speeds (say, under 60mph), but didnt even register cars on high-speed roads, which is when you really need to know that youre clear of a car you just passed. Took it in for service and they told me there was a laundry list of parameters that needed to be met in order for it to work (distance from other cars, speed, weather, other conditions), and they couldnt find anything wrong with the sensors. I think small blind-spot mirrors will be more helpful. Before you buy, search for forums on these problems. I didnt find them until after I purchased and had problems, so be sure to do your research. Thirdly, I had an issue with the radio. It would freeze up and disallow me from changing not only the radio station but also the source (i.e., from radio to CD, to Sirius, back to radio, etc). Dealership told me there was an update needed, which they performed (Im wondering why they didnt do the update before I took possession of the car??), but since they did that, I now cant get my text messages, so another trip to them is in order. Long story short, when I spent this kind of money on a brand new car, I expected everything to work perfectly. Not an unreasonable expectation. It didnt The car is not performing in the specific areas for which I bought it. I most recently had a Honda Accord, which I really liked and that was another contender. I decided to change things up a bit and now wish I hadnt. I like driving the Altima, but those bells and whistles are really not what they should be. Nissan needs to do a lot of work to upgrade these poor performing areas.

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  Fun Car - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By Dreese - February 4 - 10:50 pm

  I owned this car for over 2 years, and cant really complain. For a 4 cyl, this car rips. Passing IS NOT a problem. It gets 26-30 mpg and I romp on the gas frequently. Other than a few stone chips, the ext is in great condition. The wheels, hub caps and steel rims should be outlawed. The brakes are the only thing that has given me problems. Ive noticed other owners making the same comment. Nissan needs to improve the breaks. The interior looks a little cheap, but it is comfortable, very roomy, and has held up very good. I prefer my Altima over my Xterra in < 4" of snow. After hearing from friends and family about the problems with their "big 3" car, I know I made a great decision!