2011 Nissan Versa Review:
Pros: Low base price, Impressive interior room, Comfortable rear seating, Trunk capacity (sedan), Easy cabin access
Like many subcompact cars, the Versa is available in four-door sedan and hatchback body styles and its most basic models offer little in the way of convenience features. If you opt for the cheapest trim level, you'll be cranking your own windows, climbing across seats to unlock doors and humming to your own tunes because there are neither power accessories nor even a radio. But you still get enough space for four 6-footers, comfy seats, a soft ride, a nicely crafted interior and a large trunk.
Stepping up to the higher trim levels gets you common features like power accessories, air-conditioning and a radio. But the Versa is one of the few cars in its price range to offer such items as keyless ignition/entry, a navigation system, an iPod interface and Bluetooth. In other words, depending on your preference, the Versa can be either bare-bones transportation or one of the best-equipped small cars on the market.
If there is a downside to the Versa, however, it's that this car represents simple transportation and nothing more. If you're OK spending more than the least amount of money possible and are looking for something with both visual excitement and energetic driving, subcompacts like the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit and Mazda 2 will make the Versa seem dowdy and forgettable. The Honda ironically offers more versatile passenger and cargo compartments as well. Yet no matter which of these bargain-basement cars you go for, rest assured that you won't be sentencing yourself to years in a penalty box.
The 2011 Nissan Versa is a subcompact car available in sedan and hatchback styles. The two lowest trims -- 1.6 Base and 1.6 -- are sedan only, while the 1.8 S and 1.8 SL can be had as a hatchback as well.
The 2011 Nissan Versa is available with a choice of two four-cylinder engines. The 1.6-liter found only on the sedan produces 107 horsepower and 111 pound-feet of torque. A five-speed manual transmission is standard, while a four-speed automatic is optional. In our performance testing, a manual-equipped 1.6-liter went from zero to 60 mph in a reasonable 9.4 seconds. EPA-estimated fuel economy with the manual is 26 mpg city/34 mpg highway and 29 mpg combined. Opting for the automatic gets you 26/33/28.
The 1.8-liter produces 122 hp and 127 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard on the 1.8 S trim. The four-speed automatic is optional on the 1.8 S trim and standard on the 1.8 SL sedan, while the 1.8 SL hatchback gets a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). In our testing, a 1.8-liter with the manual also went from zero to 60 mph in 9.4 seconds; in normal driving, this engine's extra grunt does pay off.
Every Versa comes standard with front side airbags and side curtain airbags. Antilock brakes are optional on the base car and standard on all other trim levels. Stability and traction control are optional on the 1.8 S and standard on the 1.8 SL.Without antilock brakes, we found the Versa could stop from 60 mph in 132 feet, which is about average for this type of car. In government crash tests, the Versa scored four out of five stars for all occupants in both front- and side-impact tests.
The car's overstuffed front seats are comfortable during hour-long commutes, but support fades on longer drives. Unlike Honda's Fit, the Versa hatchback's split rear seat doesn't fold down in a way that provides a flat cargo floor, but lowering it reveals a sizable 50 cubic feet of space. Likewise, the sedan's 13.8-cubic-foot trunk is on the large side for its segment, although it doesn't come close to being as Versa-tile as the hatchback.
Both the Versa's engine choices pack a solid midrange punch, making them capable performers around town and on the freeway. We're not huge fans of the six-speed manual transmission that comes with the 1.8 S -- the low-effort clutch can be difficult to modulate -- and the four-speed automatic is similarly uninspiring. We'd recommend going with either the 1.6's five-speed manual or the SL's hatchback's CVT.
Pros: Low base price, Impressive interior room, Comfortable rear seating, Trunk capacity (sedan), Easy cabin access
Like many subcompact cars, the Versa is available in four-door sedan and hatchback body styles and its most basic models offer little in the way of convenience features. If you opt for the cheapest trim level, you'll be cranking your own windows, climbing across seats to unlock doors and humming to your own tunes because there are neither power accessories nor even a radio. But you still get enough space for four 6-footers, comfy seats, a soft ride, a nicely crafted interior and a large trunk.
Stepping up to the higher trim levels gets you common features like power accessories, air-conditioning and a radio. But the Versa is one of the few cars in its price range to offer such items as keyless ignition/entry, a navigation system, an iPod interface and Bluetooth. In other words, depending on your preference, the Versa can be either bare-bones transportation or one of the best-equipped small cars on the market.
If there is a downside to the Versa, however, it's that this car represents simple transportation and nothing more. If you're OK spending more than the least amount of money possible and are looking for something with both visual excitement and energetic driving, subcompacts like the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit and Mazda 2 will make the Versa seem dowdy and forgettable. The Honda ironically offers more versatile passenger and cargo compartments as well. Yet no matter which of these bargain-basement cars you go for, rest assured that you won't be sentencing yourself to years in a penalty box.
The 2011 Nissan Versa is a subcompact car available in sedan and hatchback styles. The two lowest trims -- 1.6 Base and 1.6 -- are sedan only, while the 1.8 S and 1.8 SL can be had as a hatchback as well.
The 2011 Nissan Versa is available with a choice of two four-cylinder engines. The 1.6-liter found only on the sedan produces 107 horsepower and 111 pound-feet of torque. A five-speed manual transmission is standard, while a four-speed automatic is optional. In our performance testing, a manual-equipped 1.6-liter went from zero to 60 mph in a reasonable 9.4 seconds. EPA-estimated fuel economy with the manual is 26 mpg city/34 mpg highway and 29 mpg combined. Opting for the automatic gets you 26/33/28.
The 1.8-liter produces 122 hp and 127 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard on the 1.8 S trim. The four-speed automatic is optional on the 1.8 S trim and standard on the 1.8 SL sedan, while the 1.8 SL hatchback gets a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). In our testing, a 1.8-liter with the manual also went from zero to 60 mph in 9.4 seconds; in normal driving, this engine's extra grunt does pay off.
Every Versa comes standard with front side airbags and side curtain airbags. Antilock brakes are optional on the base car and standard on all other trim levels. Stability and traction control are optional on the 1.8 S and standard on the 1.8 SL.Without antilock brakes, we found the Versa could stop from 60 mph in 132 feet, which is about average for this type of car. In government crash tests, the Versa scored four out of five stars for all occupants in both front- and side-impact tests.
The car's overstuffed front seats are comfortable during hour-long commutes, but support fades on longer drives. Unlike Honda's Fit, the Versa hatchback's split rear seat doesn't fold down in a way that provides a flat cargo floor, but lowering it reveals a sizable 50 cubic feet of space. Likewise, the sedan's 13.8-cubic-foot trunk is on the large side for its segment, although it doesn't come close to being as Versa-tile as the hatchback.
Both the Versa's engine choices pack a solid midrange punch, making them capable performers around town and on the freeway. We're not huge fans of the six-speed manual transmission that comes with the 1.8 S -- the low-effort clutch can be difficult to modulate -- and the four-speed automatic is similarly uninspiring. We'd recommend going with either the 1.6's five-speed manual or the SL's hatchback's CVT.
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