2025 Nissan Versa review

When Nissan introduced the current generation Versa, the compact sedan took a significant step up in style and features. With styling cues that matched the rest of Nissan’s lineup, the 2020 Versa adopted a more premium look similar to the Altima and Maxima. The exterior design was refreshed with a sportier look in 2023. 

Available exclusively as a four-door sedan, the Versa features a surprisingly roomy cabin with upscale materials and comfortable seating. Nissan also equipped all trims of the Versa with its Safety Shield® 360, which included advanced driver-assist features like automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning, with adaptive cruise control added for the top-level SR in 2023. 

The new-generation Versa came standard with front-wheel drive and a fuel-efficient four-cylinder engine that was more powerful than the previous version. A manual gearbox is standard on the base-level trim, with an automatic continuously variable transmission (CVT) standard on the rest of the lineup.

Nissan introduced the 2012 Versa with just a sedan body style—the hatchback version was split off and renamed the Versa Note. Larger than its predecessor, the second-generation Versa was much more spacious inside, with interior room approaching that of the larger Sentra. The base-level Versa was somewhat sparse, but it was also the lowest-priced new car in the U.S. for several years running. It was available with features like a five-inch touchscreen display, navigation, and Bluetooth® connectivity. The Versa received a new infotainment system in 2018, and Apple CarPlay® and Android Auto™ were made available the following year.

The Versa’s 1.6-liter engine drove the front wheels with either a five-speed manual gearbox or a continuously variable transmission. The updated engine put out less power than the previous generation, but the Versa’s new platform was lighter, so while performance was similar, fuel economy improved to an EPA-estimated 33 mpg combined