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I don’t believe that I’ve really ever seriously discussed automative matters on the site before, but since I made a major purchase about two months ago and bought a new car, I thought I’d share my experiences with others in the same situation.
First off, I was searching for about the cheapest thing with four wheels, while still being stylish and fun to drive. In my quest for my first new car, I seriously looked at the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit as about the only other affordable options. The Mazda 3 Hatchback as well as the VW Rabbit are two beautiful pieces of machinery, but were out of my price range.
The 1.8L engine coupled with the 6 speed manual transmission makes the Versa a much more thrilling car than either the Yaris or the Fit. Quick acceleration makes for fun city driving or agility to pass, and 6th gear allows for easy and quiet interstate driving. Gas mileage is rated slightly lower (about 31MPG) than the competitors, but performance and fun was more important in this little car compared to a few extra miles per gallon.
Overall, the Versa has a nice feature set. With a base price around 12,500, features such as air conditioning and a CD player are included. There are of course several options available, but I only opted for the Power package, which included some random items as well as power locks/windows and cruise. The sound system is astounding as far as I’m concerned. The cabin is filled with sound and retains quality even with lots of bass.
I’m not a fan of the sedan version, but I love the hatchback I bought. It’s a thrill to drive and has all the features I wanted in my first car, minus one. I would have liked to have an audio input jack in the car, but that was only available with the SE model.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I bought a Scion XA w/iPod integration and am thrilled with it. Enjoy your Versa!
January 20th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I was wondering, does anyone know if an iPhone will work with the Versa’s optionally built-in Bluetooth? How do you work it?
Thanks,
Jered
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I have read on other sites that the Versa’s bluetooth will work with the iPhone. I have a Versa with the option but not an iPhone. It’s not full integration and you have to set up a separate phone book on the car. But once you pair the phone, you operate it with voice commands, for example, “Call home.” It works really well, and the voice recognition system seems to be the same one that’s in much more expensive Infinitis.
Tighter phone (especially iPhone) integration would be nice, but not to be expected in a car that can be had for around $16K.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Sadly, I have the iPhone and the Versa, but without the bluetooth option. I haven’t paired my iPhone with anything and don’t even know if the bluetooth works with my particular phone. However, I have a friend with a small Toyota SUV thing (Rav4?) and it works wonderfully, so I would hope that would be the case here as well.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
I just bought a fully loaded 2008 Sapphire Blue Nissan Versa with CVT transmission on Monday, January 21. I am really enjoying the car and absolutely love the Bluetooth functionality. I bought a Samsung BlackJack 2 to tide me over until the new iPhone comes out (but I have Missing Sync for Windows Mobile so don’t freak on me, Mac friends.) The Bluetooth is only for making phonecalls. No streaming audio or anything like that. On the whole, the car is nimble and zippy and relatively fast off the line.
The only issue I have is with its reported gas mileage. It doesn’t seem to reach the estimated mpg - I have to . Now mind you, I don’t think I drive with a lead foot. I am cautious and drive in reasonable traffic here on Long Island, NY. I feel like I am averaging nearly the same mpg as my 2004 GLS VW Jetta Wagon I used to own (around 26mpg average)… I have to say I felt a bit more secure in my Jetta too as the Nissan is a much lighter car comparatively.
Now as far as the comparison to the Yaris and the Honda Fit. The Yaris is too small for me and seems too little a car for the money. The Fit has better MPG but feels under powered and less a car and more like a toy (not that that is always a bad thing.) I do like the Fit’s Magic Seat configuration. Google that! Pretty neat… The Versa is very ample in cabin space!
Cheers to you, Matthew! I hope you enjoy the car as much as I do.
February 3rd, 2008 at 11:18 am
I have both an iPhone and Versa w/bluetooth and, sadly, they will not pair.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Initially I noticed same issue of iphone not getting paired with My nissan versa SL 2008 model., but rebooting iphone helped in getting it paired with Nissan Versa
June 30th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I PURCHASED A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO A 2008 NISSAN VERSA” WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!! I THINK, HAD I GOT THIS CARD ON CREDIT, I WOULD HAVE RUINED MY CREDIT, I HAVE THIS CAR AND EVERY TIME I GO OUT I HAVE TO SIT A WHILE IN THE CAR AND TRY MANY TIMES UNSUCCESSFULLY TO TO GET THE CAR STARTED, I MAY LOOK “BAD” IN THIS CAR THAT DOES NOT WANT TO START, BUT NISSAN LOOKS WORST!! WHEN PEOPLE SEE A NEW CAR, THAT HAS A VERY SLOW START, AND EVERY ATTEMPT TO START THE CAR, LEAVES WITH THE FEELING THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE LEFT STRANDED, SINCE I HAD BEEN DRIVING LEXUS, SINCE THE 90′S I FIGURED THAT I GET A NISSAN WITH ALL THE OPTIONS, I PAIDED OVER $18,000, FOR THIS CAR AND PARKED MY LEXUS. I HAVE TAKEN THIS CAR TWICE TO THE DEALER, AND NOW I AM WAITING FOR A FUEL PUMP TO ARRIVED, UNTIL THEN, I HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL OF NOT GOING FAR FROM HOME FOR FEAR OF BEING “STRANDED” TO ME THIS CAR HAS TURNED INTO A NIGHMARE, I GUESS I WAS BETTER OFF, BUYING A USED CAR, THEN THIS WOULD NOT HAVE SURPRISED ME.
NISSAN WAKE UP WITH THIS LIL LEMON, YOU EVEN MISREPRESENTED THE MILEAGE YOU GET ON THIS CAR,
IF ANYONE HAS PROBLEMS WITH SUCH A CAR LET ME KNOW, I SINCERELY THINK A RECALL SHOULD BE IN ORDER
July 19th, 2008 at 4:35 am
Nancy - Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater …. It sounds to me like you did get a lemon: in the form of a bad fuel pump, not necessarily the entire car. It happens from time to time; a bad part gets into a car. The symptoms you describe (difficulty starting, reduced gas mileage), could all be related to a faulty fuel pump. For your sake I’m hoping that is the case. What more do you want? It sounds to me as though your dealer has done a good job. It diagnosed the faulty fuel pump on the second visit. It would have been nice if it had happened on the first visit but sometimes problems start out intermittently and defy diagnosis. As for a recall, that would be indicated only if there were a systemic problem with the fuel pumps in a great many, not just yours.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Uh..yes…they DO have a Fuel Pump problem with the line, from a good reliable source , the production plant for these in Mexico had some “issues”.
In fact the NTSB has this as report on file and is investigating. If Nissan was smart, they would investigate and jump in with a recall on the fuel system fault. If you have to wait for the NTSB to “tell” them to do it, their credability with customer loyalty will go down the drain.