By

2014 Nissan Versa Note – Review

2014 Nissan Versa Note Hatchback surely has the potential to become a leader of the entry-level car segment. Nissan claims that the car offers the best fuel economy, cargo space and passenger room in this category. On top of that, the hatchback offers an extremely low sticker price with a few exclusive features, which should definitely help it gain attention of the potential customers with a tight budget.

Pricing

The price for the no-frills base model is a modest $13,990, which means that one should not set the expectations too high when it comes to driving experience and some other important aspects.

Driving

Drive is surely not a plus point of this car; however, this is not a surprise, taking into account the category and the price. It needs to be remembered that the Note is just a cost-effective and efficient means of moving around and is not something that is made to beat other cars when it comes to driving and speed. While driving on the highway, a firmly planted accelerator would be required to accelerate. While the engine will make a lot of noise, you would not find too much sensation in the speedometer.

Engine

A satisfactory 109 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque are achieved through a 1.6-liter cylinder with a five-speed manual transmission. However, it is expected that most of the sold cars will possess a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Drivers, who are not used to shiftless driving, are likely to take some time to adjust to the Versa, although Nissan is known for producing very good CVTs.

Fuel Economy

Fuel economy is surely the best thing about this car. The car is expected to offer 40 MPG on the highway, 31 MPG in the city and a combined estimate of 35 MPG, which is absolutely brilliant. This exceptional fuel economy has been achieved through an aggressive weight loss campaign.

Exterior & Interior

The car surely gets 10 out of 10 in styling and looks a lot more appealing than some of its competitors. A few Nissan styling cues like headlights have been incorporated by the designers from the 2013 Nissan Leaf and taillights from the Z sports car. The exterior design of the Note holds up quite well overall.

[nggallery id=25]

However, the same cannot be stated about the interior, which is almost as that of sedan. With plenty of hard plastics, it is the most basic of layouts. In comparison to some of the other hatchbacks, the cabin of this Versa is not appealing at all and looks obsolete.

Cargo Space

The car offers a lot of room inside. Due to its class-leading 38.3 inches of legroom and ample headroom, the rear seats can easily accommodate adults. With 21.4 cubic of storage behind the rear seats, the Note beats all its competitors when it comes to cargo space. There is a built-in cargo divider to put the smaller items off the view below, while the rear seats can be folded flat for bigger items.

Pros

  • Extremely comfortable interior with a lot of space
  • Adult-friendly backseat
  • Low base price
  • Smooth and comfortable ride
  • Big Trunk
  • Brilliant fuel economy with CVT

Cons

  • Driving dynamics and performance are not quite up to the mark
  • Engine is a bit noisy
  • No telescoping steering wheel
  • Some of the material used in the interior is not of the highest quality

Verdict

The 2014 Nissan Versa Note Hatchback is just an ideal car for people who cannot afford to spend $10K more on their personal vehicle. A better interior design and ride refinement would have surely enhanced the overall quality of the car. Taking into account the price of the car, it gets 8 out of 10.

Written by

Suhail is a tech geek who loves everything about technology. He is a professional tech blogger on multiple tech blogs and share top notch tech product reviews, press releases and news as they break. Follow Suhail at Google+

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *