Vehicle: 2007 Nissan Versa SL with Xtronic and Technology Pkg
Price as tested: CDN$20673

Performance: Versa is powered by Nissan’s new MR engine series. In this application, its called MR18DE. That means its a 1.8 liter 16-valver 4-cylinder DOHC engine with Nissan’s continuously variable valve timing or CVVTCS. Although it has 122 hp and 127 lb/ft of torque, everything from engine responsiveness to refinement are disappointing. The whole powerplant feels rough and sluggish on every rpm. The Xtronic CVT is a model of inefficiency. Instead of using power wisely, like its larger Murano silibing’s CVT, this one feels like an anchor pulling a ship during acceleration. The throttle response is slow without much response. When you pushed MR18DE up the high rev, it only creates more irriating engine sound that is more of an annoyance than an entertainment. With this engine’s 11 seconds to 100 km/h, you better be ready to listen to those unrefined engine sound when accelerating. Before you push the throttle, one better ready for lots of noise squad during acceleration. In a proper car with CVT, its usually the engine speed catch up to rev quickly. In this Versa, by the time the engine speed catches up to the rev. The engine is unwilling to go because its already felt breathless when continue to push the lagging throttle.

Handling: Well, Versa’s dynamics qualities are as terrible as its performance. With its mashmellow suspension and springs, it rolls like a truck in corners. When you pushed into fast sweepers, it has severe understeer. In a proper front-driver, a lift-throttle would save you when understeering. In the Versa, it only makes the whole pushing into an envalope more scary. To make matters worse, its steering is numb, unresponsive and totally imprecise. It feels like a remote control when turning the featherweight electric steering. One would have thought a soft suspension’s trade-off is a comfortable ride. Not so in the Versa. This Nissan has poor calibrated springs and shocks. When driven over washboard pavements and expansion joints, its a very hard riding car. Bouncy ride is an understatement to describe Versa’s ride. Nissan had experience with it comes to tuning rear beam suspension, say previous Sentra and Maxima. Their rides are more than acceptable even though are far from class leading. In the Versa, I just don’t know how to describe. I just feel like the chassis engineers don’t have good communication with those who are tuning the suspension and springs. But those who are tuning the springs don’t exactly how the suspension tuned. Its just crazy when think about Nissan is a car company, which came out with wonderful driving and riding cars called R34 Skyline and 350Z. If I am not going to criticize the Versa’s suspension engineers, the responsibility would definitely go to the beancounters.

Brakes: The soft suspension doesn’t help its braking neither. There are tons of brake dive during hard braking. The pedal feels mushy and numb. The pedal travel is long, and as you would expect from the Versa, completely void of anything called “feel”. The stopping distance is acceptable. By the time you are managed to control its poor pedal, that is on the bottom of the floor. The ABS already kicked in.

Interior: Versa has a very well-laid out dashboard. For the 1st time in the last couple of years, Nissan finally got the interior materials and fit-and-finish right in their car. The dashboard and seating materials are impressive for Nissan standard. All the knobs controlling HVAC and stereo have a high-quality tactical feel. Stereo is smart enough to put it above the HVAC control. There are plenty of interior space inside the Versa. With tons of head and legrooms for both front and rear passengers. That’s about all the good things have to come to an end.

The driving position is weird. You feel like seating on instead of in a car. With its elevated driving position, everything on the dasboard feel like its below instead of on the eye level. With Infiniti’s influence, Versa has put its height adjustable lever on the right besides the center console instead of proper left side. It makes the whole adjustment unergonomical. The power mirror switch is hidden on the left, which make me taken a long time to search for its existence. When its time to adjust the seat lower, the center armest can’t adjust its position lower.

The cargo area is another joke. It begins with a high liftover and a swallow cut-off. When its time to fold down the 40/60 split rear seats, they seat up a couple of inches above the floor. It doesn’t fold completely flat but sacifice plenty of cargo space.

Conclusion: “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything” would make this review completely blank. The Versa has to be considered as the worse car I have driven for such a long time.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2007 NISSAN VERSA
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Performance: 1/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 1/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 2/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 2/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 1/5
Value-for-money: 1/5

Overall rating: 1/5