CAR GAZING
Versa goes back to basics
Nissan economy car a good, efficient commuter
By Derek Price
It's always fun to drive a low-priced car because you can put on a Sherlock Holmes hat and snoop around to discover where the car maker cut corners. It's a great detective game.
This week's mission is to discover how Nissan can sell its Versa compact car for under $13,000. Normally this would be a fairly simple thing, but in the case of the Versa – a super-cheap car that in many ways doesn't feel like one – the job isn't easy.
The first place to look for signs of cheapness is in the interior. In most economy cars, the dash looks like it's made of material that was scraped from the bottom of a bird cage and held together with bits of Scotch tape and Elmer's glue. Not so in the Versa.
Instead, this interior would look fitting in a car that costs $25,000 – certainly not luxurious, but nice enough to keep you from getting nauseous when you look at it. The overall feeling is surprisingly nice, with leather-like door panel inserts and soft-touch materials that aren't common in bargain-aisle cars. It's clear that Nissan didn't cut any corners in the cabin.
So we move on to the next most suspicious spot: under the hood.
While a lot of economy cars feel like they're powered by a tiny rodent running on a rusty wheel, the Versa is powered by a 1.8-liter engine that makes 122 horsepower. That may not sound like much, but it's actually above average for this kind of car. It feels adequate, too, with enough power to keep you from wetting yourself on Interstate on-ramps when you see a Peterbilt in the side mirror.
Now that we know Nissan gave the Versa a nice interior and above-average engine, could the company have gotten stingy with amenities?
If you get the cheapest Versa available – a sedan version with "S" level trim for $12,630 – it comes with a six-speed manual transmission, air conditioning, a tilt steering wheel, a CD player and even a tire pressure monitor system. It also comes with quite a few safety features, like front and rear side-curtain air bags and active head restraints in the front seats. Again, it's not quite the Winter Palace, but you hardly feel deprived driving the most affordable Versa. We can't say Nissan was a cheapskate in this department, either.
Seating space is reasonable, too, so long as you limit yourself to four adults. They can all fit comfortably, even with decent head room in the back seat, but try to squeeze a third person back there and they'll quickly start devising ways to murder you. Still, it's roomier than the average subcompact.
There's one area we haven't examined, and it's here that we start to see some meaningful clues: the driving feel.
The Versa isn't a fun car to drive, despite its small size and relatively powerful engine. Instead, it feels like you're driving a 1980s Chrysler minivan that shrunk in the washer. It's sloppy, bouncy and boring when, if Nissan had spent a tad more money and time on the suspension, it could be the kind of car that makes you smile in corners. Instead, it makes you grimace.
Keep in mind that asking an economy car to feel fun is a bit like asking a toaster to do your taxes. At a time when the automotive industry seems to be adopting the Swiss Army knife model where "crossover" vehicles can be anything to anyone, the Versa is simply a good, cheap, efficient commuter car.
And that's refreshing.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.)
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