I suppose it's part of the design where the A-pillar is so thick that it connects both at the front and rear of the dashboard and Nissan felt making that a thick closed piece of metal would somehow not make aesthetic sense.
I thought maybe I just hadn't noticed it on other cars, but during my drive to work, I looked around and on every car I saw (I did have to spend SOME time watching where I was going) the rearview mirror connected to the body at a dark solid piece of metal. I'm not sure that these little portholes actually do anything, but I suppose it's better than just a solid, thick A-pillar. Anyone have any other ideas why this might be so?
Senior Copy Editor Doug Lloyd @ 9,927 miles
carguy622 says:
11:35 AM, 08/ 1/07
The new Honda Civic Sedan has the same A-pillar windows as well. So did some older minivans, such as the Ford Aerostar and Chevrolet Lumina APV. It may have something to do with the depth of the dashboard on cars like the Civic and the minivans. I could just be aesthetics though, most cars have the rearview mirrors attached to the triangular corner of the front door called the sail, the Versa and Civic dare to be different. They eliminate that part of the door and place glass there. Also, I read that mirrors attached to the door instead of the sail make less wind noise, so maybe that was a concern.
sabastian says:
11:42 AM, 08/ 1/07
I think the Toyota Prius has those little windows too. Surprising to hear that you didn't pass at least 800 of those on your way to work. I walk/ride the Metro, and I still see dozens of them.
bennetpullen says:
12:06 PM, 08/ 1/07
This is actually kind of common these days. The Fit and SX4 have them as well. I think it is just for aesthetics from the outside of the car, it gives the windows a nice shape from the outside of the car which is hard to do with a highly raked windshield (ie Civic and Prius) if the mirrors are in the corners.
chavis10 says:
12:16 PM, 08/ 1/07
Take a picture of the side profile of the car and you'll see why this window is needed. Cars that have disproportionally tall roofs on short bodies use these windows because the sloop of the windshield will not allow the traditonal union of the A pillar with the main body. The A pillar connects well forward of the dashboard so a small window fills the void. The same thing applies for vehicles with extremely low ceilings (ie Mitsu Eclispe). Also, think about minivans- they aren't much longer than full sized cars but their roofs much higher. Designers don't want verticle windshields (like Full sized vans or the Chevy Astro) so the push the bottom of the A pillar forward and this often is inches forward of where the front doors begin.
altimadude00 says:
03:26 PM, 08/ 1/07
On my test drives of the Versa, these small windows brightened the whole dash area that in other cars is dark. One could argue that they improve outward visability, but I didn't think it did much. They also contribute to the sence verticality and airiness in the cabin.
Mostly I just think of them as a styling element and a novelty.
longo2 says:
01:52 PM, 09/13/07
It's odd that with all the standard upscale features on this new Nissan, somone would prattle on about the little side windows. I have driven our Versa SL CVT powertrain through Hell and High water, and must say the car is a great little ride.
2 large size people, a Cartahoola dog and all our stuff, made a cross country run from Canada to Texas and back in 3 weeks. Now that's a Road Test!
Dodging Texas Radar traps, New Mexico Gale Force winds, Mt. pass grades and miles of flat, Wyoming grasslands, funny, we never mentioned those little side windows.
The Versa ran like a champ, exceeding our expectations everyday, screaming over the Continental divide with a do it or die tryin' cruise control that never lost or gained a mph in the process.
We chose the new Versa for the trip, over our Buick Park AVe Ultra, NIssan Maxima, and Honda Odyssey....never regretted a mile.