First Drive: New 2020 Nissan Versa Adds Visual Style to Its Basic Look
Consumer Reports' testers have driven the Versa for more than a thousand miles. Find out what we like and don't like, so far
The Nissan Versa has always been an unabashedly inexpensive car. But when Nissan redesigned it for 2020, the automaker added features and visual pizzazz to make it seem less basic.
Those who remember the Versa as a sub-$10,000 hatchback should recalibrate their pricing expectations: The Versa Note hatchback is gone, and the sedan-only Versa now starts at $14,730, plus a destination fee. The base model, S, comes with a five-speed manual transmission—a rarity these days. To its credit, every Versa includes key advanced safety features.
Update: Since this first drive was originally published in November 2019, we finished testing the Versa.
See the complete Nissan Versa road test.
What we bought: 2020 Nissan Versa SV CVT
Powertrain: 122-hp, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine; continuously variable transmission; front-wheel drive
MSRP: $17,640
Options: $445 (Splash guards, carpeted floor mats, trunk mat)
Destination fee: $895
Total cost: $18,980
