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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  Love this car, but man it cost me. - 2011 Nissan Leaf
  By Zac Held - June 1 - 11:57 pm

  Its a great car. The car itself is completely vanilla, but I love how smooth and quiet it is. At stoplights I think my other gas car has something wrong with all the vibration. The acceleration is linear and totally smooth. Not visiting gas stations is awesome. Its fun to sneak up on people in parking lots. The range anxiety went away after a month of owning the car, although its starting to come back. The BIG HOWEVER, I have had the car for over five years now, it has less than 60k miles and my battery capacity is now half of what it was when new. I was a responsible battery charger, and live in a mild climate. Since it is just out of warranty (4 years) its up to me to cover the cost of the replacement battery. I can currently go about 40 miles if I dont use the heater, and my work is about 40 miles roundtrip. I know all batteries degrade over time, and I was comfortable of having to replace it. What totally caught me by surprise is the cost of a new battery; quoted by my dealer is $8000. A quick blue book value of my car is about $6000. The horrible depreciation of the car combined with the cost of a replacement battery, completely make the economics of owning this car a terrible deal. For $8000 I could buy nearly twenty thousand gallons of gasoline! At 25 miles per gallon I could travel 500,000 miles! All these leafs are going to have to be converted to golf carts in retirement to get any value out of them. Update 2-18. Car has about 68,000 miles now. Still gets me back and forth to work, but due to battery degradation the heater is only allowed for small spurts to defrost the windows in the winter. It is a great car durability wise since I have only had to change the tires so far, and drives like the day it was new. We tend to drive it less miles now because the range anxiety of driving to new places is resurfacing. Bad news is that battery degradation and the cost to replace it is crazy. Buying a used one that doesnt need to go very far makes sense. Today a 2011 leaf in my area goes for 5000-7000. Not sure what a battery costs today, if its still $8000, no way that makes sense. The battery needs to be closer to $1000 to even think of changing it.

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  Best car for the money - 2009 Nissan Murano
  By The G Family - June 1 - 9:46 am

  Great car. Handles very well on the road. Drives and feels very stable, just like the Altima and Maxima. The car is actually fairly wide, and that makes it feel even more stable. Takes a bit of time getting used to it, but it is not a disadvantage. Driver has a lot more visibility on the road thanks to the high seating position inside the car. The engine is very responsive in all situations. Breaks are also responsive without being too touchy. There is plenty of space for a family of 5 inside this vehicle. This model comes well equipped and avoids including many of the useless bells and whistles other SUVs have. The standard options are just what is needed without being pretentious.

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  I hate this car. - 2004 Nissan Sentra
  By kaylynn - June 1 - 8:46 am

  I have had non-stop problems with this car since 3 weeks after I bought it. It has problems starting and has recently quit starting all together. Constantly having to replace spark plugs. It handles poorly in the snow and rain. I have reason to believe that the dealership knew about these problems before I bought it, as seeing how they admitted it when I took it into them. The warranty doesnt cover any of the problems I have had.

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  Give me back my Honda. - 2012 Nissan Altima
  By Robert - June 1 - 5:36 am

  If youre considering an Altima, specifically a V6 model, check out other offerings by Honda, Toyota, Chevy, Hyundai, Ford, or even Chrysler/Dodge. I bought my Altima certified pre-owned with 16000 miles on the clock. I enjoyed and loved the car since it had every feature and option available. Well at about 18000 miles when I brought it in to the dealership for numerous rattles while driving. Not too long after that, the car started to shudder when taking off after a stop, as well as hesitating. I took it back to the dealership where they said that the transmission was defective and had to be replaced, at 20000 miles. The car seemed to drive fine for a while but then, it started getting horrible gas mileage and hesitating again along with my brake light flashing and my traction control light illuminating. Took it back again at 22500, which they said my master cylinder was bad, brake booster was bad, and the car had a bad head gasket which was causing the coolant to leak into 2 cylinders causing them to misfire. Also, it had a bad motor mount and the exhaust had a leak. They replaced and repaired everything under warranty. Drove it until about 29000 miles and the replacement transmission started to shudder and hesitate again, as well as making a loud whining noise from 3000 rpm to redline. Took it back and the dealership said the replacement transmission had an internal failure again and needed to be replaced. Now for the pros of this ultra reliable crap mobile: the seats are comfortable, the ride is pretty smooth when it wants to be, and when the car isnt having any issues, the acceleration is great. Better than any car Ive owned. But Id gladly sacrifice some features this car has to go back to my trusty V6 Accord. Too bad it cant happen, since Im upside down on this Altima. UPDATE: The replacement tranny replaced at 29k started exhibiting the same issues as before around 33k. I decided to trade it in despite the fact it wasnt worth anything and I still owed a lot. Needless to say, Im glad to be out of the Altima and into a Honda Accord.

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  Awesome - 2005 Nissan Maxima
  By Phil M - June 1 - 2:50 am

  This is a really fun car to drive. The power that is available when wanted/needed is exhilarating; the responsiveness is incredible. The exterior has a speedy "swept back" look; the cockpit is futuristic and the interior is very roomy. Nice touches like heated seats and steering wheel, auto dimming mirrors inside and out, accessible 12v outlets, etc, add to the enjoyment. The only drawback with the car is that it is front wheel drive. With the HP available, when one really steps on the gas there is a noticable "torque steer" that is very disconcerting at times. Some may not like the audio and HVAC controls in the center stack as the buttons are numerous and small but theyll grow on you.

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  97 maxima SE bought in late 2001 - 1997 Nissan Maxima
  By low1man - June 1 - 2:00 am

  Mine has been a woderful experience with the maxima. When I bought it in 2001, 190Hp was still something to be proud of in a 4 door car. With the leather, moonroof, automatic climate control, and 5-speed manual transmission, the maxima combines luxury and sport and blurs the line between the two. She has been a wonder car to drive.

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  luv my Maxima - 2003 Nissan Maxima
  By spaulding - June 1 - 2:00 am

  When ready to replace my 1994 Altima, I looked at the Altima, Maxima, and G35. The latest Altimas interior was unimpressive, the G35 was slightly smaller than I desired, but the Maxima was about perfect: a beautiful, fast, fun, roomy, well-made sports sedan. I chose the 6 speed manual SE trim w/ HLSD and all options ex. navigation and I have been very pleased. 2003 is the last of the Japanese made Maximas.

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  A Big sport sedan on the cheap - 2003 Nissan Altima
  By ysaday - June 1 - 2:00 am

  The powerful VQ engine really delivers the power sometimes making you wish you had a wider front tires and a limited slip. Considering how big this car is, it feel light ( Thanks to aluminum hood, trunk, etc.).The interior leaves a lot to be desired although room is good for 6 footer in front and back. Oh yeah the factory sound system is excellent even w/o the Bose upgrade.

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  Best Vehicle Purchase Ever - 2000 Nissan Frontier
  By Skriker - June 1 - 12:46 am

  I purchased my Nissan Frontier crew cab 4wd in Feb of 2000. I still have the truck with just shy of 80k miles on it and it is still going strong. It has not required any major or even minor mechanical work aside from the usual things like new brake pads, filters and tires. All in all this is the absolute best vehicle I have ever purchased for reliability and functionality. This is the first time for me as a car owner where I am certain that when my current Frontier eventually fails I will happily buy another one just like it. :)

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  The Murano is Tops! - 2005 Nissan Murano
  By Wms - May 31 - 6:26 pm

  Weve driven our new Murano for a week now and every day we love it more. The safety features, comfort and style of the vehicle are all designed with the consumer in mind. TWO thumbs up!