2007 Nissan SL: Take One for the Team

very informative

The Versa has a major reworking to be had in its redo. I think Nissan did install the previous generation Sentra's 1.8 instead of any real work or effencient tweaks. The gearbox has to be dealt with. The Sentra was a great car and the Versa has to fill in its shoes and do it well. But its not fullfilling that duty as a subcompact with an edge in the driving experience. Fuel numbers should improve like the Sentra.

Would a rebadged Renault Clio work (read: sell well) for Nissan?

Just for comparison, as of september the Fit was averaging 30.7 MPG. I did a little checking on www.fueleconomy.gov and this is what I came up with:
 
________________Fit _____Versa
Lifetime MPG:_____30.7_____26.8
Expected MPG*:____31______28
% of expected:_____99%____95.7%
 
* these are the combined city/highway adjusted for 2008 EPA ratings
 
I'd say the new EPA ratings reflect the Edmunds staff fairly well. They seem low compared to other people I know and myself, but the do well for you guys.

I love the Clio. Nissan should do precisely that.

Bennetpullen, great analysis. Very interesting stuff. And Phillip, indeed good, informative post.

Suby and Estreka, in Mexico Nissan actually sells a sedan version of the last Clio badged as the Nissan Platina. Looks just as goofy as the the Versa sedan.

The Versa IS the Clio. Slightly reskinned - they took away all the charm.
 
Sadly, the new Clio isn't as fun to drive as the old ones, and that carried over to the Versa.

Harping on Nissan clutches is getting to be as sporting as commenting on Saturn steering wheel covers. Personally, I see nothing to complain about with the MPG figures with the Versa. The normal shopper doesn't have a garage with a Fit and Versa side by side and wouldn't say.."Gosh, that Versa is a real tanker."
 
My current vehicle, 2000 Nissan Altima, averages 25 mpg. Moving up to a car that gets better mileage with a smaller fuel tank would be great. If I bought a Versa tomorrow I would be happy. If a shopper moved from, say a GMC Savanna full size van to a Kia Rondo, he would be happy with the mileage he would be getting. These are real world comparisons people make.
 
Granted, Fit owners can say "I have a more fuel efficient car than you." in my Versa, we both win when comparing them to the car we're replacing.
 
Sometimes people want to have a reliable economy car. Why do you think you see so many Corollas on the road?
 
It's a stigma of automotive journalists that every car has to be fun and engaging and ready to have fun on a winding road. I think they get spoiled on all the exotic cars they drive.

altimadude00 -
 
I agree, we all know by now that (according to edmunds) Nissan Manual transmissions are worse than going to hell. We get it.
 
BUT
 
What if the car you are replacing is a versa? And then you step into a Fit and you say, "Wow, this car has a really crisp shift action and better feedback than my versa."
 
I think IL is justified in pointing out that another compact car in their stable "feels better." After all, that's what Long-Term Tests are about right?

altimadude00,
 
Are you saying that potential buyers shouldn't cross shop various sub-compacts? They should just be happy that the car they end up with is more fuel-efficient than what they have? If that was the case there would be no need for this blog, or a site like Edmunds at all.
 
What about the buyer whose car currently gets 28.5 MPG? If they move on to a Fit they will get better mileage but if they move on to a Versa they will get worse, I think that is a very meaningful comparison.

Agreed, apples to apples comparisons are one of the great purposes of this blog. And engaging driving dynamics may not be a conscious priority on many shoppers minds, but if they are looking at two similar cars and one is more engaging to drive than the other then that counts for something. When I bought my last car I was mainly looking for something to make my 30 mile each way commute in on a college budget, so something efficient, comfortable, and cheap to insure, own, and operate were my primary criteria, but engaging driving dynamics separated some cars from others that otherwise fit the main requirements perfectly.

bennetpullen , If your car is getting 28 mpg, and your chocices are 30mpg or 26 mpg. The luck of the draw will determine which car ends up getting better milage. There all within a very small range of fuel economy. A tighter or looser engine. A bad break in, a rough test drive the way the wind blows when the car got assembled. Will all determine the final milage of that one car.

you guys are crazy, lol. they should replace the versa with the GTR...too bad it doesn't make much business sense. the versa is selling so i don't think there will be a major rework. they will probably tweak some things, but that's about it. it's supposed to be an econobox and it seems like it does that really really well

from the smoky mountains to indianapolis, my wife's versa sl (w/the cvt) got 32 mpg. cruise set at 75, on and off a/c use, 4 adults, and a full trunk of luggage.

If it was all about MPG, then one could argue a Toyota Corolla w/ stick shift would be the way to go. After all, it is rated 37mpg highway.
 
What's that? You don't want a Toyota Corrolla?

Bennett -- I'm not saying buyers shouldn't cross shop. I'm saying that buyers usually don't have the luxury of testing a car for weeks before they decide to purchase. Usually they only take a couple of test drives, and those are not fully indicative of a car's fuel economy or sporty handling.
 
If your current car is getting 28 mpg, then why should you be getting a new car in the first place? Internal combustion engines alone aren't getting much more efficient than that anyway. If you want to look to improve your fuel economy from that point, either get a hybrid or get a pedal car (And even the hybrids automakers are giving us aren't that much more efficient, so go with the pedal car.)
 
Also, it's not all about sporty feeling and mpg. Going back to Fit vs. Versa, the editors have noted that the Versa is more comfortable to live in than the Fit. The Fit can origami it's seats better than the Versa can. The Versa has more gadgets than the Fit. The Fit has buggy-eyed headlights. The Versa has weird styling.
 
Some people are not as anal about getting every last inch of road under their tires from every single drop of gasoline than others. There are other aspects of a car that is worthy of consideration than fuel mileage. Besides, if you were shopping for fuel mileage, you would see that the Versa w/ CVT gets the comparable mpg as the Fit w/ 5-spd. Then you wouldn't have to complain about the clutch.
 
Just because a car is rated 2 mpgs less than another doesn't mean it's automatically labeled a dog.
 
*breathe*
 
Redliner -- Then you didn't cross-shop the Fit when buying the Versa, which candidly, is a mistake.
 
I don't see anything wrong with IL saying one is better than the other. I'm only commenting about the luxury of what IL has with it's long term fleet. Normal owners don't have a garage like the long term fleet so it's harder for shoppers to directly compare vehicles for long periods of time. Cars change after their break-in miles. Shoppers only have that initial period to judge which car is right for them.
 
Maybe that is why the shopper in your example bought the Versa instead of the Fit?

altimadude00,
 
Maybe you want to replace your 28 MPG car because it's old? or it was in an accident? or it hasn't been reliable, or you need a hatchback, or any number of other reasons. You said that you get 25 mpg now, and you would be happy if you got a Versa (getting about 2 MPG better). My point was that if you were getting 28 MPG now you would not be happy with the Versa (on a MPG front) because you would go down, but if you got a Fit you would get at least that same 2 MPG increase you stated you would be happy with. That seems like a meaningful comparison to me.
 
I also never said the Versa was a dog. I agree, the Versa is more spacious/comfortable (for passengers), and has cool tech toys. If those are the things you are looking for in a car than by all means buy a Versa. I think the point though is that these are economy cars, and one of the main selling points for economy cars is fuel economy.
 
It sounds to me like you really think that ignorance is bliss. You are saying that buyers should just be happy with whatever they end up with as long as it's better than what they had before? That just seems like an odd opinion for somebody on a consumer information site which is completely based off of the opposite assumption, that people should try and get the best thing that is currently available for them.
 
Also, I'm not saying that MPG trumps all, but that was one of the subjects of the post we are commenting on. I bought my Fit for the origami seats, not FE. Because what I needed at the time was cargo area the Versa wasn’t even really on my shopping list (no fold flat seats).

Let me say it nice and simple.
  
IL gets to live with the cars. Its true that you and I don’t have a garage with the cars we want to buy and their competitors, but IL does. And lets be honest here, IL says that the fit gets better MPG, is sportier, has a much better shifter/clutch combination than the versa.