Nissan GT-R review - Reliability and safety

A host of electronic driver aids are designed to keep the Nissan GT-R on the straight and narrow, and you get six airbags as standard. As it's a relatively low production super sports car, the GT-R hasn’t been through the Euro NCAP crash test programme, but with such a super-stiff chassis, the big coupe should be a strong performer if you manage to overcome the hi-tech electronics. That said, with a top speed knocking on the door of 200mph, if you do get into trouble things could get ugly.

On the other hand, big brakes and grippy tyres mean the GT-R should be able to outperform most things on the road, and with its high reserves of grip and performance, the car should remain composed if you need to perform an extreme avoidance manoeuvre.

The GT-R went through extensive testing before it went on sale, of course, but there were some early question marks about how the car's complex four-wheel drive transmission would cope once miles begin to build. Some owners of early cars experienced expensive failures of the GT-R’s complex twin-clutch gearbox. However, with the more recent models, Nissan seems to have cured the problem.

Even though the GT-R is too niche to make an appearance in the Driver Power satisfaction survey, its individual scores contribute to Nissan's overall manufacturer ranking. It does reasonably well, regularly placing in the top half, and achieving 11th spot in 2020. However, while owners of other Nissans praise their running costs and practicality, and deride performance, these scores will be the opposite for the GT-R. 

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Warranty

If there are any mechanical maladies, it’s encouraging to know that the GT-R is covered by the same three-year/60,000-mile warranty as other Nissan models.

Servicing

Nissan has a number of specialist GT-R dealers trained to maintain this hi-tech machine. Servicing intervals depend on how you drive the car, but at the very least you’ll be visiting your dealer once a year or every 12,000 miles.