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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  Nothing flashy, but great reliable ride - 2002 Nissan Sentra
  By Jason - September 10 - 12:26 am

  Bought back in 09/02 and the only issue Ive come across is the parking brake light wont go out (happened around 50k mi) - Other than that its been extremely reliable. It was -30 degrees here in MN not to long ago for about a week and it started fine every morning like a champ. Ride is smooth.

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  Zippy Jiffy Jukie - 2016 Nissan Juke
  By bee Weekes - September 9 - 11:19 pm

  My Juke is just fabulous! I quite like the interior lighting on the floor, the lighted Juke logo on the threshold by the doors. Its a fast zippy car, very economical to run, but is a bit small for a family car. Its a one person car

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  HATE MY NISSAN SENTRA - 2013 Nissan Sentra
  By kaylie morrison - September 9 - 7:49 pm

  This is my first car that I have bought on my own, I have owned a Honda Accord with 140,000 miles and a Toyota Avalon with 120,000 miles. My Nissan started falling apart at 50,000 miles and I have taken excellent care of it! I wanted a Kia but everyone told me to get a Honda or Nissan so I went ahead and got a Sentra because I thought that it would be reliable. The car overheats, Ive brought it to three different machanics and they cant find out why it is overheating. The transmission shakes and has just suddenly stopped when I am in drive but have the car stopped at a red light. The car has trouble shifting gears and has a horrible get up. I did go from a V6 in my 2 door Accord to this but it still has a slow start.. Im just really dissapointed with this car. I will be going back to a Honda or Toyota!

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  My German Quest - 2006 Nissan Quest
  By GrafBaby - September 9 - 12:23 pm

  I bought my Quest in Washington, and then we got stationed here to Germany (we are military). I used to hate vans, and never thought I would own one. But after looking at it, seeing that there is a 5 star crash rating, and all the little extras the Special Edition has, I bought it, and I have no regrets! I LOVE this van! I take it on the autobahn from time to time and I got up to about 120mph w/no problems. I love the strong horsepower, great for passing cars on these little German roads. This van is not sold here in Germany, so I get stared at by the Germans everywhere I go, and have gotten countless compliments. They are most amazed by the power lift gate.

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  Happy with my Pathfinder - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Pathfinder in MA - September 9 - 11:06 am

  LE 4wd bought new in 05. Good power from V-6, short turning circle. Handles well in snow and sand, never gets stuck. Bose stereo is killer, holds lots of people & stuff. Fold flat 3rd row a nice option. Runs fine on regular gas, mileage stinks around town, 12-13 mpg but will get 20-21 mpg on the highway at 70 mph loaded up with stuff and people. Original equipment tires were junk after 20K miles. Replaced with Continental Cross Tracs - very happy. One little annoying squeak in dash on bumpy roads

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  Amazing car - 1996 Nissan Maxima
  By flyboy76 - September 9 - 2:34 am

  I bought my nissan maxima with 64,000 km. Now the car has 250,000 km on it and it isnt showing any problems. Everything works still, heated seats electric seats, heated mirrors, radio.. Everything works. The only thing Ive had to do to the car is regular maintenance (brakes oil change, had to put in a water pump) I recently had to replace the gas take which was odd, it rusted out in one spot but i foudn a used one in mint shape for 300 bucks.. This car is the most reliable car, best performing car, fun to drive, best on gas, best sound system you will find for the price... I dont have any desire to get a new car and the car is a 96 and looks just as stylish as any 2011 car..

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  Thinking about a Titan ? - 2005 Nissan Titan
  By S.J. - September 8 - 11:56 pm

  My Titan is an 04 purchased 3/05 . I have about 1500 miles on this truck and have a few comments a buyer might be interested in. Performance is great . This truck gets it. Very quick and handles well. My first impression of the steering is that it takes more power to turn the steering wheel than my former ford or chevy truck. Brakes dirty up the front wheels with black dust.I have a rattle in the dash. Gas milage is about where I expected it. About 12 in town and about 15 or 16 on the hwy. The exaust noise is barly perceptable on the hwy .The radio quality of sound poor on FM but the sound quality of the cd player is great. Radio light reflect on rear glass through the rear view mirror.

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  A Nifty Nissan - 2016 Nissan Murano
  By mike murphy - September 8 - 1:14 pm

  To start let me post this caveat: This is my 4th Murano SL AWD. I put over 20,000 miles a year in it and I generally trade it in at the 60K mark. In short, I love this SUV. I tried to change it up and looked at the BMW, Volvo, Lincoln, Acura and Lexus, each one more expensive, yet, none could compare. Roomiest back seat in the class. Great acceleration, even better reliability and for an SUV a smooth comfortable ride. On the negative side I find the headlights could be brighter and on my first Murano the lights had a 3 way position switch (low, medium, high) you could utilize. This was a great feature when driving on dark, winding back roads. It negated the need to use your high beams and the accompanying glare that high beams brings. They should bring this back. I also find the NAV system can be a bit unwieldy and the POI feature is a waste.

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  My Best Car - 2000 Nissan Maxima
  By phatboi747 - September 8 - 10:03 am

  For a midsized car the 2000 Nissan Maxima does it all. It provides sufficient power at 225 Hp. It is not so great on the low-end torque but other features make up for the slack. The stock stereo system is great. The radio could have been a little more updated though (pause feature). Its handling is okay. So far it has proven to be very reliable. My fuel economy is okay considering that you have to put 91 octane or better in it or the engine will knock. I dont have any real complaints about this car yet.

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  Good Deal - 2000 Nissan Pathfinder
  By Nathan Ashworth - September 8 - 10:00 am

  We got this car for $13,900 with 70,000 miles on it and have loved it ever since. We did our homework on it to see that is has been awarded a Used Car Best Bet Award for its overall reliability. The seat warmers are very nice and the climate control works very well. We travel constantly for school and business and it has never skipped a beat. Overall I am very impressed with the vehicle as this is our first SUV. The power is slightly lacking in our 2000 model and I see they upped the engine size in the later models but for normal city/highway driving you wont notice it. Maybe for towing or off roading but we dont do any of that.