the convenience package is great

[orb]

I'm not a gear head. When I read reviewers talk about the performance aspects of cars, my eyes roll. I have no idea what makes a car "sporty". I do care about the driving experience - how comfortable the vehicle is and intuitive the controls are, etc... So, it's no surprise then that one of the deal winners on the Versa was the convenience package. I knew it all sounded good, but I wasn't sure if it could deliver. But now that I've got it... wow. These are the kinds of features that really get me excited.

The bluetooth connectivity worked flawlessly. It took about 5 minutes to pair the phone, enter a few numbers and be dialing. I tested making and receiving calls. I asked several people how my voice sounded (I told them I was testing a phone and didn't mention it was the new car) and nobody indicated any change in sound quality. One person even said it sounded better than before. This responses may just be because my current phone is in pretty sad shape. There may be a quality difference compared to a newer phone. (I'll know next week as I have a new phone on order) Sound quality inside the car was good, but not stellar. It definitely sounded like you'd expect a speaker phone to sound.

The system is very intuitive and very smart. It supports multiple phones, with different ringtones for each phone. (so if you regularly travel with someone, you can both receive calls in the car if you want) I didn't dig deep enough to see if it supported per-caller ringtones, but it would be a shame if it doesn't because there didn't seem to be any form of caller id in the system. (it is possible it does and that my phone simply doesn't use the correct bluetooth protocols for this)

All in all, things seem really well thought out. If you are in the middle of a call and enter the vehicle, it automatically switches the call to the car. You can quickly switch back to the phone or mute the call if needed. I can't speak to how this works when you also use a headset, as I don't regularly use mine outside of the office. I suspect things work out ok, because everything seems really well thought out. But, I won't know until I try it.

The only huge negative here is that there is no ability to sync with the phones address book. This is a real killer. I sync my phone with my computer already, and I'm quite used to only needing to update my address book on the computer. This is a really huge oversight. I have no idea how Nissan works, but I hope they are in the habit of releasing periodic software upgrades. Getting new numbers should be no more complicated than pressing the button and saying "phone book ... sync ...". You'd still need to record voices for each entry, but that is pretty straight forward.

The other bright spot of the convenience package is the intelligent key. I'm still working on training myself to not grab for the keys to enter or start the car. I don't have much to say here because it pretty much works as you'd expect. Press the button to lock/unlock the door. Turn the ignition to start. The outer buttons are only on the two front doors and the hatch. I often toss my backpack in the back seat, which takes an extra press. (or requires the use of the unlock button on the key)

The distance from my car to my living room is less than 5 feet. I was afraid that if I had my keys to close to the car that the car could be opened. But, the range seems to be just right. You need to be near the door. It also does a good job of knowing when you've left the keys in the car. I had my spare key in my backpack last night and the car beeped until I removed it. I don't know how reliable the detection is, but it worked for me and I wasn't trying to test that feature. I haven't tested to see if the doors can be opened from the outside when I'm in the car. I would generally feel safer knowing that the key doesn't allow that, but I haven't tried it.

If you are on the fence about the convenience package, I say go for it. I'm finding it to be my favorite upgrade.

[Ever Victorious]

FYI, the iKey system is VERY intelligent.

When I get out of the car to fill up, but leave my wife in the passenger seat, that leaves one set of keys in my pocket and one in her purse (in the car). ... and it doesn't complain when I leave her in the car, and get out myself. It's like the car independently tracks the keys and it's almost as if it knows why one is out but in proximity and the other is inside.

[orb]

As a followup, I was very relieved to find out if the key is inside the car in your pocket that the outside door buttons won't unlock the doors. Very nice.

[dalversajock]

I'm not a gear head. When I read reviewers talk about the performance aspects of cars, my eyes roll. I have no idea what makes a car "sporty". I do care about the driving experience - how comfortable the vehicle is and intuitive the controls are, etc... So, it's no surprise then that one of the deal winners on the Versa was the convenience package. I knew it all sounded good, but I wasn't sure if it could deliver. But now that I've got it... wow. These are the kinds of features that really get me excited.

The bluetooth connectivity worked flawlessly. It took about 5 minutes to pair the phone, enter a few numbers and be dialing. I tested making and receiving calls. I asked several people how my voice sounded (I told them I was testing a phone and didn't mention it was the new car) and nobody indicated any change in sound quality. One person even said it sounded better than before. This responses may just be because my current phone is in pretty sad shape. There may be a quality difference compared to a newer phone. (I'll know next week as I have a new phone on order) Sound quality inside the car was good, but not stellar. It definitely sounded like you'd expect a speaker phone to sound.

The system is very intuitive and very smart. It supports multiple phones, with different ringtones for each phone. (so if you regularly travel with someone, you can both receive calls in the car if you want) I didn't dig deep enough to see if it supported per-caller ringtones, but it would be a shame if it doesn't because there didn't seem to be any form of caller id in the system. (it is possible it does and that my phone simply doesn't use the correct bluetooth protocols for this)

All in all, things seem really well thought out. If you are in the middle of a call and enter the vehicle, it automatically switches the call to the car. You can quickly switch back to the phone or mute the call if needed. I can't speak to how this works when you also use a headset, as I don't regularly use mine outside of the office. I suspect things work out ok, because everything seems really well thought out. But, I won't know until I try it.

The only huge negative here is that there is no ability to sync with the phones address book. This is a real killer. I sync my phone with my computer already, and I'm quite used to only needing to update my address book on the computer. This is a really huge oversight. I have no idea how Nissan works, but I hope they are in the habit of releasing periodic software upgrades. Getting new numbers should be no more complicated than pressing the button and saying "phone book ... sync ...". You'd still need to record voices for each entry, but that is pretty straight forward.

The other bright spot of the convenience package is the intelligent key. I'm still working on training myself to not grab for the keys to enter or start the car. I don't have much to say here because it pretty much works as you'd expect. Press the button to lock/unlock the door. Turn the ignition to start. The outer buttons are only on the two front doors and the hatch. I often toss my backpack in the back seat, which takes an extra press. (or requires the use of the unlock button on the key)

The distance from my car to my living room is less than 5 feet. I was afraid that if I had my keys to close to the car that the car could be opened. But, the range seems to be just right. You need to be near the door. It also does a good job of knowing when you've left the keys in the car. I had my spare key in my backpack last night and the car beeped until I removed it. I don't know how reliable the detection is, but it worked for me and I wasn't trying to test that feature. I haven't tested to see if the doors can be opened from the outside when I'm in the car. I would generally feel safer knowing that the key doesn't allow that, but I haven't tried it.

If you are on the fence about the convenience package, I say go for it. I'm finding it to be my favorite upgrade.

Congrats on your new Versa. I have the same package plus some other extras like power sunroof, SAT radio, etc. I really like it. This car is the best thing I've done in a long time. I used to drive a gas guzzling 2001 Xterra and traded it in for a Versa SL. The best thing of all about my Versa is the extras and it doesn't make the car cheap looking or cheap feeling.