

All the controls are laid out in perfect ergonomic fashion, including the stubby stalks on the steering wheel. The Versa’s dash appears more like its big brother, the Sentra. You’ll be immediately impressed by the high-quality feel of the controls and dashboard materials. Once you get inside, the Versa has a split personality.

Ugly does sell to a certain demographic - especially when the price is low - but I’d bet a good-looking affordable car would sell even better. This is a look that’s common to Japanese subcompacts, like the new Suzuki SX4 Sport, but the Mazda3 is proof that style can thrive in the compact segment. Its funky front end, tall roofline and squished rear don’t flow together well.

While style is subjective and tastes vary, I don’t know many people who would call the Versa sedan a looker. The Versa also comes in a hatchback model.īefore you can get close enough to the Versa sedan to discover its roominess and performance, you’ll first have to get past its looks. However, when you move up to the SL trim the Versa’s value doesn’t hold up as well against the competition, including Nissan’s own Sentra. With its quality highway ride and tight handling the base-level S Versa sedan is a good value. How big is it? Less than an inch shorter than a Honda Civic and just two inches shorter than a Mazda3 - both of which are considered compact cars. However, there are two clear indications that the Versa is not “sub” anything: It has a cavernous interior and trunk, and when you park it next to another car, you quickly realize its significant size. At first glance, you might think the Nissan Versa sedan is a subcompact - a really small car.
