Nissan

2011 Nissan GT-R

What it Is: An ultra-high-performance, two-door, four passenger sports car.
What's Hot: Performance that rivals cars costing two, three and four times as much.
What's Not: Not exactly a family hauler.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation, Bluetooth, USB.
How It Got Its Score: The $85,000 Nissan GT-R already starts off at a disadvantage because of that price. The lack of crash test data and its so-so fuel economy don't help. Neither does its lack of LATCH points.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 4.5

2011 Nissan Leaf SV

What it Is: A five-passenger pure-electric vehicle.
Who it's For: City-bound families who value environmental friendliness.
What's Hot: Pure electric means you'll never buy gas.
What's Not:Range limited to about 100 miles.
Family Friendly Options: Bluetooth, navigation, USB input
How It Got Its Score: The Nissan Leaf offers five passenger seating and decent cargo space, and of course its fuel economy is otherworldly. However, its also expensive, even after $7,500 in federal tax breaks.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.1

2011 Nissan Quest S

What it Is: A seven-passenger full-size minivan.
Who it's For: Families who need a van, but don't haul large items very often.
What's Hot: Quick and clever seat folding; permanent hidden storage; luxurious interior
What's Not: Cargo capacity notably smaller than other vans.
Family Friendly Options: Rear DVD system, navigation, Bluetooth, one-touch sliding door, blind spot detection
How It Got Its Score: The 2011 Nissan Quest's Family Friendliness score is preliminary, since crash tests aren't yet available. However, assuming it does as well as its predecessor, it should be a high-scoring pick for families.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 8.6

2010 Nissan Altima Hybrid

What it Is: A five-passenger four-door hybrid sedan.
Who it's For: Families who need no more than two LATCH points and emphasize fuel economy over cargo space.
What's Hot: Excellent fuel economy.
What's Not: Small trunk, not available in all markets (see below).
How It Got Its Score: All three mid-size sedan hybrids score the same, thanks to prices near the $27,000 mark and similarly small trunks.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.7

2010 Nissan Altima Sedan 2.5

What it Is: A five-passenger four-door sedan.
Who it's For: Families who need no more than two LATCH points.
What's Hot: Fuel economy, good price, plenty of space.
What's Not: Continuously variable transmission is a little odd.
How It Got Its Score: The Altima gets good fuel economy, doesn't cost much and has plenty of passenger and cargo space, making it very competitive with Toyota and others.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 8.1

2010 Nissan Altima Sedan 3.5SR

What it Is: A five-passenger four-door sedan.
Who it's For: Families who need no more than two LATCH points.
What's Hot: Low price for V-6 model, plenty of space.
What's Not: Continuously variable transmission is a little odd.
How It Got Its Score: The Altima's low price undercuts its Toyota and Honda competitors, but it also gets very slightly poorer fuel economy.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.7

2010 Nissan Armada SE Four-Wheel Drive

What it Is: A full-size, eight-passenger, four-wheel drive, sport utility vehicle.
What's Hot: Tons of passenger space, large towing capacity.
What's Not: Poor fuel economy, high price.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation, rear seat entertainment, backup camera, Bluetooth.
How It Got Its Score: The Nissan Armada boasts go-anywhere four-wheel drive, but its high price and poor fuel economy hurts its Family Friendliness score.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.8

2010 Nissan Armada SE Rear-Wheel Drive

What it Is: A full-size, eight-passenger sport utility vehicle.
What's Hot: Tons of passenger space, large towing capacity.
What's Not: Poor fuel economy, high price.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation, rear seat entertainment, backup camera, Bluetooth.
How It Got Its Score: Full size sport utilities might sound family friendly, but their generally high price and poor fuel economy hurts their scores. The Armada is no exception.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.9

2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 S

What it Is: A compact five-passenger wagon.
What's Hot: Cool styling, great fuel economy.
What's Not: Cargo space quite small for a hatchback.
Family Friendly Options: Backup camera, USB, Bluetooth.
How It Got Its Score: The Cube is a compact wagon, giving it an advantage over smaller subcompact sedans. However, it's not exactly a cargo hauler, and thus its score suffers somewhat.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.6

2010 Nissan Maxima 3.5 S

What it Is: A four-door, five-passenger sport sedan.
What's Hot: Expressive styling, lots of standard equipment.
What's Not: Pricey, "expressive" = "odd" for some.
Family Friendly Options: Bluetooth, navigation, USB, backup camera
How It Got Its Score: The 2010 Nissan Maxima is primarily targeted at driving enthusiasts, but its good sized trunk and roomy rear seat means that it has a practical side too. The high price diminishes that, though.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.4

2010 Nissan Murano S All-Wheel Drive

What it Is: A two-row five-passenger crossover.
Who it's For: Families who need no more than two LATCH points and who love the styling.
What's Hot: Unique appearance, nicely appointed interior.
What's Not: Unconventional automatic transmission.
How It Got Its Score: The Murano scores lower than other midsize crossovers on Family Friendliness because it scored four stars on federal front-impact crash tests.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.8

2010 Nissan Murano S Front-Wheel Drive

What it Is: A two-row five-passenger crossover.
Who it's For: Families who need no more than two LATCH points and who love the styling.
What's Hot: Unique appearance, nicely appointed interior.
What's Not: Unconventional automatic transmission.
How It Got Its Score: The Murano scores lower than other midsize crossovers on Family Friendliness because it scored four stars on federal front-impact crash tests.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.8

2010 Nissan Pathfinder LE V-8

What it Is: A four-door, seven-passenger V-8 powered four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle.
What's Hot: Third row seat, V-8 for extra towing, four-wheel drive capability.
What's Not: Fuel economy only so-so, high price.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation system, back up camera, Bluetooth, rear entertainment system.
How It Got Its Score:The 2010 Nissan Pathfinder V-8 offers great towing capacity for a midsize SUV, but not enough to offset poor fuel economy and so-so crash test scores.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 6.7

2010 Nissan Pathfinder S

What it Is: A four-door, seven-passenger, four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle.
What's Hot: Third row seat expands passenger carrying flexibility.
What's Not: Fuel economy only so-so.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation system, back up camera, Bluetooth
How It Got Its Score: The 2010 Nissan Pathfinder's third row of seats and good towing capacity aren't enough to offset poor fuel economy and so-so crash test scores that include a "Marginal" rear impact rating from the IIHS.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.1

2010 Nissan Pathfinder SE Rear-Wheel Drive

What it Is: A four-door, five- or seven-passenger sport utility vehicle.
What's Hot: Third row seat expands passenger carrying flexibility.
What's Not: Fuel economy only so-so.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation system, back up camera, Bluetooth
How It Got Its Score:The 2010 Nissan Pathfinder offers a third row, which is good news, but its fuel economy lags some of its competition, and its crash test scores are only so-so, including a "Marginal" rear impact rating from the IIHS.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.1

2010 Nissan Rogue S All-Wheel Drive

What it Is: A two-row, five-passenger small crossover.
Who it's For: Families on a budget who need no more than two LATCH points.
What's Hot: Very low price.
What's Not: Less cargo and passenger space than some competitors.
How It Got Its Score: The Rogue is competitive with most vehicles in its class, and undercuts many on price, but received only four stars in federal front-impact crash testing.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 8.0

2010 Nissan Rogue S Front-Wheel Drive

What it Is: A two-row, five-passenger small crossover.
Who it's For: Families on a budget who need no more than two LATCH points.
What's Hot: Very low price.
What's Not: Less cargo and passenger space than some competitors.
How It Got Its Score: The Rogue is competitive with most vehicles in its class, and undercuts many on price, but received only four stars in federal front-impact crash testing.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 8.1

2010 Nissan Sentra 2.0

What it Is: A very roomy, inexpensive five-passenger sedan.
What's Hot: Lots of interior space and huge trunk for a small car.
What's Not: A little more expensive than competition.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation, Bluetooth, back up camera.
How It Got Its Score: Despite its somewhat higher price, the 2010 Nissan Sentra scores well on our Family Friendliness Index because of room: It's technically a midsize car, and it has a relatively large trunk.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 8.0

2010 Nissan Sentra SE-R

What it Is: A small, performance minded, five-passenger sedan.
What's Hot: Good power, big interior and trunk for a small car.
What's Not: A little more expensive than competition.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation, Bluetooth, back up camera.
How It Got Its Score: The 2010 Nissan Sentra SE-R is a performance version of Nissan's small car, packing more horsepower in the same package, but without sacrificing fuel economy or utility.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 8.0

2010 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V

What it Is: A small, high-performance, five-passenger sedan.
What's Hot: very good power, big interior and trunk for a small car.
What's Not: Premium fuel, manual-transmission only.
Family Friendly Options: Navigation, Bluetooth, back up camera.
How It Got Its Score: With a powerful engine, the 2010 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V is the highest-performance Sentra. It's still a practical car though, with good trunk space and a roomy interior.

Quick Specs

Family Friendliness: 7.9