Hybrids are all the rage, but how about a more affordable traditional gas vehicle that gets 40 mpg? Daytripping Dad, Mike was down in San Diego recently to check out the all new Nissan Versa Note, which not only gets great gas mileage but is also fun to drive. Mike tells us about his adventure.
Mike here. I always like when I get the chance to test drive a brand new car. I’m also a big Nissan fan. My first new car purchase was the 2001 Nissan Frontier. I loved that truck and I miss it. I ended up trading it after two years for a smaller fuel efficient car due to having a longer commute to work. Had Nissan had something like the new Versa Note, I very likely would have chosen this vehicle. Going through v5c logbook before purchasing a car is important.
The 2014 Nissan Versa Note is an all new, small compact car that competes in a very tight market segment with other small cars like the Honda Fit, the Toyota Yaris and the Chevy Sonic. It is subcompact hatchback sedan that achieves 40 MPG on the highway and starts at around $14,000 and goes up to just over $19,000 to get all the nice bells and whistles. The car handles really well and has amazing headroom and comfortable seats. I got to take it for a drive around some San Diego back roads. It’s very smooth and the new 2nd generation CVT transmission makes for a quick acceleration. CVT is constant variable transmission. It does not shift gears in the way that you are used to in a typical car. Our Nissan Rogue has the older version of the CVT and this new one is even slicker. Crucial details like this might be covered on manuals, like the Toyota manuals, for instance.
Shaper Studios, San Diego
Along the way, Nissan had us make some stops along the way. One of the places was Shaper Studios. It’s a unique business where you can take a class and learn to make your own surfboards. Once you have taken a class and made one, you can come back whenever you want to make more. It’s quite a fascinating process and the people there were very excited to show us how it all works.
My first car was a Hyundai Excel hatchback. Ever since that time, I’ve always been fond of the 3rd or 5th door on a car. It provides easy access for storing of cargo, especially things like groceries. There is also the Versa sedan with a traditional trunk, but it does not feature the new styling of the Versa Note which is a hatchback.
Things that really impressed me with this vehicle include the fact that the Versa Note is 302 pounds lighter than the previous generation. That’s not an easy task for car makers but it really adds to the great fuel economy on this car. The tech package includes the around view monitor, which uses cameras to see around all parts of the car making it even easier to park safely. The tech package also includes the NissanConnect which provides navigation, and BlueTooth integration for things like Pandora and hands free text messaging. All this new technology on cars is just fun. I want a new car just to have these features. This car has lots of room. Adults fit comfortably in the back seats which means getting three kids back there would be a breeze.
The 2014 Nissan Versa Note is on sale at dealerships now. We were not compensated for this post. Nissan invited us for a media preview of the new car. The opinions are all Mike’s.