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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  Beautiful. Waste of money - 2004 Nissan Maxima
  By ataylor13 - May 13 - 1:07 pm

  I purchased this car due to how beautiful it is and powerful, got a great deal on it but now I know why it was so cheap. After a week of having this car at 111,400 miles I realized it is having minor transmission issues. Going fast and staying at a consistent shift it drives like a dream. Stop and go traffic however; a nightmare. Wasted my time and money, currently looking for a new commuter due to me going to college and working.

• 

  A huge disappointment! - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By ladylawyer1968 - May 11 - 2:00 pm

  This van has had more problems than any vehicle we have ever owned. All the recalls, rear door motor had to be replaced, rattles in doors "fixed" numerous times, automatic sliding door reverses for no reason, both sliding doors have rubbed over rear wheel well causing paint to be scratched, fixed once, but doing it again, getting it fixed has been a nightmare. Most recently, automatic drivers seat was leaned back to reach something and now will not move forward, switch is dead, creating a major safety issue. Nissans answer? Drive the 80+ miles to the dealership with the seat back in an unsafe position. Horrible gas mileage. Nissan U.S. no help. Shame on you Nissan.

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  Smooth but Slow - 2007 Nissan Maxima
  By Mike Jones - May 9 - 6:40 am

  I previously had a 2004 5 speed automatic. It was very quick. The new CVT tranny is interesting and creates a quite pleasurable smooth ride. However, Im very disappointed with the performance with the CVT. From a dead stop, full throttle the car is quite slow. Other than the off the line, the car seems to have more than enough power. If it werent for the slow off the line this car would be an easy 9.5-10 across the board. If a smooth comfortable ride is your thing this is your car. If you liked the sport from previous Maximas, Im sorry to say its been killed.

• 

  Weak Clutch - 1998 Nissan Frontier
  By vb - May 7 - 10:00 am

  The clutch is weak if you plan to pull the rated 3500lbs. It will slip bad (with the peddel fully out)trying to pull a heavy boat out of the lake. Other than that it is a great truck, just too small of a bed for me.

• 

  OVERPRICED - 2002 Nissan Xterra
  By RAUTRY72 - May 7 - 10:00 am

  THIS VEHICLE IS VERY OVERPRICED. IT IS 24 GRAND AND DOESNT EVEN HAVE MIRRORS ON THE BACK SIDE OF VISOR. IT ALSO RIDES LIKE A LOG TRUCK. VERY ROUGH. THIS VEHICLE MIGHT BE WORTH 19 OR 20 GRAND. VERY DISAPPOINTED.

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  Dont buy 02, buy 03 or higher! - 2002 Nissan Altima
  By kelly - May 3 - 10:36 am

  Loved the car, but after having to have the engine replaced, i didnt feel comfortable driving anymore. Engine was replaced under warranty at 60K miles, but i was told it was ok to drive until engine came in...only slight risk of fire! Problem caused by catalytic converter separating and being pulled into engine. I will never buy a first year production car again!

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  what a hunk of crap - 2002 Nissan Sentra
  By jessev23 - May 2 - 10:00 am

  Mine was a lemon, it was built with an alignment problem. The reason why I would give this review a negative one, is that the car company, should be more helpful in getting you into a car that built correctly, they are just interested more on how they are going to loose money rather than the safety of your family! Not that great on gas also...some other issues may be a problem (it gives too much power when pressing on the gas that the tires screech)........buyers TEST IT WELL before buying it

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  A Decent Van Built By Ford - 2001 Nissan Quest
  By 2Nissans - May 2 - 12:40 am

  This is a decent vehicle with so-so amenities, but has a reliable engine. If you can find one with low mileage with a low price, here are a few things to look for that I have found at over 200,000 to date: have windows up and listen for engine when at idle and then at driving. Engine mounts tend to break easily. Check transmission oil pan for leaks. Check CV boots for tears, and listen for any clicking noises when you turn wheels while driving at parking lot speeds. Make sure A/C and fan(s) blow properly with no strange noises.

• 

  40,000 Lemon - 2004 Nissan Altima
  By TonyM - April 26 - 9:10 pm

  This was a great car til it hit 40,000 miles. Now I have problems that the dealer cant fix. The car shakes and vibrates then kills. The check engine light comes on. The dealer checked the computer and changes sensors at $250 a pop and the car runs good for a day than the problems start over. This is my first and last Nissan!!!!!!

• 

  Great for parking garage. - 2016 Nissan Versa Note
  By Erik - April 25 - 3:00 pm

  Forgive the wall, Im on mobile.So got this as a rental, it looked cool and I wanted to try it. It had just over 2k milkes and I put 350 miles on it. Did a bit of city ( vegas!!) freeway and some "mountain" driving. Lets point out the Pros of this. The blue tooth is simple and easy, and you can take it a step further by downloading an app. But I just used Google maps, which only works if you have the stereo on Bluetooth mode) Its great for parking, tight turns, great for those u turns, braking, and decent fuel economy. The steering response is middle of the road, maybe a bit above because the car doesnt roll if you have to jerk it over to the next lane. It does have a back up camera and you can see all around when in traffic. I didnt get a chance to see how well The traction control worked. The A/C did okay for 110F heat and no window tint. Meaning it was on full blast 95%, even when it was under 100F. The audio system sounded better then I imagined! Weaving in and out of traffic is a breeze, and youll have plenty of room. Its not the ugliest or boring for a compact. There was plenty of room for just the two of us. The dash is nice to look at and the double glove box was very convenient. Heck the knee one was very deep. Seating was firm but comfy. Combine the seating and suspension for a sporty feel. Now the cons; even if you are at the front of the line at a stop light, youll be last. Not only is take off unnaturally slow, the actual throttle response is about a whole second behind. Then after that youll start to crawl forward ( no need to worry about burn outs!) This can actually be annoying because if traffic speeds up a tad while rolling down the road itll be a few before youll catch up. It was amazing that it could go 70mph ( okay there were times we may have went 85mph but we were just keeping with the flow!! And the ride was challenging due to the swaying. Well get to that later) Imagine you are getting on the freeway, you hit the Apex and pin the throttle, the rpms jump up and as need to start merging, desperately, you look down and realize you are only doing 55-60mph, pending if the hill was in your favor. Okay you get it, accerleration is not what this car is meant to do. But you may think this can hold its speed. I mean come on, its modern, it has a CVT, and its small! Well sure it can. But only if its minor. If you start climbing a little itll rev up. And if its a 6% grade, you might want to take the slow lane with the truckers. So how does it handle? Well on a flat road its perfect, that goes for the pavement. If its concrete with slits youll start swerving like a tractor trailer with high cross winds, sad part is its only a slight over exaggeration. At around 50mph it becomes noticeable. Maybe its a safetly feature to keep you paying attention! I too thought maybe someone hit something. But seeing another versa I had to follow and see if they did the dance, and they did. With all the negative I wrote, I really do not hate this car! Sure its gutless, the road surface can be a challenge, and the suspension is borderline cheap feeling, but it was fun! The only way I would own this was if I got it with 6sp and 30 more ponies. ( I do kick my self for not getting the fiat 500!)