My personal economic condition enables me to understand that
going out to drop 30-grand or more on a new car is not like snagging a loaf of
bread and a bottle of milk at the local supermarket.
There’s serious money involved, and oh, doesn’t it feel good
when four-door transportation wears a sticker far south of $20,000?
And with that, I give
you the recently tested 2015 Nissan Versa Note SR. This is Nissan’s affordable five-door
hatchback, and the SR version is the second-priciest among five trim
levels. But even that’s a mere $17,530.
An SR Convenience Package (including a top-grade rearview
monitor, satellite radio and a few other goodies) on my ride swelled the bottom
line to $19,180. But again, that’s well
within range of many household budgets.
What you won’t get for that kind of money is a
rubber-burning V-6, but I confess that I was fairly surprised at the spunk of
the tester’s 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine with 109 horsepower. It howled a bit at full song, but otherwise
handled the propulsion chores with more than adequate competence. The continuously variable transmission
functioned flawlessly. Steering was easy
and just firm enough.
The rear hatch arrangement was easy to work with and
swallowed up ample piles of widely varying cargo.
Passengers in front and back seats had complaints about my
driving skills, but they said they were comfortable riding in my Versa.
It looks nice too, sort of like a high-shouldered bull
that’s perpetually ready to charge. There’s a subtle spoiler at the back end;
nice touch. And I liked the mix of “Red Brick” exterior paint set off against a
“Charcoal” color interior on my tester.
Stripped? Absolutely
not. The standard comfort/convenience
features included leather/chrome touches, a thorough trip computer and a basket
of contemporary plugged-in/audio perks.
Naturally, given this vehicle segment, the fuel mileage
numbers are superior: 31 miles per gallon in the city and 40 mpg on the highway. So, bravo, you save money over the long haul
as well.
Honda, Toyota
Overall, I’d give this hatch a solid “B” with a “B-plus” in
the Fun to Drive Department.
Not one word about the required black box features built in to allow government and others to monitor use, activity and location.
ReplyDeleteAlso, no mention of the quietly implemented audio and bluetooth capabilities which have a microphone inside the car and can monitor conversations. Of course they will say it's for driver convenience, handsfree speaking, but in reality any microphone can be used to listen to it's location.
ReplyDeleteConsumers need to be told they are paying for new car monitoring features they know nothing about.