2015 Nissan Versa Note SR Long-Term Verdict Review

The subcompact market is a tough nut for automakers to crack in the U.S. On one hand you want to offer a car that’s affordable, gets good fuel economy, and meets drivers’ basic transportation needs. On the other, you don’t want it to feel too bare-bones. Offering extra content can help, but you have to be careful not to raise the price point to C-segment territory. The 2015 Nissan Versa Note SR toes that line with varying degrees of success.

After spending more than a year behind the wheel of our long-term Versa Note, I’ve grown to appreciate it for it is and not hate it for the things it isn’t. Let’s start with what it isn’t. Despite its somewhat racier-looking exterior bits, it definitely is not the sporty small hatchback you wish it was. The most common complaints I heard about the Versa dealt with the lack of power and the whiney CVT. With just 109 hp and 107 lb-ft of torque at its disposal, the Versa Note won’t get you anywhere in a hurry. Still, the powertrain is fine for tooling around town or even on the open road. As I found on a road trip to Arizona, passes must be carefully planned and executed, but the Versa Note can get around slower traffic if it has to. Still, we think about 30 more horsepower couldn’t hurt.

You might think a small hatchback like the Versa would be fun to drive on a winding road. It isn’t. At least not out of the box. The SR comes equipped with the same skinny, low-rolling-resistance tires as the standard Versa hatch, which result in loads of tire squeal and a car that generally protests when asked to take a corner with any kind of speed. The ride is on the stiff side for an economy car. You get the bounciness short-wheelbase cars are known for on the highway, and impacts can feel harsh at times.

So the Versa doesn’t offer much fun or plushness, but it does deliver on the one quality its name implies: Versatility. Despite its small size, the Versa Note is cavernous behind the front seats. Rear passengers were consistently impressed with how much space they had back there. Rear legroom is an ample 38.3 inches, second in class only to the Honda Fit, which is roomier by only an inch. When the need to transport large, oblong objects arose, the Versa was usually up to the task. With the rear seats folded flat, the Note’s cargo area could swallow fishing poles and large moving boxes whole. You wouldn’t be able to go on a shopping spree at Ikea with it, but the Versa Note makes the most out of its 38.3 cubic-feet of total cargo space.

The Versa Note is also a good-looking car — especially in SR trim. The unique 16-inch split five-spoke alloy wheels help the car stand out from other econoboxes. But even without them or the SR model’s distinctive bumpers and roof spoiler, the Versa Note is an attractive vehicle. Inside, however, it’s a different story. Hard plastics dominate the cabin, and the dash design is basic and uninteresting. The modern American subcompact is all about that balancing act of being economical but not perceived as “cheap,” and Nissan pinched a few pennies too many with the interior. The SR package makes it more livable with comfy, attention-grabbing red-striped seats, a fold-down driver armrest, and a satellite radio-ready infotainment system with 5-inch display and rearview camera.

But the extra goodies of the SR trim come at a price. Our long-term car was less frugal than you might expect at $19,180. That’s dangerously close to the point where most buyers ask themselves, “Why am I not moving up a class?” The base Versa Note hatch starts right around $15,000, and shouldn’t prompt that argument unless you start to really pile on the options. The Note gets reasonably good gas mileage, which helps its value proposition, but not quite as good as some of its competitors. Over the 13 months the Nissan hatch was in our care, we observed an average of 32 mpg. That’s down from the EPA’s combined estimate of 35 mpg for CVT models, and less than our recent long-term 2015 Honda Fit, which averaged around 33 mpg. Going a bit farther back, our long-term 2013 Kia Rio SX averaged 34 mpg.

There’s also value in the Note’s cost of ownership. The test concluded at 17,139 miles, which meant the car made three trips to the dealer for regular maintenance (a fourth was just around the corner at 20,000 miles). The total cost for maintenance was $288.27, including three oil changes, three tire rotations, a cabin air filter, and an engine air filter. That’s pretty reasonable for more than a year’s worth of driving. That number nearly matches our long-term Fit, which cost $289.98 for three visits, but our old long-term Rio beats them both at $215.55 for four services.

You shouldn’t expect much from a subcompact car, but the bar keeps being raised by entrants like the Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, and others. The Versa Note is perfectly fine for getting from point A to point B, and it isn’t the worst you could do at this level by a long shot, but there are better options out there. At the outset of this long-term test, we hoped to find out whether the new Versa hatchback could improve the last-gen car’s mid-pack standing. It’s still only a so-so pick, and that’s mostly because the competition just keeps getting better.

More on our long-term Nissan Versa Note SR:

• Arrival
• Update 1: Remarkably Unremarkable
• Update 2: Planning Ahead and Other Life Lessons From the Versa Note
• Update 3: Our Long-Term Note Slowly But Surely Passes the Halfway Point
• Update 4: Sampling the Competition
• Update 5: Fun Isn’t Everything
• Update 6: Rat Race Adept

Our Car
SERVICE LIFE	13 mo / 17,139 mi
BASE PRICE	$18,340
OPTIONS	SR Convenience package ($660: 5.0-inch center touchscreen, backup camera, Divide-N-Hide cargo system), floor and cargo mats ($180)
PRICE AS TESTED	$19,180
AVG ECON/CO2	32.0 mpg / 0.61 lb/mi
PROBLEM AREAS	None
MAINTENANCE COST	$288.27 (3-oil change, inspection, tire rotation; 1-cabin air filter, engine air filter)
NORMAL-WEAR COST	$0
3-YEAR RESIDUAL VALUE*	$9,206
RECALLS	Door latches, center console trim panel
*Automotive Lease Guide data

2015 Nissan Versa Note SR
POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS
DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD
ENGINE TYPE	I-4, aluminum block/head
VALVETRAIN	DOHC, 4 valves/cyl
DISPLACEMENT	97.5 cu in/1,598cc
COMPRESSION RATIO	9.8:1
POWER (SAE NET)	109 hp @ 6,000 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET)	107 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm
REDLINE	6,500 rpm
WEIGHT TO POWER	23.0 lb/hp
TRANSMISSION	Cont. variable auto
AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO	3.75:1/2.06:1
SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR	Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar; torsion beam, coil springs
STEERING RATIO	16.8:1
TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK	2.9
BRAKES, F;R	10.0-in vented disc; 8.0-in drum, ABS
WHEELS	6.0 x 16-in, cast aluminum
TIRES	195/55HR16 86V M+S Bridgestone Ecopia EP422
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE	102.4 in
TRACK, F/R	58.3/58.5 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	163.0 x 66.7 x 60.5 in
TURNING CIRCLE	34.8 ft
CURB WEIGHT	2,503 lb
WEIGHT DIST., F/R	60/40%
SEATING CAPACITY	5
HEADROOM, F/R	40.8/38.0 in
LEGROOM, F/R	41.3/38.3 in
SHOULDER ROOM, F/R	51.7/51.9 in
CARGO VOLUME BEH F/R	38.3/18.8 cu ft
TEST DATA
ACCELERATION TO MPH
0-30	3.5 sec
0-40	5.3
0-50	7.5
0-60	10.3
0-70	13.8
0-80	18.4
PASSING, 45-65 MPH	5.6
QUARTER MILE	17.7 sec @ 78.7 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	122 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.76 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	28.9 sec @ 0.57 g (avg)
TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH	1,900 rpm
CONSUMER INFO
STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL	Yes/yes
AIRBAGS	Dual front, front side, f/r curtain
BASIC WARRANTY	3 yrs/36,000 miles
POWERTRAIN WARRANTY	5 yrs/60,000 miles
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE	N/A
FUEL CAPACITY	10.8 gal
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB ECON	31/40/35 mpg
ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY	109/84 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.56 lb/mile
REAL MPG, CITY/HWY/COMB	28.6/36.6/31.7 mpg
RECOMMENDED FUEL	Unleaded regular

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