The Nissan Versa Sedan 1.6

The first thing you would notice once you ride the Nissan Versa Sedan 1.6 is that there is no radio. This base model will give you the silent treatment all throughout your drive. But you then ask yourself, is the no radio model worth it?

Wait there’s more…The base model of the Versa Sedan 1.6 is really old school. It uses a manual window and no power locks. But the Versa does come with your typical air conditioning system and an automatic transmission.

I know questions are swirling in your head right now. Why strip the car down to its bare essentials?

There must be a reason right?

You’ll get over the silence and manual windows and manual locks like a bad break up once you get a load of the cabin. The cabin is adequate if you like the bare bones approach, it isn’t elegant in the basic sense of the word but it has got all the practicalities you would want in a sedan.  It has cup holders, air conditioning, comfy seats, controls that are user friendly.

The back seat has a lot of room for passengers and luggage alike and the trunk with its 13.8 cubic feet of cargo space can carry excess baggage.

The 1.6-liter engine is not like your silent movie ride without the radio but is a tad bit noisy especially without the usual music accompanying most drives. Fuel economy is adequate at 26/33 mpg.

The Versa rides comfortably and gives you a great feel once you steer it around town. The engine is sufficient and has a four-speed automatic instead of a manual transmission.

The acceleration is above average and the braking feels good. You can test the braking performance on curves, corners and parking but overall it is acceptable especially for a stripped down car. The stripped down Versa is not the car of your dreams but if all you want is a ride to and from home and work this model floats right up your boat.

You can choose to buy the five speed manual transmission of the Nissan Versa and forget about the air conditioning for $10,000. If you think it is too much of a stripped down version without the air conditioning you can have a climate control system combined with the 1.8S with a 6 speed manual transmission which is a more effective engine. And this option now has a (wait for it) a stereo system! It also has traction control and an ABS system all for $1, 100 more.