[2012VersaFan]

Hey guys, I'm a newb here looking for my first car. I want to get a 2012 re-designed Versa sedan 1.6 S. I can see you can pick them up for about 10K at the end of the year. I'm paying for as much as I can and my parents are helping with the rest. I have a few questions about it:

1. What is interior room like? Im not a huge guy ( about 5' 7" and 190 LBS) but I want to be able to fit in it well. (I've sat in alot of compact cars and dont fit in all of them)

2. How is the Versa (Any year, not just 2012) in the snow? I live in Iowa and we do have good snow removal on the roads, but you never know.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[BluV3R18]

best advice that I can give is test drive the car first and make sure you like it.

interior room is pretty big for its class,

The Versa in the snow...make sure it has ABS. Mine has no ABS so when there's ice when I'm going down hill it likes to turn side ways so I have to be careful.
as long as there's no icy uphills and just snow, I can go anywhere I want with the Versa.
but like any other car, even AWD, if you hit blackice, there's no way to stop it and you will lose control

 

[robj80]

If it's anything like my 1.6 2009 you will be amazed by the interior room but you will be dissapointed in it's snow performance. Then again I was on stock tires and in the worst winter we ever had in CT.

 

[iluvmyVersa08]

Interior space is pretty decent for its size ...

I put snow tires on every winter and it handles fine ... ABS does help out a lot too.

Good luck with the purchase!

 

[Ben_B]

Interior space is the main selling point for the car.

My question is, if you have 10k to spend, why get a new el-cheapo stripped down Versa instead of getting something used and a little nicer? How many miles do you plan to put on the car, how often do you drive? How far?

I think spending 10k on a used car is probably a better idea. That said, be careful of getting something too fancy, because a 10k BMW is still going to have the maintenance costs (or higher) of a 50k BMW. But yeah, I would look at what you can find. Best advice is test drive a lot, and go in knowing that you aren't going to buy the car that day no matter what. Also, bring one of your parents with you if they're going to help you buy the car.

 

[Mogh]

You guys can keep your ABS, I've saved my own ass several times with a quick downshift and some fancy clutching. I'll always drive a manual, and this is one of the main reasons.

 

[08versailles]

My V was great in the snow last year. As long as the snow wasn't up to the bottom of the car, I could always get going with snow tires on
jbeau also mentioned the 2012 Versa sedan is now 4x100 bolt pattern!

 

[eko1130]

i own a 2012 sedan, and the interior room is probably the best thing about the car. the leg space, head space- not just for the driver, but for anyone in the backseat too. even if you have your driver seat all the way, theres more than enough leg space for people in the back.

im about 5'6 and yea its roomy. now when i get into my SUV which i used to drive everywhere, i feel crammed. it might be because of how the seats adjusted, but yea trust me its pretty spacious.

as for winter, this is the first year ive had it and ive yet to let it out in the winter, so im not sure yet. im going to be running on stock tires, so i hope it all goes well.

 

[athikerguy4life]

I agree with ben. Make sure you test drive several cars before you make your choice. I only drove 3 or 4 cars and I regretted it later on. If your going to be financing it through a loan, remember that you can get a used car 1-2 years old and finance it the same as a brand new car in most cases. On the other side of things, the versa gets great gas mileage, for me goes great in the snow (with snow tires) and is incredibly roomy. I am 6'1" and 210 pounds. My last car was a chevy blazer and the only place that doesn't feel roomy is shoulder wise. My brother and I can bump elbows sometimes, although he is quite a bit bigger than me. Also, if you put a third passenger in the back they will likely be on someones lap. Other than that I think its a solid car and overall I am happy I bought one. I imagine the 2012 is even better than mine, but I haven't yet driven one.

 

[sooner4x4]

The Versa sedan is a decent first car choice, if you don't want to spend a lot of money and also get something new (with a new car warranty). Tons of room for a compact car. I hate that there is no center arm rest for the driver. Seems like a minor gripe but it is something I really miss on my 07.

A lot of discussion about anti-lock brakes (ABS). According to the edmunds website, the 2012 Sedan comes standard with ABS so that is a huge plus if safety is your concern. Regardless of what others may say, ABS is a huge benefit in winter driving (along with good tires), based on thirty plus years of driving.

For the $10,900 price, you are probably looking at a stripped down version with a standard transmission. If you are fine with shifting your own gears, then that is good. Just know what you are getting. Adding the automatic tranny adds $1700 to the price.

If you decide to get the automatic, then you could also add the cruise control package. Adding the cruise control package to the basic model is around $300 but that also gives you four speakers in addition to the cruise control. If you are ever going to drive on the highway for a long distance drive, that is well worth it. Of course now you are around $13,000.

Drive the car. Have fun making your decision. Research the invoice price versus sticker, and insist on getting the invoice price in addition to any available incentives. Point is, know exactly what a good price is BEFORE going into the dealership. Don't play their games.

 

[ADOversa]

For $10,000 you can get a much better CPO vehicle. Assuming your pretty young, really the only thing the versa has above other cars in that price range (aside from leg and headroom) is cheap to insure. Depending on where you live that may not be a big issue but here in Ontario car insurance is beyond ridiculous.

As for its performance in the snow, it isn't terrible, but isn't great. I have a good set of winter tires on and I haven't really got it stuck but it gets pulled around pretty easy if you get into any soft snow. Don't worry about having/not having ABS. Learn to threshold brake and you will be far better off without ABS.