By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Mark.
And I know what you mean about the driving. Yesterday I was driving and it was getting dark, it was raining, and the traffic was heavy. I was in a long line of cars in the left lane passing a slower moving truck in the middle lane. Of course some idiot cuts in front of me. In these situations, it's usually more dangerous keeping a safe distance to the car in front of you.
"I think it's the 4sp auto that's not too hot, nor is the S version."
Almost 2 months ago I ordered a Mag Gray SL with ABS. No other options. Was told I'd have it end of Dec. Got call week later they'd located one & I would have it end of Nov. Called salesman a couple of times past weeks to get VIN number. Finally went in yesterday & they had ordered me the WRONG car. Ordered with convenience pkg and NO ABS. Was advised they could get me a silver or blue car like I wanted. Black or dark gray was acceptable; didn't want the other ones.
Was advised no one knew when the plant would start making the hatchback again. Looked at Honda Fit again. Nice car but I prefer the Versa. For now, I'll just wait.
I'd have to agree with bobw3. It's not the color. I think it's the style & trim options that aren't available right now.
I originally wanted the Versa SL CVT w/ABS versus the Fit, but I needed a car now (down to one car in our family!), so I bought a Fit Sport auto. It lacks a couple of interior comforts compared to the Versa, a little less rear seat space, and is a little bit louder inside at highway speeds, but the Fit has a larger cargo area, the controls inside feel of a higher quality, the driving, steering and handling are better, I like the seats better (the Versa's seats were too mushy for me) and I trust the realiability of Honda vs Nissan. Plus I can buy an aftermarket armrest for $100 if I want it.
But in a way it was a toss up. If I had a Fit Sport Auto and a Versa SL CVT w/ABS side by side, it would have been a harder decision, but since I couldn't wait until Feb, I went with the Fit.
It is not like that we are sorry to have bought a Fit. bobw3 has described the difference between the Fit and Versa well. Another difference is the mileage. My observation is that it is actually work to get the Versa to attain anything above 30 mpg and requires a herculean effort to get it to the EPA highway number. With the Fit, we almost got 39 mpg in one highway drive, thus exceeding the EPA rating by 2 mpg, and we did this without trying. We are right now averaging 35 mpg, which is above the combined EPA rating of 34 mpg for the Fit Sport AT. Now that's a fuel economy.
This is not to say that the Versa is bad. As I have written, we were going to buy one ahead of the Fit, but Nissan could not give us what we wanted. We still like the Versa, and may revisit it in a couple of years when our other car needs to be replaced.
On the other hand I like the Versa a lot.
So do I, even though I am a Fit owner now. The Versa is very attractive in many ways, and for many people a little less MPG is probably worth the sacrifice for the extra comfort that the Versa offers. If you regularly carry people in the back seat, I can say with confidence that no compact in the world offers as much room as the Versa. The deal breaker to me was that Nissan could not provide it with ABS all summer and fall, and I was not willing to wait any more nor sacrifice my philosophy on safety by taking a Versa without ABS. As I said in a different post, had Nissan been able to provide a Versa with ABS when I wanted it, I would surely have bought a Versa, even though the Fit was a very close second. I am quite happy with the Fit, but that does not mean I no longer approve of the Versa. To the contrary, I still view the Versa very favorably (but not the way Nissan decided to plan production), and am willing to recommend it to anyone who is seeking a compact car.
Maybe not back seat leg room, but both the Sentra and Elantra have a roomier interior than the Versa.
I agree, and my statement on the Versa's spaciousness was qualified with a clause which read: "If you regularly carry passengers in the back seat."
this is true but the Sentra and Elantra are compacts and the Versa is not...
By the government class size, all three of these vehicles are actually "Midsize," for having a combined passenger and cargo volume of between 110 and 119 cubic feet.
What is Nissan thinking not equipping enough cars with ABS?! That was the dealbreaker for me.
Any others out there fed up with the lame way Nissan launched the Versa and stiffed customers ready to buy?
I just read an article on USATODAY that the subcombacks are selling very well latley, with a less then 15 day supple. Nissan has opened up another Versa factory in Mexico to get more made, here in PHX I'm seeing a lot of the new Sentra's on the road then I do Versa's..
So far with 6900 miles on my Versa SL I love it, my TPMS has come on a couple of time, but the light goes out after driving it for a while... No problems at all with the car.. For Xmas I'm getting the Sat Radio hooked up... I also would love to get the factory fog lights, but they aren't out as of yet...
Tony
The other car I liked was the Scion XB (the box). For $15K they give you ABS and VST, but you couldn't get side airbags and the ride and acceleration were not nearly as good as the Versa.
Tony
Probably meant "VSC" = vehicle stability control.
IMHO such a thing may be introduced sooner than later in this "B" segment, hopefully.
The Versa would be ideal if it offered ESC optionally, and had ABS standard. For example: The Versa SL liftback is unavailable with ABS in my area, and from what I gather it will be difficult to find a machine with ABS until sometime in February, 2007. That makes a customer go elsewhere, of course, for an ABS equipped small vehicle of this type.
Honda is on the beam, with ABS STANDARD with the Fit. This is the way to go.
Peace! :shades:
Tony
Question #2: When going down the hill in compression braking, can you then feed it gas and also back off the gas to get in synch with some idiot stepping on and off the brakes in front of you? Is it more manageable a transmission then Auto or Manual in this case?
Tony
I went to Universal Nissan in Los Angeles today. They were extremely pleasant. I drove a gray CVT, SL model. With 3 people it exhibited a lot of pep. We blasted on to the freeway with plenty of power. It went up and down a steep hill, and compression-braked on its own coming back down. It certainly doesnt have a luxury car ride, but its not supposed to. Its a fine car. Too bad you cant get the options.
Duffner
http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/12/14/iihs_small_car_tests/index.html
I may have to add this vehicle to my short list.
Does anyone buy the study that says bright silver colored cars are over 50% safer than other colors including white? This study corrected for age of driver and other factors in an attempt to relate safety only to exterior car color. If this is true, silver would be safer, and perhaps a better choice.
In statistical studies, ABS wasn't found to make a safety difference (supposedly because people take their foot off the pedal when it starts pulsing). Stability control did...but those were European tests where people were sliding out of control on icy/snow roads into trees.
I'd get stability control over 4 wheel drive if I lived in snow country. In California, I'd like it but it isn't critical to me.
FRONT
SIDE, and
REAR.
Studies show that while cars with ABS are slightly less likely to rear end other cars, the are MORE likely to be rear ended.
The Honda with ABS DIDNOT get a good rating in REAR and yet because of that ABS, you are more like to be rear ended in one.
I'm still laughing.
Mark.
Just want kind of deal do you expect on a car with $300 markup over invoice?
Mark.
Have you heard when the Versas with the design changes (made in the midst of the IIHS tests) will be available, or if there will be any action to retrofit current Versas, like Honda is doing with the Fit (airbag reprogramming)?
Regarding the 'reprogramming' of the FITs Air bag, that is a simple computer code change...
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=743
No note there about any action to retrofit Versas made before November.
I actually misspoke when I said that Honda was reprogramming the Fit's driver front airbag. I re-read the IIHS report, and it isn't clear just what the fix was. But it is clear that Honda is retrofitting existing Fits:
The Fit was evaluated in two 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. In the first test, the driver frontal airbag deployed too early, with the result that high forces were recorded on the dummy's head when it bottomed out the airbag and hit the steering wheel hard, indicating the likelihood of head injuries. This led Honda to modify the frontal airbag deployment characteristics on models produced after November 2006. Also, Honda will initiate a safety improvement campaign to modify at its cost vehicles produced earlier.
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=722
Convenience Package: $93
Sport Package: $93
Sunroof: $80
Rear Spoiler: $90
Audio Package or Satellite Radio: $40
ABS: $33
Are Edmunds.com's figures wrong?
BTW all Versa's do come with Mud Flap and carpet kits...
I also mentioned how you could try to get the best price by going to the biggest dealer where they have internet salesmen, know exactly what options you want (I didn't want convenience package only ABS), and see what they say. If you need more proof than that, I can't help you.
For my deal, however, further complications have arisen. I hear I have to check to make sure the car was made in December 2006 to get one with improved torso and curtain airbags (changes were made after November 2006, does that mean only December and newer have the better airbags?). Nissan must have had some problems with the earlier airbags and I guess I'm glad they're still improving things, but having to know what date your potential new car was made seems confusing. I can just hear the salesmen promising they all have the newer airbags. I wonder if the VIN says what month the car was made? Paperwork can be easily changed, but VINs would be solid proof of manufactured date.