Our long-term 2007 Nissan Versa SL has left our garage. In its year of service, the Versa struggled mightily to edge past the 16,000 mile mark (and win us over). When it wasn't parked in our garage, the Versa was relegated mostly to city driving, resulting in a final fuel economy average of 26.7 mpg, which is consistent with the EPA's 2008 city estimate of 26 mpg.

Read the Versa's Long-Term Wrap Up

During its year, we praised its feature content, compared it to the Honda Fit (a lot), did plenty of complaining about the wonky shifter, had mixed feelings (good, bad)about the keyless ignition, tried to give it a shot on back roads, and claimed it was better than a Porsche 911 Targa.

Obviously, the Nissan Versa was hardly our collective's cup of tea. As sensible shoes transportation, though, it certainly did the job.

James Riswick, Automotive Editor

I recently completed a 600-mile road trip with the Long-Term Nissan Versa. The interior is extremely roomy, and the seats are very comfortable, even after 200 miles of driving. I'm 6'3", so interior comfort is something I don't often find in a compact car. One minor irritation is the placement of the cup holders, which are placed in such a way that I had to lean forward and reach down every time I wanted to hae a sip of coffee. The windshield and windows are arranged brilliantly and afford great visibility in all directions.

While I greatly enjoyed the roomy interior, and the amazing visibility, shifting through the six gears requires concentrated effort. The gears are spaced so closely together that it is almost impossible to quickly grab the proper gear as you're trying to accelerate. Similarly, getting from 1st into 2nd is impossible without riding the clutch. Shifting gears in the Versa requires focus and deliberation and if traffic conditions are already tense the additional stress doesn't help matters. The engine is also nothing to write home about.

Too bad such a comfortable ride was burdened with a terrible transmission and a wimpy engine.

Thomas Blood, Executive Director @ 16,821 miles

The subject of which subcompact is superior among the two in our long-term fleet, the Nissan Versa and the Honda Fit Sport, has been up for considerable debate. I have always found myself in the Fit camp. It's got sporty looks and its fold-flat seats make the most of a very small car. The Versa's kinda ugly, the cloth seats don't do it any favors, and they don't fold flat.

But having driven both back to back, I think I'm back in the Versa camp, if only for one reason.

I recently criticized the Fit's lack of steam past about 3rd gear. While itself no thundering titan of horsepower, the Versa seems to use it better. The Fit is like a little chihuahua, running around your feet for hours and hours, spitting and droling and panting. The Versa's like a beagle. It's still aggressive and tenacious, but it's not constantly at its highest level. You can be in a gear and moving along at a pretty good clip, but the revs are relatively low; when you give it the spurs, it runs along.

The Fit just revs so high all the time. Again, it's great for quick zips around town, but I have a feeling that its high-energy demeanor would grate on me eventually.

Doug Lloyd, Senior Copy Editor @ 16,021 miles

This Thanksgiving weekend, to my amazement, the Nissan Versa was able to haul an 800 pound turkey to my in-law's house.

Not really....but on the way back from dinner (as the ODO hit 15,000 miles...) my wife and I were reminicing about her '95 Nissan Sentra that she owned for over 7 years. I hated that car. The janky clutch, the tinny feeling when you shut a door, the A/C working intermittantly , and leaky weatherstripping all drove me nuts. Compared to my '95 Honda Civic (that I owned for almost 11 years), it needed attention constantly. I paid more for my Civic initially, but over the years, the operating costs were much lower than the Sentra's, and the resale value of the Honda was much higher.

Nowadays,  as the Sentra and Civic get bigger and pricier,  the Versa and Fit step in to take their places. Because of my past experiences and brand loyalty (or disloyalty), I wouldn't even consider the Versa if i was in the market for an econobox. Now am I being harsh? Was all of that in the past? Am I comparing apples to oranges? Maybe, but I wouldn't take the chance with my money.


John Adolph, Video Production Specialist @ 15,032 miles

When I asked for a car to drive to San Francisco last week I was told to "take one for the team," drive the 2007 Versa and try to get over 15,000 miles on it. You see, the Versa isn't as popular as, say, the Honda Fit which is now approaching 20,000 miles.

I really didn't mind driving the Versa; I drove it to Phoenix last year and was comfortable though unstimulated. On this trip I got it up to 14,566 miles and became reacquainted with this capable little car.

One thing that bothered me was that it didn't really get very good fuel economy. I came back and entered all the fuel economy data and saw that the car has average 26.8 over its lifetime. Granted, there is a high ratio of city driving, but even on the highway it was hard to get above 30 mpg.

The other things that bothered me were the shift action and the clutch engagement. The shifting is clunky and unsatisfying. It feels like work and it's almost like you're using the wrong tool. As for the clutch -- I stalled it! That hasn't happened in years.

My last gripe is the cargo area. There isn't enough room for a set of golf clubs. Other cars this size swallow the sticks with no problem.

I do think that the driving position and the seat comfort is better than the Fit. And it's nice to have a sixth gear for highway cruising. But without the handling, steering feel and slick shifting of the Fit the Versa remains little more than a reliable economy car.

Philip Reed, Edmunds Senior Consumer Advice Editor @ 14,566 miles

Suddenly I don't know how to drive stick. At least that's what it feels like in our 2007 Nissan Versa. I stall the car, lurch forward in 1st EVERY time and even lurch upshifting from 2nd to 3rd. What's the deal? I don't have this problem in our other manual-shift cars. Fortunately, I'm not the only one on staff who has a hate-hate relationship with the Versa's clutch.

Apparently this car is low on the list of vehicles our editors would take on a long road trip and now I know why. I was supposed to take it up to Northern California this weekend but just couldn't fathom getting through stop-and-go traffic on the 405 and the Grapevine (both involving hills). On the positive side, at least the Nissan has an auxiliary input for iPods so you can listen to your road trip playlists.

Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 13,421 miles

Since this is my first ever blog entry, I want it to be positive and happy. No negativity, just a pleasant recap of the car I had the pleasure of spending a three day weekend driving around.

I put a lot of miles on our Nissan Versa over the extended weekend, most of them being highway miles. I found the seats comfortable, the ergonomics agreeable and the ride relaxed. While the steering doesn't communicate much other than general direction, it is geared well. You don't have to give it any unecessary inputs.

Visibility is good too. While I found myself constantly reaching for the seat height lever, which is on the right by the way, the driving position does put you near eye level with most crossover sport-utes.

Those of us with malnourished elbows can drive in comfort thanks to the generously padded arm rest/door handle to the driver's left. It brought a smile to my face. Really.

The keyless entry and keyless ignition were great too. More than just a worthless gimmick, I really did get used to it. The radio works well as does the climate control. Parallel parking is a breeze too.

And then there's the *#%$! clutch. I know. I said I wouldn't get negative, but honestly the clutch is complete garbage. Saying it's vague just doesn't do its awfulness justice. I understand every car is different. Slip points, required clutch pressure, I get it. This thing has no rhyme or reason behind it. Coupled to an engine management system that hangs the throttle for a good second or two (a lifetime when you're actually trying to accelerate) every time you lift off the gas the car is downright difficult to drive smoothly. Stop and go traffic is made slightly more bearable by the very flexible engine. Taking it down to near idle speed in any gear, it'll pull right up to the dreaded time you have to shift gears. The motor's a little gem.

Rather than give up and park the thing for the weekend, out of sheer determination and spite for the drivetrain I decided to master the Versa's clutch. Which I did. And you know what? I still hate it. I'd rather have the automatic.

Is it possible for just one part of a car to completely ruin a perfectly good car? Very nearly, yes.

Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor @ 12,874 miles

I looked at the Versa and the first thing I thought was that all my camping gear might be a challenge for the Versa. You might think I'm nuts, but when you're car camping you seem to bring a ton of stuff: tents, bags, blankets, coolers, chairs, stoves, pots and pans. It adds up quickly!

Since there was only two of us this time, I thought I could fit all our gear in without much trouble. But as I loaded things into the back, it quickly became apparent that I had to lower the rear seats for more cargo capacity.

Unfortunately the Versa doesn't have true fold flat or flip forward seats so the residual "hump" made it difficult to evenly load some of the larger items. As a result, some of the gear wasn't held in place and it sloshed about in the twisty roads leading to our campsite.

I realize this task probably isn't the Versa's forte. It worked in a pinch but wasn't ideal. It made me think that our Honda Fit and its fold flat seats would have been a better choice for this adventure.

Scott Jacobs, Senior Photographer @ 11,920 miles

The four of us took he 2007 Nissan Versa out to see the tall ships at Dana Point harbor. I couldn't park close enough to pose the Nissan near one, so you'll have to imagine masts, sails and a general pirate-y atmosphere yourself.

I'd always thought of the Versa as a smooth-riding machine. It doesn't crash over bumps and it handles LA freeway joints easily. But this time the Nissan felt far less settled than it had before.

With the equivalent of less than three aboard (my two daughters don't add up to one adult, weightwise), the rear end bobs and floats more than I'd like. And if the asphalt isn't glassy-smooth, the body motion is "busy" - it's always moving in one direction or another. All-in-all, it's a far more boat-like ride than I'd remembered.

Interesting side note:

Our 2007 Nissan Versa has accumulated just 11,162 miles in nine months.

The 2008 Scion xB is approaching 6,500 miles in just two-and-a-half months. 

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 11,162 miles

The 2007 Nissan Versa was a pleasant companion this weekend. Not quite fun, but pleasant.

Didn't do very much -- a trip into Hollywood, a couple of runs to the grocery store. Its compact size made parking a no-brainer, which I appreciated. And I continue to be a fan of its multitude of convenience features -- keyless entry, auxiliary steering wheel-mounted stereo controls, and the like.

I also got to stretch its legs a bit on the freeway on Sunday, for a trip into Santa Monica. The engine hasn't changed -- still a bit on the noisy side, and not exactly brimming with power. But it gets the job done.

Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 10,790 miles