B-segment cars on MSN today

[Ever Victorious]

http://autos.msn.com/advice/ar...enger

Farily long on MSN's take on the popularity of new B-segment vehicles.

Nissan Versa—Comfort King?At 169.1 inches Nissan's Versa is the B-segment bully. In addition to being the longest overall the Versa sports the longest wheelbase at 102.4 inches. Its odd shape has a purpose: interior room. There is more seating room in the Versa than its subcompact sibling, the Sentra which is actually larger in overall dimensions. At 122 ponies the Versa places in the top three on the horsepower chart, which could very well add some spice to the driving experience. The Versa is striking a chord with the buying public—even with less marketing gusto than some of the other contenders it has tallied the second best sales numbers in the segment.

I suppose this is about as close to a glowing review as we can expect from a media outlet.

But that's OK, we all know the V is better than the Fit without having someone tell us, right?

[Bubs daddy]

Who the heck pens this stuff? "B-segment." Yeesh. Oh well, someone's got to coin a phrase.

I agree with the content of the article, however. I believe the Versa to be a sleeper hit. Look for a lot more of them. All that of us here have known the great attributes of the Versa-interior space, versatility, peppy engine, CVT, lots features for little price, thrifty, nimble, quality materials.

I saw a Honda Fit the other day. I was SO glad I got the Versa.

[Bubs daddy]

Wow. Check out the sales for 2007 1st quarter.

Toyota Yaris 19,186 Nissan Versa 16,195 Chevrolet Aveo5 15,228* Honda Fit 8837 Scion xB 8500

It doesn't surprise me as I couldn't even find a Fit to test drive. Worked out good for me in the end.

[Ever Victorious]

I'm not really surprised by the sales numbers.

Nissan, when they came out, had produced a total of 4,000 units that they anticipated would be sold over the course of two months, July and August.

They started selling around the 4th of July.

By July 31st, they had sold over 3900, and were scrambling to build new ones to get on the lots.

This is why it was almost as hard to find a Versa as a Fit early on.

What DOES suprise me is that they outsell both the Aveo and the Accent... both of which are cars that sell at bulk dealers at $10,000 or less. I guess there aren't as many cheapskates as I first thought.

[Bubs daddy]

And the Aveo doesn't come standard with A/C. It's extra. The Aveo LS (which includes a/c) starts at $12,400. Now we're close to Versa territory which I believe is a much better car.