Nissan Reviews & Ratings

Review: 2009 Nissan Frontier 4×2 Crew Cab SE

By Frank Williams
July 2, 2009

Once upon a time, way back in 1959, a company called Datsun imported a funny-looking pickup truck with a small bed and tiny engine, giving birth to the compact pickup market in the U.S. After a slow start, the market grew, as did the competition. The 70’s brought onslaughts from Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and even VW. After the dust settled, the small truck market in the U.S. belongs basically to the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, Chevy/GMC Colorado/Canyon (for now, anyway) and Nissan Forester---the direct descendant of the Datsun that started it all. Fifty years later, what hath Nissan wrought?

Review: 2009 Nissan Frontier 4×2 Crew Cab SE continued »

rating summary and performance review: 2009 Nissan Frontier 4×2 Crew Cab SE

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 40 comments

Review: Switzer Performance P800 [Nissan] GT-R

By Jack Baruth
April 15, 2009

Let me take you down, cause I’m going to. . . GT-R Fields. Almost nothing is real, whether you’re talking about the ridiculous Nurburgring-centric engi-marketing, the programmed-to-self-destruct transmissions, or the amazing shrinking customer warranties. Still, there’s nothing to get hung about (so to speak). The entire concept behind the GT-R---building a car that more or less steers itself to people who can’t drive for shit, live in downtown Tokyo, or both-- is stranger than any LSD trip John Lennon could have possibly imagined.

Review: Switzer Performance P800 [Nissan] GT-R continued »

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 27 comments

Review: 2010 Nissan GT-R Take Two

By Casey W. Raskob
March 2, 2009

A call on Sunday to a lawyer's office (mine) normally carries with it a tale of woe and unwanted police involvement. This time was different. A journalist neighbor called and asked if I wanted to drive the Nissan GT-R that had just been dropped in his driveway. The Skyline has been an unobtanium special for the last 15 or so years. I recall seeing one at International Rally New York, and even that battered right hand drive special attracted a crowd. So, with full knowledge of what was on offer, I ventured forth.

Review: 2010 Nissan GT-R Take Two continued »

rating summary and performance review: 2010 Nissan GT-R Take Two

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 43 comments

Review: 2009 Nissan Murano S AWD

By Frank Williams
February 27, 2009

When Nissan introduced the Murano as a 2003 model, the styling raised more than a few eyebrows. In 2008, Nissan embarked on a Quest to redesign the machine as a less visually "intriguing" CUV. They tried to thread to proverbial needle: keep the Murano instantly recognizable while updating every body panel and adding one of the most bizarre snouts available on any automobile at any price. As the pimply-faced high school geek cum dot-com billionaire proved, looks can be deceiving. Does the same hold true for the "It Came from Outer Space (or France)" Murano S?

Review: 2009 Nissan Murano S AWD continued »

rating summary and performance review: 2009 Nissan Murano S AWD

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 33 comments

Review: 2009 Nissan 370Z

By Jonny Lieberman
December 17, 2008 Question: How do you age a car ten years in seven? Answer: release the world beating GT-R. Sure, cars have advanced considerably since the 350Z debuted in 2002, but after riding around in one a coupe months back the truth became self-evident: this dog no longer hunts. In fact, it felt like a 4th Gen Camaro -- all engine and odd squeaks. No one saw the writing on the wall as clearly as Nissan. Hence the brand spanking nouveau 370Z. But is it any good?

Review: 2009 Nissan 370Z continued »

rating summary and performance review: 2009 Nissan 370Z

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 91 comments

Comparison Test/Review: Second Place: 2009 Nissan Altima 2.5 S

By William C Montgomery
October 29, 2008 Second place sucks. Witness the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics’ squad in Beijing last summer. Pony tails drooped and tears streamed down their be-sparkled cheeks when gold medals were hung on the necks of the young (we swear they’re at least sixteen!) Chinese Olympic team. My heart goes out to Nissan, whose excellent 2009 Altima 2.5 sedan fell just short of the 2009 Mazda Mazda6 i Sport in this comparo.

Comparison Test/Review: Second Place: 2009 Nissan Altima 2.5 S continued »

Comparison Test/ rating summary and performance review: Second Place: 2009 Nissan Altima 2.5 S

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 46 comments

2009 Nissan Rogue S Review

By Jonny Lieberman
August 29, 2008

A little behind-curtain action for you: When I finished with the 2008 Nissan Murano, I asked Farago if he was interested in a "Take Two" review. He wasn't. As I had even less interest in writing one ("Ride is softer than butter... no! Softer than veal fat"), I didn't. Why waste time insulting a fat pig when I can be losing hundreds of dollars at online poker? As you can imagine, I wasn't exactly doing cartwheels when the Nissan Rogue showed up. For all I knew it was a half-pint version of its (uglier) big brother. And a CVT, too? I was upset. But was I right?

2009 Nissan Rogue S Review continued »

2009 Nissan Rogue S rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 40 comments

2008 Nissan 350Z Enthusiast Review

By Sajeev Mehta
August 8, 2008

This website has long argued that automakers should spend the majority of their resources nurturing existing autos. Introducing new models on a regular basis, constantly reinventing the wheel to follow fads and fashion, is an inherently expensive and dangerous game. Nissan's 350Z proves the point. It's a four-wheeled personification of not fixing what isn't broken. Better yet, it's a proper Nissan sports car at a price that shames the Ebay-adjusted, oversexed GT-R. Thankfully, the Z is still crazy after all these years.

2008 Nissan 350Z Enthusiast Review continued »

2008 Nissan 350Z Enthusiast rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 89 comments

2009 Nissan Maxima Review

By Brendan McAleer
July 25, 2008

When I reviewed the '07 Altima 3.5 SE, I concluded by posing the question, "Why in the world would anyone buy a Maxima?" Why indeed. The Pen-Altima far surpassed its big brother in power, handling and styling. Nissan had neglected the Maxima into a noisy Toyota Avalon with a cheap interior. Pity, because the nineties' version was a sort of lower-case-m-5: Japanese bento-box-styling with three tubes of wasabi squirted under the hood. Now Nissan's thrown the old Maxima blueprints out the window of a Nürburgring-blitzing GT-R. Four-door-sportscar? We'll see about that.

2009 Nissan Maxima Review continued »

2009 Nissan Maxima rating summary and performance review

Posted in Car Reviews | Nissan | 61 comments

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 Car Reviews | Nissan | 111 comments