The last time we looked at the Nissan Versa, in October of 2010, it was the cheapest car in America at under 10 grand. Unfortunately, the price for such a low sticker was dearer than its four-digit sticker. The lack of modern essentials like air conditioning, anti-lock brakes and automatic transmission were more than just a bummer, as adding them to the Versa made the car less than cheap. For the first redesign of Nissan’s smallest family hauler, the boffins in Japan decided to attack the sedan first for an update, an interesting decision as the sedan only accounts for a supposed 30-35% of all Versa sales on our shores. Surprised? I was, especially since hatchback sales in the US are finally on fire. Nissan graciously invited us to Seattle so we could get down and dirty with the Versa before it arrives on showroom floors in August.
From the outside, the Versa (known as the Nissan Sunny or Nissan Tiida in other markets) looks considerably more grown up than its predecessor. Swoopy lines and the bold trapezoidal “signature” grille could almost be products of Infiniti. Nissan tells us to expect this schnoz to be adapted to all Nissan vehicles eventually. Out back, the trunk is acceptably well executed, prompting a sigh of relief as so many small cars get the rump all wrong. Hatchback lovers shouldn’t expect a new Versa hatchback soon; Nissan was tightlipped about a new hatch meaning we’ll probably see it in 2013, but that’s just a guess.
While some may scoff at hard plastics, the low base price of the Versa has always forgiven the econobox many faults and the new Versa is no different. Interior plastics are no snazzier than they were in the previous version meaning hard plastic dash and door bits are the name of the game. Still, the texture and color of the plastics are far less distracting than some of the alternatives coming out of Detroit regardless or price.
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