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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  overall GREAT FAMILY CAR - 2016 Nissan Maxima
  By Latrice williams - May 11 - 5:39 pm

  THE MAXIMA ARE A LITTLE TO HIGH ON PRICE

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  CVT - Beware - 2007 Nissan Altima
  By Steve - May 9 - 12:53 am

  Just a word of warning for anyone wanting to keep the CVT Altima for any length of time. My CVT just imploded with 46,000 km on it. Maybe warranty they say, maybe not. Takes two days to do the paperwork to get the new transmission approved... if it gets approved. Not impressed. The car is very noisy when driving and lurches when going downhill. I will never buy another CVT again. I can only imagine the cost of replacement for this thing. This will be a real cash cow for Nissan as the trannies start to fail.

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  The last Nissan I will ever own. - 2005 Nissan Altima
  By jalaniz4116 - May 8 - 3:11 am

  I bought my Nissan Altima new, and it has been a big burden. I had the car for a month when the transmission went out. I wish I was joking. The dealership took care of the problem pretty promptly. The Cam-shaft sensors went out, so the car would just stop on me at a low rates of speed. As one could imagine, it was not very safe due to that reason. I have had to replace 3 alternators. 3 of them!!!!!! I have had to replace all the motor mounts & the breaks way too often. After a year, I never felt safe in taking the Altima out of town.

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  Not bad but terrible sealing - 2009 Nissan Rogue
  By Young - May 6 - 12:50 pm

  Overall performances are acceptable. Three major problem. 1. Free penetration of cold air through knobs and buttons due to bad sealing 2. Noisy in wet days due to same reason. But Nissan consider it as normal, which means it is their limitation in technology 3. Very bad rear side-view visibility. Youd be very careful when you try to change lane. There are much wider blind area than any other car due to very bad visibility. I almost hit other car several time in 3 months driving, which I have never experienced before with other cars in my 30 years of spotless driving history. So, not recommended for young drivers. Minor comment is bad front cup holder design Overall: Not recommended

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  transmission problems - 2005 Nissan Pathfinder
  By VERY disappointed - May 5 - 9:30 pm

  I bought my Pathfinder new in 2005. Around 2008 started hearing this noise that was like a vibration. Kind of like when you are sitting at a stoplight and someones stereo is very loud. Then, it had trouble shifting while driving. Would take a while to down shift, or shift up to a higher gear. Last summer our transmission went out $5900. Now, it is doing it again! I bought a nissan to avoid problems. I have had squeaky belts, and brakes, and numerous other smaller things fixed.

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  Shifting into trouble - 2009 Nissan Murano
  By Lisa - May 2 - 1:32 am

  I thought I had purchased a great car, having no problems until it hit 150,000 miles. It became sluggish shifting from 1st to 2nd gear…..needs a new transmission to the tune of $4,000. I have owned several cars with over 150,000 and have never needed a new transmission. Check engine light has been on for almost 2 years and was told that it is a defect with the gas tank. I will never buy another Nissan!!!

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  Dont buy a sentra, horrible MPG - 2007 Nissan Sentra
  By Joshua1981 - April 30 - 12:10 pm

  Let me start off bye saying the car drives pretty good. But thats about as far as it goes. My 2.0S only gets 23 mpg combined city and highway driving. Which is way below the fueleconomy.gov ratings of 25mpg city and 33mpg highway. What has happened to nissan. I like the car ok other than that but to me gas mileage is a big part of car ownership. I would strongly advise anyone considering buying a 2007 Sentra to buy a honda civic or toyota corolla. They get way better gas mileage. I only got 350 miles on a 14.5 gallon tank of gas. Im very disappointed and nissan should be ashamed of the gas mileage on the sentra. I will never buy another NISSAN again. Hope that helps.

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  1998 Nissan Frontier King Cab SE - 1998 Nissan Frontier
  By rainh2o - April 29 - 10:00 am

  Pros: Handsome looks. Famously reliable 4 cylinder engine. Nice ride for a truck, especially with good replacement tires. Cons: The automatic is low on horsepower and towing capacity. The fuel mileage is unimpressive. OEM tires create excessive road noise. Lots of irritating rattles at 40,000 miles.

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  Poor Seats and Bad Gas Mileage - 2008 Nissan Rogue
  By newowner2012 - April 25 - 11:32 pm

  I bought my 2008 FWD Rogue a week ago. I am so disappointed. I commute 60 miles round trip via Interstate to work, so little of my mileage is in town. I am lucky to get 23 mpg. I dont drive super fast, usually anywhere between 60 and top out at 80 on rare occasions. I see reviews on here of people getting fantastic gas mileage. I dont understand why mine is so poor! Any ideas? My gas costs have gone up $100/month (projected) and I had not planned for that kind of an increase! The seats for me are very uncomfortable. My upper back has no support. The upper part of the seat leans back too far for me and I find myself in pain. Terrible time seeing out the back - dangerous to back up!

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  Make sure its a good one - 1997 Nissan Maxima
  By LeVeL - April 23 - 8:33 pm

  I made the big mistake of getting this car at an auction and have had nothing but problems - stereo, ac, shocks, exhaust, i can go on and on. Clearly the previous owner took no care of this vehicle, so I cant really blame these things on the car. The ride and handling suffered greatly because of broken shocks, fuel economy is hovering around 16-17 mpg in the city due to a lack of a tune-up. The car is fun to drive though and has good power. I think my next car will be another Maxima SE, this time a mint-condition one from a dealer. Highly recommended as long as its in good condition.