Nissan Versa (2006 - 2011) Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Overall this is a great car I would recommend to anyone if your into low maintaince, great fuel economy & maybe a family of 4-2 being children it's great, if you have a bigger family this car is not for you me & my wife use it for our everyday use, work, great commuter,going to the park with our tennis equipment, fishing, my rods fit no problem as the seats lower for more room, church on Sundays with 2 adult friends & even grocery shopping, wev'e even taken long trips to bear mountain etc and it has never let us down, overall this is a great car to own & I would recommend to anyone.Jun 25, 2014

Love it. Handles well. Looks great. Love the hatchback. It's a good SUV replacement with better gas mileage. Works for trips to Home Depot. Little things like the hatchback button instead of latch is a nice touch. On the other hand, the steering wheel is uncomfortable. I like to rest my hand at 6:00, but that's not possible. Instead the openings are at 4:00 and 8:00 ish. My hand feels awkward at those positions. The seats are better after some use. I would, love, though to have a center arm rest. The first time I got into the car, I fell through to the emergency brake. That arm rest works for more than just resting the arm while driving. Jul 29, 2012

My wife purchased this vehicle in 2007 when the versa was new to dealers as a model. It has held up great over the now 5 years that we have owned it. Gets great gas mileage and is very capable in terms of cargo room, seating room and interior quality considering the price. Seat cloth has held up very well as it is a micro-fiber type cloth and is very comfortable and durable. The vehicle is economical in nature so obviously a little lacking in power but less so than competitors that we have experienced. 6 speed manual can be a bit tiresome because of short first gear, but the short first gear also gives the car a little pep off the line that it may not have otherwise. All around a great car for the money!Feb 06, 2012

Intended to be a cheap, economic to own car, and that's about what it is. Pretty terrible as far as anything related to sport, but I fit in both the front and rear seats relatively well, which is saying something, as I am nowhere near a small guy. Gets pretty good gas mileage for its size. Haven't had any problems with it, and we've had it now for nearly 3 years. CVT transmission is alright. Cool to show the lack of shifting to your non-car enthusiast friends when you're starting from a stop at a stoplight, but it takes about a decade and a half to switch from reverse to forward, which is a huge pain if you have to reverse onto a street with any sort of traffic. Keyless entry and starting are convenient. Cargo space is acceptable. Not huge by any means, but enough for groceries for a big family for week.Nov 11, 2011

If youre looking for performance, this is not the car for you lol. 1.8L I4, 122HP (more like 95) you wont be getting places too quickly. But with 24MPG city, you'll be happy with the money you saved getting there. Driving it on the highway is a bit tricky when it comes to gas though. With a 10gal fuel tank it gets 32MPG but it feels more like 20-25. Overall its a ok car, as long as you dont plan on taking 4 friends along for the ride. Take 2 to keep it cormfortable. Nov 04, 2011

Typical Nissan Car. Well built, sometimes a little rattle here and there but nothing very important. Very good acceleration. The 1.6 uses a 5 speed, but it needs a 6 speed Urgently. The extremely soft suspension is a fun-killer, as the cars suffers from a lot of body roll, but this becomes a blessing in the day to day, specially if you live in a city with bad streets. By far, the best of the Nissan Versa/Tiida is the huge amoung of interior space. Specially in the backseat, you can seat 3 comfortably, 4 if you feel like carrying a lot of people.Oct 01, 2011

I bought this car in Cleveland on a Friday in December 2007, and on Saturday and Sunday we had major snow. That was fun, buying a small car having no idea how it would handle in really bad weather. I was thrilled when it just plowed through everything. I miss the Nissan Frontier pickup I traded in on it for hauling purposes, but other than that, I've been very pleased with it. It gets me where I need to, carries what I need to carry, is comfortable, gets good mileage, has required no maintenance other than oil changes, and it is definitely fun to drive. I like the way it looks, and it seems to be of good construction. Accelerates well, brakes work fine, handles very well on curves. No complaints! Well, maybe a couple of small ones - see below.Jul 17, 2009

This is a great little hatch for practical use. The performance isn't fantastic, but it feels well engineered and everything is put together solid and works like a German clock. The only thing I didn't like was that the suspension felt too disconnected. That, combined with the futuristic looking interior, makes driving the Versa sort of like being in a little space pod. If the Versa were to have a personality, it would be nice and polite. This was the only car I've ever rented that I actually sort of missed when I gave it back.Apr 11, 2009

The Versa is a nice addition to Nissan with a somewhat cheerful looking car. There's quite a lot to like about this car and only a few things wrong. To drive the Versa is actually quite good. The steering feel is only a tad light from my ideal steering feel for this sort of car. Handling on this small car feels fine. The engine has some pep despite being made for fuel economy. The engine however does become noisy and feels strained when going 100 km/h or more. This is my favourite part about the car. The interior is alright, not the greatest but it could be like a Chrysler interior which is terrible. The plastics on the Versa are not as high quality as the Honda Fit's but quite comparable to the Yaris. Now to the worst part...the build quality. The Versas available in North America are assembled in Mexico, now I have nothing against Mexico but several of the Nissans I've driven that are made in Mexico often have loose parts or were just assembled poorly. The Versa is no exception, the gas and hood latches for instance pull a plastic string...this string often gets detached and thus making the latch pointless. These are some of the worst assembled cars I've seen and should have been deemed unacceptable by Nissan. I'm sure if it were built in the US, Canada or even better Japan none of these problems would exist, but Nissan went with cost savings over quality here. The ownership costs on the Versa are cheap, not only is it great in fuel economy but its the least expensive car you can buy now. Avoid the hubcaps though, they'll fall off eventually and are not cheap. Overall this is a good car...but its ruined by the horrible build quality.Jan 08, 2009

I absolutely love my car. It is functional, efficient, yet stylish. It has an awesome CVT (continuously variable transmission) which means that when it shifts its doesnt like give you whiplash or anything like that. It is the SL model so it comes with a 6 cd changer, and auxillary, so I can plug my ipod or mp3 player. Its only down fall, if you like to go fast this is not the car for you, it has a 1.8 engine, so it doesn't have much get up and go. SL also come with an upgraded break kit, handling is excellent unless its windy, unfortunately this car catches the wind. It may not have the best acceleration, but this car can go fast, and it handles well at higher sustained speeds. I go about 80 on the highway and it handles like its going about 65. I would definitely recommend this car to anyone! I'm sure you could defintely fix this car up like install a higher powered engine if you don't like the acclereation. But yes overall, its an excellen car, very reliable, very efficient, very stylish, especially the SL hatchback, which is the one I have.Jan 03, 2009

My newly purchased 2008 Nissan Versa S hatchback is a quirky and fun car to drive. I chose the Versa after I had researched extensively and even test drove the Suzuki Aerio, Scion xa, VW Golf/GTI, Toyota Yaris, and Chevy Aveo. I decided against the xa and yaris because they both had the driving "dials" located in the center column of the dashboard. I am too much of a lead foot and didn't think for safety reason the spedometer was in a good location in the car. It looks like Scion has learned though because on the new 2008 xd that have moved the driving "dials" back to the left driver's side. My Versa stands out in a parking lot. I don't see it as much as the other hatchbacks although it's body style reflects that of a Mazda 5 or 3 hatchback and maybe some Pontiac Vibe thrown into the mix too. I especially like the front and back lights and the way the hatchback looks on the Versa. I also feel taller in the Versa than I did in my Honda Civic. I have great visability between the two oversized side mirrors and a wide front windshield and smaller rhombus styled back windshield. The interior is the selling point though! The minute I saw the inside of a Versa - I knew it was what I would buy. The seats are covered with a soft faux-microsuede material and they are oversized, plush bucket seats. They feel like you are sitting on a sealy posterpedic mattress practically! The driving "dials" are situated nicely in big simple circles on the driver's side and the accessories panel is laid out in the middle of the dash with a fairly decent factory stereo with a mp3 cd player. There are big dials for the ac/heat and a simple sliding bar for the inside/outside air function; one of the standard features on the Versa is a HEPA air filter in the ac/heating system. My Versa came with some upgraded features including power windows & power locks which means it has DEEP door pockets on either side up front and they even have drink holders in them, I also have cruise-control. But even on the standard S package Versa, you get two interestingly placed but effective cupholders in the middle of the two seats, as well as middle divider that has a bunch of what I call "little cubbies" - and further on towards the back, there are another 2 drink holders, so 6 drink holders in all! This car just screams road trip! Moving onto the back seats...WOW! You would never know that a car this 'compact' would be so spacious in the back seat. Even with Sam in the driver's seat (he's almost 6'), the passengers in the back seat would still have the legroom that my parent's mini-van has! Each right & left passenger seat in the back has its own headrest and 3-point seatbelt, and even the middle passenger in the back has a 3-point seatbelt! I have yet to ride in the back but my passenger's have told me that it's a cozy, soft ride back there. The hatchback is a little small for what I'd ultimately like to do with it but it will suffice for sure and offers me more versatility than a sedan trunk. The only other complaint I have with it is that the backseats don't fold down flush with the hatchback; they fold forward instead and so a little "lip" is created so it makes it harder with bulkier stuff, so like a 27" tv per se. Lastly, the handling is easy as pie and very responsive. I have no trouble getting it up to 60mph and it doesn't rev very high either, maybe the low 3,000 rpm range. The steering is reminscent of my Nissan 240sx's steering which was "loose" but very accurate, it allows for more manuvering I feel like. I don't know how something could be loose and yet tight but the Versa's steering is definitely that. It is simple to make turns and I don't feel much body roll when I make them. The 15" tires definitely give the car a very steady feel and making even sharp turns doesn't make the tires squeal. I know I couldn't race a bmw or even a Scion tc in this car but it definitely contends with my stock Honda Civic and I would hope so since it's at 122hp and 127-lbs. of torque; it has more 'gaux' power than your standard 4-banger car. Oh yea, and I get great gas mileage even being somewhat of a lead foot. I filled my Versa up last Saturday (11/1) when I bought it and I still have a 1/4 of a tank left today, a full week later. Nice!! :) All in all, this car suits me to a T. I love the ease of use of it, all of the features, the comfort of it, and most of all the fact that it was inexpensive. Nov 08, 2008

Overall the car's been disappointing given it being brand new when we bought it. The gas mileage is much less then expected (25mpg's the best we've seen out of it, despite being a 6spd manual) and there are plenty of rattles, along with the dash warping and splitting within the first year and the front brake rotors also warping and causing excessive vibration. I would not recommend because in only 6000 miles we've been given more reasons to bring it back to the dealership then I'd like to admit. Update - tire pressure sensors have gone out, along with o2 sensor within first 25k miles! As far as I'm concerned, nissan makes complete garbage.Jun 23, 2008