The 2020 Nissan Versa Brings a Sharper Look | MotorWeek Road Test 

I've been very happy with my 2020 Nissan Versa S 5 speed manual.

Besides that horrendous acceleration, if I was in the market for a cheap little car, I'd seriously consider this. The styling is pretty slick, and I really like the design of the interior and some of the creature comforts for the price point. Not a bad little car at all!

“A five speed manual is still available if you STICK with base trim” I see what you did there John

Really wish someone would test drive the manual. Not a single test drive on RU-vid.

Nobody : Nissan USA execs: Let’s put a turbo on it!

Looks better than the previous one let’s see how it performs over time

Pros: Good looking, not expensive, better tech and great fuel economy Cons: Slow as %$#@

Does Nissan go on RU-vid and read all the hate on their cvts!? Get rid of the cvt and your cars will sell. That’s pretty much the only thing that sucks....

Does it have a coolant temp gauge this time? Lol. I can just imagine the plethora of head gasket failures and overheating issues we will see from the previous gen versa in a few years from now.

That's a nice interior and exterior for the price.

This dude is an icon! I remember watching him as a young enthusiast and it brings back great memories. When all That was important was girls and cars! Love watching the retro ones too

I can almost imagine a second faster 1/4 mile with the 5 speed.

It looks really good imo. I wish Nissan would sell this in the UK. It would make a refreshing change from the hatchbacks and SUVs. Unfortunately small or medium sized saloons/sedans aren't popular here.

i just got the 2021 model and It's very good

I currently own one. It's great little compact, with plenty of space and comfortable seats. It lacks in power, but I did 0 to 60 in 10 secs (sport mode and traction control off).

I saw other videos where people were getting this car sub $15,000 in S models in 2020. It's a nice car! So I went to my local dealer lately to check one out and they had one for something like $16,800 MSRP with a CVT trans. With all the BS dealer add-ons they had the price jacked up to $28,000!!! I told the sales guy that I've never paid MSRP for a car before. He told me that there was no chance of getting it below MSRP and basically said it in a way where I'd be lucky to get it at that price. So of coarse I walked. Bottom line is it's a nice car for $15,000 and really only short of power and nothing else. But not worth much more when compared to what else is out there and certainly not worth $28,000!!!! Yeah I got the whole line about shortage of cars, 2-3 years before the market will normalize and blah blah blah!

With CVT Nissan woes i would only buy a manual. Hated the previous generation but this one seems much improved

Hope it brings a more reliable CVT too. Until then, the manual transmission is the way to go for affordable and reliable performance.

John Davis 👍🏻

Yeah, no more versa note because of the Kicks. That is the replacement of the note and not the Juke. Jule replacement is rouge sport not kicks.

This looks way better than the previous Versa.

Yes, it's slow on paper but in the real world it's not too bad. The Mitsubishi Mirage is much more sluggish in response, in comparison. This Versa also rides well at 65mph speeds, never feels intimidating on the road and reasonably quiet for its class. If you do a lot of steady speed long drives this is quite comfortable and the lack of huge power means nothing while you enjoy the fuel savings without expensive hybrid systems.

Does anybody know why car journalists refer to models as "versa" instead of "the versa"? I see people in multiple sites and magazines do it and it sounds so weird to me.

Niceee!!! I got myself a 2020 nissan versa sv. All glory to god!!!!! i have videos of my car on my channel too. the process, decorating my car etc.. I like binge watching these kind of videos!

The segment is gone nothing left besides this

@1:49, why is the driver holding his cellphone while driving?

The previous generation Vesra prioritized a low price, spacious interior, refinement and MPGs. I bought a 2012 new and liked it for what it offered, though reliability and quality left a lot to be desired. It seemed to be a winning formula because I see them everywhere. I'm curious why Nissan decided to prioritize a higher level of finish and forsake cost this time. Kind of interesting if the previous formula worked. This new Versa looks really good. Not just good for an entry level economy car, but good for a sedan in general. I'm really impressed. The Hyundai Accent was at the top of my list of "best looking subcompacts", but this new Versa definitely steals the show. The interior looks quite impressive for an entry-level offering. I'm still definitely very leery about the overall quality and long-term reliability though, given my experience with my 2012. Nissan is infamously associated with lousy CVT transmissions. Just a couple weeks ago a co-worker was telling me the 2015 Sentra she owns is on it's 3rd transmission at only 60k miles.

THANK YOU... fake CVT shift points are stupid outside of a manual mode. Handy for engine braking etc, but just idiotic to have them programmed in permanently. Like you said, all they do is kill momentum. Just let the dang engine run at the constant appropriate power level being requested by the drivers' right foot.

That's quite a rocket ship. I hope no one scares themselves with the 11.3 sec. 0 - 60 or the 18.6 sec. @75mph 1/4 mile run. We actually have an old 2010 Versa (what a pile of cheap junk, lol) that only has 40K miles on it now. We got it for free during July 2017 with 36K miles on it because my brother-in-law couldn't be bothered to sell it & he didn't want to trade it in, so he just gave it to us. Other than being free it wouldn't be here.

Too bad they don’t make an SE-R version of this like the early 90’s Sentra. Up the power of the 1.6 L to around 150 hp, add a 6 speed manual, and make a few suspension adjustments for improved handling. Keep to $20K. I would be in.

I lease one of these for work for doordash. Usually six months to a year. Let's see how that jatco CVT holds up. Not my problem if it blows up, but this will be the first car I've ever had with the CVT. Last time one was a 2018 Ford Fiesta with a dual-clutch transmission. Which aren't that bad as long as you know how to use them. You're sitting in traffic, you put the car in neutral, otherwise it's just like riding the clutch which is where all their transmission failure problems have come from. Now as for Nissan jatco transmission, but their problems are people aren't changing the transmission oil every 36,000 miles, mainly because it takes about five, and one liter of that special transmission oil is about $210 each. People skip the maintenance and you have problems. I'm wondering if it truly is human error that's causing the problems with both these companies Transmissions, or it's on their part expecting too much. I got to admit, every two to three years having to Fork out a grand just to change the transmission oil in my car, I wouldn't be very happy.

Loses the jelly bean curves? Ok, but that blue color looks like a jelly bean.

It's valuable. It's roomy and cheap as previous gen. But the design,materials and tech are better.

The problem with Nissan is called “Jatco” it’s their transmissions. They are notorious for failures. Nissans also tend to have valve cover gasket failure prematurely, and owners typically ditch their cars around 40-60,000 miles.

I don't see much market space or need for it, making base Nissan Kicks almost as cheap as top subcompacts would be a better strategy these cross over days, in addition they could have brought Micra from Canada to stay in the cheapest new car game, Micra seems like a better bigger car than Mitsubishi Mirage which sells kind of decently

The windshield & stuff looks like an older model civic...

Well done Nissan.

Its just nice to know there is something out there that I can outrun in my civic.

Good looking Car. I’ll take a black one please to replace my 14 black Verse.

Baby Altima

I quite like Nissan’s new styling for the Altima and the Versa. This car would look good in black. Interior looks very nice for its class. Turned off by the reliability reports of Nissan but maybe ok for leasing/short term ownership?

Slow equals good.

I wonder if Nissan should make a Nismo version with a 6 speed manual?

What is the deal with the cricket sounds?

Why would Nissan go to all the trouble of re-designing this car and making it so much better than the old one yet sticking was such a pokey powertrain ????? makes no sense to me. That 0 to 60 and quarter mile time will definitely make Car and Drivers 10 WORST list this next year

Those unsightly raised rear door handles look like they messed up the design and said "F** it, just put em on the Versa."

The automotive industry should do away with all CVT's. Nothing else on the market is more of a complete waste of technology and money. I despise them

Looks like a Civic from like '07 lol

I absolutely hated these vehicles back when I had to drive them. I drove a sentra as a rental car this year and hated everything about it. The CVT hates life, and puts the poor motor through hell. The whole thing felt like a cheap plastic fisher price toy built in a china shop. It was awful. This new sentra looks just as bad. Nissan's trucks may be awesome, but they are clueless in the car and crossover markets. If they would ditch the CVT trash, these cars would fly off the shelves.

Youre better off getting a Corolla or Civic

2:55

10 month old versa and its falling apart hopefully this one will last 2 years before it falls apart

CVT? Nope!

The “needle sweep” doesn’t even reach the end of the speedometer. No illusions that It can hit 120+ miles per hour but I wonder if the needle could even reach over there since it doesn’t look like it’s calibrated to even move that far over. I know it’s weird but I’m OCD every time I started the car I see that.

hate to tell the CVT haters out there a lot of other manufactures are using CVT's. They just learned to not advertise the fact cause of all the haters.

I would love Nissan to sell these in Indonesia to spank Honda Citys and Toyota Yaris sedans!!

So what's the cheapest car in America then?

previous Versa was fugly!

VERSA / ALMERA

The VERSA was and always will be a waste 2 me. This is nothing but a SENTRA LITE. soon 2 be a fleet of rental cars

So sexy with an 2016 maxima front and 2019 Altima rear love it 😍

No, No, No... Nissan using older Renault parts now...they used to be such a good brand in the 80's..

Ignoring the fact its a Nissan, this car shows exactly why the market has gone where its gone, and will continue to until the next recession/fuel price increase

A 5 spd ? Oh how 90s lol

Is it just me or does this car look slightly dated?

This is for poor people with bad credit

I owned a versa. THEY ARE JUNK DON'T BUY ONE. Owned a frontier to. Don't buy one they are JUNK TOO. Terrible transmissions don't waste your money.

v-motion? that's what Nissan calls it's monstrosity of a grill? When I see it, the first thing that comes to mind is cheap. As in Nissan. The only one of their current crop that looks good to me is Leaf. That one, they've done a decent job on.

The Nissan Versa, for those who have given up on life.

*( Equipped with the HORRENDOUS Jetco transmission. Don’t buy it, EVER. )*