Nissan Reviews & Ratings

2009 Nissan GT-R Review

By Stephan Wilkinson
May 7, 2008 -

The GT-R is the blind date everybody’s been telling you about for months: incredible body, second in her class at Harvard, fabulous conversationalist, star athlete. Then you meet her. Yes, she has obvious “assets,” but nobody mentioned the halitosis. She graduated with a B.A. in accounting. She’s a great conversationalist, but her voice sounds like run-flat tires with three-inch sidewalls running over a concrete-aggregate rumble and tar-strip slap. She's an athlete, but a grunting shot-putter, not a Sharapova. In short, the GT-R is SO not a supermodel.

2009 Nissan GT-R Review continued »

2009 Nissan GT-R rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 109 comments

2007 Nissan Cube Review

By Jonny Lieberman
April 25, 2008 -

After spending a few days in Nissan's Cube, I was reminded of Orange County's Mar Vista housing tract. Built in the 1940s by designer Gregory Ain, the development deployed basic shapes (squares and rectangles) to give the suburban spread a high degree of architectural sophistication. Of course, people considered these "flat roof" houses a commie plot (so to speak); builders only erected 52 of the planned 100 homes. The Nissan Cube sells for $11k in Japan. In the same way as Mar Vista, the Cube offers a whole lot of chic for a little bit of green.  

2007 Nissan Cube Review continued »

2007 Nissan Cube rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 84 comments

2008 Nissan Armada LE 4×4 Review

By Mike Solowiow
March 28, 2008 -

Nissan wants you to buy the Armada LE 4x4 to "Live Big." Someone needs to tell these guys that conspicuous consumption is dead-- at least for those car buyers who can no longer afford it. While the high and low ends of the SUV market are still relatively robust, big-ass trucks in the former "sweet spot" are giving potential buyers a toothache. It may have something to do with the price of gas. Or ruinous depreciation. Which is a shame. The Nissan Armada is a damn Skippy good truck; you know, if you used to like that kind of thing.

2008 Nissan Armada LE 4×4 Review continued »

2008 Nissan Armada LE 4x4 rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 54 comments

2009 Nissan Murano LE Review

By Michael Martineck
February 25, 2008 -

Nissan claims the Murano was the first crossover. Subaru claims that "honor" for the Forester. I think the first crossover was probably some variant of the Model T. Ladder frame construction or no, I'm never exactly sure what constitutes a CUV or SUV. Besides, as most truck buyers neither tow nor venture off-road, it's what semanticists call an invidious distinction. In other words, who cares? The more important question is whether or not a particular vehicle has the looks, packaging and performance it needs to survive. The new Nissan Murano must, again, still, stand on its own merits. Does it?

2009 Nissan Murano LE Review continued »

2009 Nissan Murano LE rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 46 comments

2007 Nissan Urvan Review

By Mike Solowiow
February 18, 2008 -

I'm piloting a vehicle with a mid-mounted engine coupled to a close ratio transmission. The steering feel transmitted through the chunky helm is sublime, matching Bimmers of yore. Wearing a maniacal grin, I [hypothetically] pitch my whip into a corner at an [allegedly] injudicious speed, listening to the engine, passengers and tires scream. As I clip the apex, I punch the throttle. The powerplant howls as the chassis adopts hooligan-induced oversteer. I saw at the wheel, maintaining a sideways slide. Audi RS4? Chevrolet Corvette? Nope. I'm driving a tall, skinny, eight-passenger Nissan Urvan.

2007 Nissan Urvan Review continued »

2007 Nissan Urvan rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 26 comments

2008 Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5SE Review

By Megan Benoit
January 18, 2008 -

Nissan says the Altima Coupe was designed separately from the Altima sedan. It’s a different car, from the ground-up. Roger that. Not since the Chevrolet Lumina Sedan and Minivan have two more disparate vehicles shared the same name. While Chrysler’s auto show folk are talking-up the joys of a “shared genetic pool,” the Altima Coupe 3.5SE isn’t even swimming in the same ocean as the sedan. In fact, the Altima Coupe deserves a sexier name, something distinctive, with more panache. I suggest “Accord-killer,” but it’s unlikely to get approved by any legal department, anywhere.

2008 Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5SE Review continued »

2008 Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5SE rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 83 comments

Nissan Rogue Review

By Michael Martineck
December 28, 2007 -

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time: introduce American car buyers to Nissan’s new cute ‘ute in an episode of NBC’s hit show Heroes. And so we see the Rogue in the hands of a world saving high school cheerleader-- ensuring its chick-car status for all eternity. And then rogue crooks swipe the CUV and drive it to Mexico. Demonstrating what? The car is easy to boost? Why didn’t technopath Micah Sanders get a booster seat, take the wheel and show Ford the true meaning of “sync my ride?” All of which leaves me wondering: is the Rogue good enough to survive its own marketing?   

Nissan Rogue Review continued »

Nissan Rogue rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 30 comments

Nissan Altima Coupe 2.5 S Review

By William C Montgomery
July 30, 2007 -

I test drove Nissan’s 2008 Altima Coupe 2.5 S on a sunny summer morning in Denton. Keen to clock the whip’s curb appeal, I stunted and flossed around the University of North Texas campus, stopping to pose (the car) in front of the school’s giant beetle larva-inspired fine arts auditorium. Blurry-eyed students of the Fast and the Furious generation yawned as they made their way to classes. And yet the Altima Coupe’s flying off dealer lots. Does that mean this car’s sex appeal is designed for people who like to wear sensible shoes? Uh-huh. 

Nissan Altima Coupe 2.5 S Review continued »

Nissan Altima Coupe 2.5 S rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 41 comments

Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V Review

By Brendan McAleer
June 18, 2007 -

Anyone who’s ever watched a canard-laden, sooty-arsed Spec V Skyline blast through a corner like a turbocharged gecko knows that the NISMO (Nissan Motorsports) boys are capable of crafting some serious speed. Yes, well, making a street fighter out of Nissan’s weight-challenged Sentra compact is sure to require some extra strength bippity-boppity-boo. Speedy silk purse, lethargic sow’s ear, that kind of thing. In short, I approached the Sentra SE-R Spec V with a healthy dose of scepticism, cynicism and I’ll-believe-it-when-I-thrash-it-ism.

Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V Review continued »

Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V rating summary and performance review

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 34 comments

Nissan Titan Review

By William C Montgomery
April 30, 2007 -

When it comes to full size pickups, three words have dominated headlines over the last six months: Toyota, Toyota, Toyota. Can the Tundra penetrate the Big 2.5’s final sanctuary? Who will crumble first, GM or Ford? It’s made in Texas! Yada, yada. But Toyota’s not the only American-made foreign brand playing in the full-size pickup truck sandbox. Nissan was here first and they’re not going away. So can this Mississippi Titan play ball or is it destined to remain a third-string niche player?

Nissan Titan Review continued »

Posted in Nissan | Car Reviews | 58 comments