New Versa Owner

[Amadan]

well...

you guys don't know it... but it was this forum, for the most part, that sold me on the Nissan Versa.

initially, i was looking at the honda fit, and the toyota Yaris line of cars... at the time, i was just looking, hadn't test driven them... didn't even know about the Versa at that point... then my supervisor at work, showed me an add in the paper for the Versa, and it's low cost, which is what i was looking for... a fairly inexpensive car, but it needed to be able to fit me in it.. and i'm a tall guy... so after looking at the fit and the yaris i wasn't terribly excited about getting the car, but that was about to change... i went to the local nissan dealership, and started looking at the Versa, initially, i was thinking, "yeah it's a neat looking car..." then the dealer walked up and i'm thinking "here it comes.... he's gonna smell that i am not a car guy, and know nothing about them" so i opened with a "i'm just looking around, probably going to buy a vehicle by august."

he just said, that's ok, they have about a 2 month wait from the order date, to the date the dealer gets the car. so i felt no pressure at all...

then i sat in the back seat of the versa... and that was amazing... that, and the bluetooth option, were what got me initially interested in the Versa.... then i came on here, and started reading some of the threads... and did other research on the net, and everything i read, just made me want a Versa more and more...

till 3 weeks ago, when i walked on the dealer's lot again, to show a friend the car i was going to buy. and sitting on the lot, was a Black, 1.8 SL with the tech package, and a CVT transmission.... the EXACT car i would have ordered... so because i was having such a bad day, i bought it... to make me feel better during their 1% financing thing so it's all good

in the 3 weeks, i've put 1600 KM's on it... and i love the car, there's nothing i can find wrong with it... just enough power for someone like me... who does commuting with a little bit of highway driving... a nice audio system in the SL, and good fuel economy... the more i drive it, the more i love it.

[srellim234]

Congratulations. Sounds like we bought almost the same vehicle, except ours is silver. We just bought ours (7/12/07) as well.

We, too, were leaning in the direction of the Honda Fit. The amenities, the crash ratings (I have two girls, 5 and 7 years old in the back seat most of the time), the back seat room and my wife's love affair with Nissan (base on her Altimas over the years) put the Versa over the top.

We have all the packages except the Sport Package. We would have liked the Sport Package, too, but it wasn't already on the car we drove off the lot. West Covina Nissan offers a custom leather interior that is really nice but we didn't have it in our budget. If we still want it when the current seats begin to show wear and tear we'll do it then.

So far I only have three complaints about the car and they are minor since they are not mechanical issues. 1. The cupholders are incredibly poorly designed and small.2. There is no protection strip available to protect the top of the rear bumper from scratches. Even Suzuki has one available for their cars.3. The solid cargo cover in the back interferes with the quality of the sub-woofer in the back. I think the vehicle would be better served with one of those retractable cargo covers.

[Ever Victorious]

The Versa is an absoultely wonderful car, and I'm glad that NICO and NissanVersa.org could play a part in your decision to purchase. I myself just picked up my second Versa last friday (first one was wrecked) and am feeling the joy of ownership all over again.

And now time for me to be anal.

1. The cupholders are incredibly poorly designed and small.

I disagree with this statement. Granted, you can't hold your half-gallon ExtraUberGulp in one of the cupholders, but I was able to put 28 oz slurpees in both of the front positions and both of the rear positions last night with no spillage. Something that neither of my Kias could do, my Legacy couldn't do it, and even my Tucson has a hard time with.

As for the placement... for those of you with automatics, yeah, it could be better... but if you had the manual, you would know EXACTLY why they are there, and be thankful for it.

Quote »2. There is no protection strip available to protect the top of the rear bumper from scratches. Even Suzuki has one available for their cars.[/quote]agreed. Hopefully someone will come up with a solution to this soon.

Quote »3. The solid cargo cover in the back interferes with the quality of the sub-woofer in the back. I think the vehicle would be better served with one of those retractable cargo covers.[/quote]A retractable cover would rattle like hell when placed next to a sub. Heck, the last retractable cargo cover I had would rattle like hell when you did something as simple as drove down the freeway.

Solid > retractable any day of the week.

[srellim234]

We have the SL with the automatic trans (CVT). The cupholders located under the dash just handle a 24 oz. sport bottle; one liter Smartwater bottles don't fit under there. The bottle holders in the storage on the door aren't wide enough to accomodate a 24 oz. Gatorade sport bottle without wedging the storage space wider. The rear cupholders for use by rear seat passengers in cars with the center armrest have been removed from the back of the console and placed in a flip-down center armrest, meaning if you have anything or anyone in the middle of the back seat those passengers have NO cup or bottle holder.

I know about the retractable cargo covers rattling, but the little round tube is lot easier to store when not in use than the solid covers. There's just no convenient way to carry that solid cover without covering up that rear speaker.