Buying New Car

[IndyFetch]

Originally Posted by MCamp

Anyone have experience with the Versa, specifically with the five-speed manual transmission? I like the price, but from what I've been reading, the gas mileage is not as good as some of the other subcompacts.

I used to sell Nissans. Compared to my Fit, the Versa has less slightly more front and rear seat room, but less cargo room. The seats don't fold as well, so the seats-folded cargo room is way less than the Fit's. The Versa is quite a bit slower than the Fit, and the engine feels coarser, although I believe it is quieter at highway speed. The Fit's handling is far and away better than the Versa's. The Versa's soft springs and shocks gave it a soft ride, but it feels kind of floaty and unsettled, like you're riding on rubber bands. When you hit a bump in the Fit, you go up and over, with no pogo-sticking. One compression and one rebound. That's it.

The Versa 1.8 is cheaper (what you can get one for, anyway) and gets slightly worse mileage than the Fit in real-world driving.

My 2 cents. The Versa finished 2nd out of 7 cars (the Fit won) in a May 2006 Car and Driver comparison test. The previous-generation Fit spanked 'em all.

[IndyFetch]

Found the link:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

[Ford Man]

One of my brothers had a Versa with the 6 speed transmission a couple years back. At the time he done lots of driving on his job (construction company project manager), so he didn't really drive the most efficient, because of meeting deadlines and sometimes having to travel several hundred miles a day. I've heard him say he got in the low to mid 30's for gas mileage on the highway. I rode in the Versa with him a few times and in 6th gear at about 60 MPH it was turning about 3000 RPM. One of my cars is a '97 Escort wagon with a 5 speed and at 65 MPH it's only turning about 2750 RPM according to the Scan Gauge. If it were me I'd definitly be looking at the other choices harder. His Versa had about 90K+ miles on it and was only a couple years old when a lady hit it and totalled it, but as far as I know he never had any problems with the car other than normal wear items.

I know you said you were looking for a new car, but if you could find a low mileage Escort with a 5 speed you could get some pretty good mileage out of it on the highway and they are pretty inexpensive to buy and maintain. It's not uncommon for me to break 40 MPG in mine at 65 MPH during the summer and can usually get anywhere from 43-46 MPG on the at 55 MPH on the highway with the a/c running. My personal best on it has been 49.85 MPG on a cool summer day when I didn't need the a/c and was running with the windows open and c/c at 55 MPH.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Ford Man

I rode in the Versa with him a few times and in 6th gear at about 60 MPH it was turning about 3000 RPM. One of my cars is a '97 Escort wagon with a 5 speed and at 65 MPH it's only turning about 2750 RPM according to the Scan Gauge.

That seems to be mostly a foreign vs. domestic thing, not specifically a Nissan vs. Ford thing, based on similar discussions of other manufacturers' cars.

[dalybrandon]

Have you looked into the new Hyundai Elantra or Focus with SFE? They both get 40 MPG EPA highway, and something like 33 city for the Elantra and 28 for the Focus. It does sound like you're more into a hatchback.

[dalybrandon]

Or a Fiesta rather, but it seems the Focus gets almost the same FE.

[MCamp]

Originally Posted by FSUspectra

Have you looked into the new Hyundai Elantra or Focus with SFE? They both get 40 MPG EPA highway, and something like 33 city for the Elantra and 28 for the Focus. It does sound like you're more into a hatchback.

I checked out the 2012 Focus at the Ford dealer, and I really liked the way it looked. However, when equipped with the options I would like, the price is a little more than I'm willing to spend. I haven't really looked at the Elantra, but I may consider it after looking at the real world gas mileage.

[MCamp]

Originally Posted by Ford Man

One of my brothers had a Versa with the 6 speed transmission a couple years back. At the time he done lots of driving on his job (construction company project manager), so he didn't really drive the most efficient, because of meeting deadlines and sometimes having to travel several hundred miles a day. I've heard him say he got in the low to mid 30's for gas mileage on the highway. I rode in the Versa with him a few times and in 6th gear at about 60 MPH it was turning about 3000 RPM. One of my cars is a '97 Escort wagon with a 5 speed and at 65 MPH it's only turning about 2750 RPM according to the Scan Gauge. If it were me I'd definitly be looking at the other choices harder. His Versa had about 90K+ miles on it and was only a couple years old when a lady hit it and totalled it, but as far as I know he never had any problems with the car other than normal wear items.

I know you said you were looking for a new car, but if you could find a low mileage Escort with a 5 speed you could get some pretty good mileage out of it on the highway and they are pretty inexpensive to buy and maintain. It's not uncommon for me to break 40 MPG in mine at 65 MPH during the summer and can usually get anywhere from 43-46 MPG on the at 55 MPH on the highway with the a/c running. My personal best on it has been 49.85 MPG on a cool summer day when I didn't need the a/c and was running with the windows open and c/c at 55 MPH.

I appreciate your input. If I were looking at a used car, I would definitely consider an Escort. Thanks for the advice on the Versa, I think it's just about off my list.

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by FSUspectra

Or a Fiesta rather, but it seems the Focus gets almost the same FE.

the fiesta actually(according to EPA estimates) does get significantly better fuel mileage. real world numbers reported by consumers yield an even wider gap.

the fiesta SFE gets 29mpg city/40mpg hwy, the 5 speed focus only 25 city/34 hwy(2011 estimates).

again, i would support the US economy by buying new domestic, or used import. i know there are complications in manufacturing and assembly locations but...

[FrugalFloyd]

The whole domestic/import picture is a shell game. If you buy a domestic Ford Focus assembled in Michigan, 50% of its content is foreign-sourced. The "domestic" Ford Fiesta is completely built overseas. The "import" Hyundai Elantra, OTOH, is built in the USA, albeit with just 37% domestic content. A blind recommendation to buy domestic is meaningless.