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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  What a disappointment - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By Mark Moreno - December 6 - 8:10 am

  Why was this car my first ever lemon Ive ever owned. Let me just say I had to replace the front left bearing 4 times. Thats right 4 times and Nissan treated me like a you know what. Lets just say the regional manager says she called me 3 times and never did. Be careful buying this cars. You need to fuel the car with 91 octane or better. There is no 40/60 split. The tail rattles after taking the abuse of the NYC streets. Do not replace the tranny fluid. I had to replace the tranny. When everything was working properly, the car was amazing to drive, great performance drives amazing for a FWD car. I will miss the 6-speed tranny. Watch out for Nissans customer service, its bad.

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  Mediocre Maxima - 2003 Nissan Maxima
  By Cadjockey - November 30 - 7:06 pm

  I like the styling and performance ( acceleration/handling/brakes ) but the interior is sub par. I have a dash that rattles/squeaks and the seats are cheap. I donÂ’t have the Bose stereo so I installed a sub-woofer which helps immensely. The Idler pulley bearing went out so the dealership loaned me a Lincoln LS. For the same money ( $18,000 ) I could have gotten a 2003/2002 Lincoln LS instead of the Maxima SE. I made a mistake. The Lincoln is twice the car as my 2003 Maxima SE. I am now shopping for a nice 2002/2003 Lincoln LS with low miles. My only concern is that the Nissan is probably a more dependable car than the Lincoln. IÂ’m going to take the chance because the LS is WAY nicer

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  Buzzes and rattles - 2002 Nissan Maxima
  By tranzec - November 30 - 2:00 am

  Car ran great the first 2,000 miles. Then, when starting up and engaging drive we get a grinding/rubbing noise. Once this started, we get lots of buzzing and vibrations in the gas pedal and steering wheel. Have taken to the dealer twice and told there is nothing wrong. Fun car to drive, but when a car costs this much the dealer should fix these type of problems. Will definitly NOT buy another Nissan.

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  Not a Japanese car - 2008 Nissan Sentra
  By Chris - November 29 - 9:43 am

  The fit and finish is awful. The hood and trunk are off center.The trunk so much it almost touches the rear 1/4 panel on one side and has a 1/4 inch gap on the other. The plastic dash is not smooth and the edges stick up. The cheap labor shows here. The eyeglass holder is so hard to open you wind up pulling it from the dash. I dont even use it anymore. Bumps can be teeth jarring. Gas mileage is less than stellar. At this pricepoint there are much better choices. Shop around. This car will be going back at lease end and I will be back at Ford. Also no power seats rather an antiquated crank to raise seat height

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  Not well-rounded enough - 2004 Nissan Xterra
  By veljo756 - November 28 - 10:00 am

  I bought the Nissan 6 months ago and have not been disappointed. It delivered its promise: cool exterior, great image and capable offroad. However anyone driving this thing around town, like I do should think twice. Ride is uncomfortable, at least compared to a CR-V fuel milage is poor and the worst thing is engine performance. Shortly, this vehicle is very slow! Im glad Nissan will improve on that for 2005, because while the numbers are impressive on paper, this is a very heavy SUV and hence simply slow. Before you buy it, test drive a Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV-4 and Ford Escape. They cost about the same and should meet your needs just fine. Do not spend money on image alone!

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  Worst Car - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By CWise - November 28 - 6:46 am

  I like my Altima very much but their are alot of problems wrong with it. First my car has a mind of its own it starts when it fells like it. Second has a bad water sound of the right side. Third all of this stuff has been checked the water noise was fixed but came back, and the car starting was checked and they see nothing wrong with it other of my friends that have the car say they have experienced this problem even with the 6cylinder engines. Nissan should make this problem a recall on this car.

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  This van is a piece of junk - 2005 Nissan Quest
  By kn - November 26 - 10:03 am

  This van looks nice and thats about it. Our problems began at 4,000 miles and now were at 45,000 and the problems have not ended. The van is in the shop every 4-6 mos. Exhaust bracket broken several times, 3 sets of brakes, 2 sets of rotors, header pipe, parking brake assembly replaced x 2 and tightened x 4, catalytic converter replaced, battery x 2. Nissan has had terrible customer service, even at corporate office. Customer service is not their #1 if you have a problem, only when youre there for routine maintenance.

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  Good on Tech but Bad on Driver Comfort - 2017 Nissan Rogue
  By idesi1 - November 25 - 4:54 pm

  There are plenty of great Tech options available on this SUV but the most important aspect has been left out and that is "driver seat" as it is very uncomfortable. Mine is SL with Auto Memory seats and there are only 6 position memory so with my 6 + height and legs I am having a hard time adjusting to the positions coz there is only certain position I can change to, very frustrating. Its been 3 weeks and I cant wait to get rid of the car. My previous ride was Ford Explorer Limited fully loaded the only reason I traded in coz I crossed 60K miles and was filling up gas every other day due to 130 miles a day ride. But now I miss it I would have afforded it but I made a mistake. Secondly, the Chime Volume for BSM , Lane assist and Rear Cross Traffic is so low that u can hardly hear it plus it not as sensitive as Ford was. There are a lot of major issues Nissan needs to work on. Its a good car but Nissan needs to focus more on comfort instead of tech only.

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  Disappointment - Transmission Failure - 2014 Nissan Pathfinder
  By gol_den2 - November 24 - 12:09 pm

  Purchased this vehicle new in May 2014. In October 2014 with less than 5,000 miles the transmission began slipping at speeds above 60mph. Took it to dealer who said may be bad gas and to fill up once with 89 octane. In November 2014, the transmission slipped constantly (No warning lights came on). Took it to dealer, they confirmed it was a bad transmission. They said they were putting a new transmission in however it is still in the shop so I am unable to validate if it is new or a remanufactured transmission that is going in it. A vehicle with less than 6k miles and cost $45K a total disappointment. Stay away from the Pathfinder.

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  Transmission Problem - 1999 Nissan Pathfinder
  By RLJ - November 24 - 2:00 am

  I have a 1999 Nissan Pathfinder with 62,000 miles on it. It started making these rattling noises and I took it to the dealership. To make a long story short, the transmission is shot and they want to replace it. Which is about $3,000 worth of work. I have read the reviews about quality and reliability before I purchased the vehicle, turns out some of that is untrue.