Despite not having much love for the Nissan Versa, I spent some time in our long-termer this weekend and definitely appreciate it more than I did before. Nice one-touch sunroof, decent power, smooth ride, great gas mileage. But (and there's always a but, isn't there) its lack of fold-flat seats irks me to no end. Not just because I frequently carry a full-size 88-key keyboard for gigs and such...
But because this is a practical and cheap feature. The cargo room in the Versa is, in terms of cubic inches, apparently bigger than that of the smaller Honda Fit. But that's in terms of numbers, not actual real-world practicality.
But as you can see, it's just awkward to put anything long in the Versa without angling it over the seat hump. It's a simple fix, and I can't imagine it costs much either. It's not as if the Versa is rear-wheel drive (it's FWD) and needs a driveshaft or differential. Aargh.
Doug Lloyd, Senior Copy Editor, @ 7,692 miles
mrnewsguy says:
01:15 PM, 05/21/07
Doesn't this have to do with the Versa's "flip-forward" rear seats? I mean, don't the seating areas flip up so you can get something large - like a bike - behind the front seats? I think I've seen pictures of this, but I may be thinking of the Fit. I know the Jetta has this feature, at least.
Anyway, that sort of mechanism may prevent the seats from folding flat down, too.
bennetpullen says:
02:21 PM, 05/21/07
Actually it's the opposite. The Fit is the one with the flip-up rear seats and they also fold flat as a pancake.
I think this comes from the fact that in today’s car shopping world were so much happens online people are more likely to buy-by-the-numbers. In order to make the seats fold flat Nissan would have to raise the rear load floor to match up with the seats, which would substantially reduce the cargo capacity number, while actually improving the cars usability.
The other option would be to do as Honda did with the Fit and move the fuel tank under the front seats which gives you both a low load floor and fold-flat seats. That has its disadvantages as well though, such as a smaller fuel tank and more front-heavy weight distribution (though the Fit is a fantastic handling car so that may not be much of a problem).
kevlang says:
06:11 PM, 05/21/07
I know there is a shortage of Fits in the U.S., but if Honda ever decided to sell more, all they would ever need to do to convince a potential Versa buyer is to park a Versa in the showroom, and let them play with the seats on both. Honda's "magic seat" is fantastic. It makes anything short of Chrysler's "stow-and-go" seem unbelievably stupid and clumsy.
ryanthomas1 says:
01:12 AM, 05/22/07
The Versa is the newest addition to Nissan's lineup in the United States auto market and also the newest addition to the subcompact car segment. Today's subcompacts may look small but the interior is roomy enough to provide a good headroom and leg space for passengers. The Versa is one of those subcompact cars which offer good interior space while providing good fuel economy. These traits are god enough to make the Versa one of the leaders in its class providing parts like of Nissan Air Mass Meter considered as one of the most powerful in its class.
cartester16 says:
07:01 AM, 05/22/07
I'll wager the fuel tank is under the rear seat, and that's why the floorpan is raised there, and the bottom cushion is sitting on it.
Besides that, those seats look REALLY poorly made. Look at all the lumps, pinched corners, and mis-fitting upholstery.
kevlang says:
09:54 AM, 05/22/07
ryanthomas1 - take your misspellings, bad grammar, and idiotic spam elsewhere!
festiboi1 says:
05:14 PM, 05/24/07
This is really surprising that the Versa does not offer a flip-fold feature for the rear seat. Being the most practical of small cars; a hatchback;, it'd make sense to design it to be as versatile as possible. Not only does the Fit have the ingenious magic seats, the Aveo has flip-and-fold seats, the SX4 also has a very easy rear seat that folds out of the way to make a flat floor and the rear seats in the Yaris even can be scooted forward. Heck, even a 1988 Festiva has flip-and-fold! That's extremely disapointing for a brand new car. Not to mention on a recent test drive of the Versa, it came across as being pretty cheaply built. Cartester's comments about the poor quality seats are pretty spot-on.