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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  Nissans Warranty is very bad! - 2014 Nissan Rogue
  By jessekoehn - August 28 - 10:31 pm

  Purchased a New 2014 Nissan Rogue Fully Loaded with all options AWD, but after 1 week Paint is now coming off the front bumper. Contacted Nissan Immediately only to get transferred to someone who will do nothing and stated that it must be bird [non-permissible content removed] and will not cover the quality of a Nissan product purchased after 7 days.

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  Worst Car I have ever bought - 2007 Nissan Sentra
  By Abigail - June 19 - 7:06 am

  The car had multiple problems and after only having it a few months it needed repairs that cost thousands of dollars. The CVT transmission was faulty, shocks and struts needed to be replaced twice after only using the car lightly. The key-less ignition had serious problems. Vibration on freeway. Very loud car. Comfort was ok at best. Pretty fair cargo space for a compact car, but definitely not worth the 11,000 dollars I paid for it.

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  Dont walk RUN from Nissan Sentra!!! - 2010 Nissan Sentra
  By Teresa West - June 17 - 6:49 pm

  I would trade my 2010 nissa sentra for just about any other car on the road. Admittedly, I put a lot of miles on my car due to my job. But I purchased because of its claim of great gas mileage and extremely low maintenance. 200,000 miles later, I am looking at replacing the tranny for the second time (first one went out just over 100Kmiles, and just after warranty of course) Today, it needs another tranny and an engine rebuild. I now have spent almost as much on maintenance and repairs as i did on the original loan--of which still owe $7K Guess how much its worth for trade-in? Thats right,a whopping $750 i can scrap it for more, which is what I will probably have to do. no help from nissa DUMPED IT AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY!!!!!!!

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  Design Flaw Causing Significant Leaks - 2004 Nissan Quest
  By keifferz - May 16 - 2:00 am

  Our 2004 Quest is a disaster. Two days after we bought it, it rained and the van filled up with water, apparently from a misdesigned sunroof and interior panels that were not properly welded at the factory. The van has been at the dealer since -- almost a month -- and at two body shops. More troubling is the nasty Nissan attitude, the refusal to replace the vehicle and the corporate approached of doing only the absolute minimum under applicable law while ignoring the warranty. We are now suing Nissan to get our money back. Until Nissan fixes the design problems on the Quest, it should be shunned.

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  please consider before purchasing - 2003 Nissan Maxima
  By LOOKING OUT - April 16 - 10:00 am

  TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THE MAXIMA PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IT IS PRODUCED WITH ZENON HEADLIGHTS THAT HAVE BECOME EXTREMLY POPULAR TO THEIVES. I HAVE HAD THE CAR FOR SIX MONTHS AND THE HEADLIGHTS HAVE BEEN STOLEN "6" TIMES, THEY COST $750.00 PER HEADLIGHT AND $350.00 FOR THE LABOR TO BE REINSTALLED. DUE THE MATH YOU CAN BE DRIVING A MERCEDES

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  Horrible whining noise after 10,000 miles - 2015 Nissan Altima
  By Robert Grosberg - March 30 - 6:03 am

  About a year ago a very irritating whining noise in the car cabin was herd. Went to dealership and they said it was the power steering pump and it was "normal" I have owned the car 24 months and the first 12 months no noise existed. Another 12 months of driving and the whining appeared and is getting louder every day. This is not normal and makes my drive very unpleasant. I now hate my Altima and Nissan has had hundreds if not thousands of complaints about the power steering noise and refuses to do anything. I will never buy another Nissan.

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  2015 ALTIMA 2.5SL WITH TRANSMISSION FAILURE - 2015 Nissan Altima
  By cdesai - March 25 - 8:10 pm

  What would you rate a car that you can not drive? What would you do when dealership runs away from providing support/resolution? How do you feel when you think of trade in/get rid of a car with these known issues for a new one and when someone with financial condition ends up buying your junk?

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  The Worst Vehicle I Have Ever Owned - 2009 Nissan Versa
  By mandj123 - March 1 - 10:00 am

  I have had this vehicle for almost 2 years now and from the moment I bought it I have had problems. It has been to the dealer multiple times, and when I say multiple I mean way too many to count. I have had start up issues since I bought the vehicle, which leads me to believe that the fuel pump is bad, I have alignment problems, I have a car alarm that works sometimes but not at other times, the material on the interior doors has been falling off for some time now, the car makes noises when I turn, and worst of all and most recent the piece of junk is having transmission problems at just 25,000 miles and the dealer cannot fix it. I hate this car, dont think of buying one its a nightmare.

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  DO NOT BUY!!! - 2004 Nissan Murano
  By Joyce Mowe - February 12 - 5:29 am

  This car has quit on me 7 times. Every time it quit I would take it in to the shop and spend $100-$800 to get it "fixed" only to have it quit again a couple days to a week later. The worst part though is what this car did when it would quit. It would be going down the road and then all of the sudden my power steering would go out and my brakes!! So here I am driving down the road and I cant steer or press the breaks! Its done this 7 times! Now they say it will take $1500 to fix it. This is a terrible car that will cause wrecks. Mine only had 160,000 miles on it. DO NOT BUY! VERY DANGEROUS CAR!

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  After 1 year &2600 miles and top is beyond repair - 2014 Nissan 370Z
  By Jeremiah Lee - February 9 - 5:59 am

  A piece of plastic felt off from within the top damaged the headliner. Under warranty repair, the headliner was replaced. In the process, the outter top was damaged and needed replacement. Three attempts and with each attempt further damage was done to the top. Holes were drilled onto the frame to tie the top down and the top could not be fully attched to the frame. The gasket also could not be fully attached to the frame either. repair advisor at dealer informed me that this likely can never be repaired. The top opening and closing mechanism failed complete at the end. I have been out of the car for 6 weeks. At the end traded in the piece of trash. I ended up taking a lost of $15000 and traded in this piece of trash.