2012 Nissan Versa Reviews, Pricing & Specs

New sedan and same-old hatch, the Nissan Versa shuffles things a bit while still hoping to maintain its standing as the subcompact sales...

New sedan and same-old hatch, the Nissan Versa shuffles things a bit while still hoping to maintain its standing as the subcompact sales leader. With competitors like Ford and Hyundai attempting to up the style and sexiness of their offerings with the Fiesta and the Accent, the boring old Versa looks like it shouldn’t even show up. But sales figures don’t lie, and people have responded. This year, the sedan utilizes the V platform, replacing the old B platform with 20 percent fewer components and 150 fewer pounds. Styling has been massaged as well, and the powertrain is fresh, too. The hatchback gets no such treatment, but as the hatch has outsold the sedan nearly 2 to 1 here in the States, no such attention was needed.

The new Versa sedan retains the old 102.4-inch wheelbase, but is 1.2 inches lower and 0.6 inches shorter. The entire body has been shifted rearward on the wheelbase, which allowed for an increase of trunk space – now 14.8 feet – but resulted in a slight decrease in interior volume. Still, the Versa boasts class-leading rear legroom and plenty of head and shoulder space regardless, front and rear.

Nissan claims it was able to achieve these numbers thanks to its redesigned and super-compact powertrain setup. Despite sharing the same displacement numbers of the engine it replaces, the 1.6-liter mill here is new, with dual injection and a second-gen CVT excepting in the base 1.6S trim, which has an optional 5-speed manual. Horsepower is up to 109, and torque is down to 107, and the Versa still manages a 30 mpg city/38 highway rating.

Hatchback trims retain the 1.8-liter engine good for 122 hp and 127 lb-ft of torque, with an mpg rating of 28/34 with the CVT that comes standard in the SL. The S trim offers a 6-speed manual or 4-speed automatic with a rating of 26/31 or 24/32, respectively. The redesigned interior of the sedan follows in Nissan’s frugal footsteps with a plastic-y cheapness that doesn’t seem out of place for the price point. That said, it won’t be winning any accolades either. Functional comes to mind if you’re the forgiving type, as many of the knobs and switches are simply poor quality, both in operation and construction. The base trim’s single center gauge looks out of place, and many test models have suffered from creaks, cracks, misaligned panels and malfunctioning features. Perhaps this will be fixed in time for release.

Either Nissan knows what it's doing or it's about to be overtaken. It’s hard to argue with someone who stands as the segment sales leader, but there’s no mistaking the fact that competitive offerings are more attractive, handle better and feel far less cheap. With the base sedan trim, the Versa severely undercuts the competition, but does so by sacrificing features the competition makes standard. If functionality is your sole standard – and you’re okay with a few features functioning infrequently – the redesigned Versa is waiting for your order.