The Versa's underpinnings come from Nissan's 'B' platform, an effort
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| The Versa's deceptively simple styling has a slick drag coefficient of just 0.29. (Photo: Nissan Canada) |
that was jointly developed between Nissan and its French parent company, Renault. Used in the B-segment (subcompact), it underpins a variety of Japanese and French vehicles including the Nissan Micra and Cube, and the Renault Clio III and Modus mini MPV. Aside from being rather rigid, the 'B' brings nothing new to the game, using MacPherson struts up front and a space-saving torsion beam rear suspension. As you might imagine, the C-Segment-sized Versa is the biggest vehicle to be spawned off this versatile chassis, but all of its components are shared with the aforementioned cars, helping to keep development and production costs down.
Originally, the Tiida was launched in Japan with a new 1.5-litre DOHC engine that made 109-horsepower and 109 lb-ft of torque. Despite its low-friction internal components, it was deemed too weak for the North American market, so instead the Versa will come standard with a larger 1.8-liter engine that makes an estimated 120-horsepower and 125 lb-ft of torque. While the new model still enters into the segment with a power disadvantage, it makes up for any lack of speed with thrifty economy and low emissions - when mated to the optional Xtronic CVT gearbox, Nissan expects the car to return a scant 6.2 L/100 km combined city and highway. A regular five-speed manual will be standard equipment.
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| Power comes from a new 1.8-litre engine that develops around 120-hp; it's very economical, though. (Photo: Nissan Canada) |
So far, the result of all this hard work is a rather average looking vehicle with some optimistic fuel consumption numbers - average, that is, until you look inside. Hiding behind dimensions that are no longer or shorter than category competitors is a cabin with the most interior volume in its class, hands down. Nissan claims that the floor space distance from gas pedal to rear seat spans 2,035 mm (80.1 inches) - nearly six feet long. That's over 100 mm (3.9 inches) longer than the Corolla, and on par with most full-size luxury sedans, including cars like the Maxima, and even the Infiniti Q45! Add this to its above average height, and passengers riding in back can truly stretch out.
