It would seem that Nissan created the Versa as an economy car first, with everything else coming in second, including handling. With its relatively tall body, the 2007 Nissan Versa can get tossed around a bit on a windy, wide-open stretch of road. However, this little hatchback, wagon, or whatever category-of-the-day you want to place it in can hold its own on twisty roads with minimal body roll and a controllable amount of understeer. With hands planted firmly at the 9 and 3 positions, a driver's tactile senses will pick up some road feel, and the level of responsiveness is fine for an everyday compact, though Corvette and Mitsubishi Evolution owners need not turn green with envy.

Nissan engineers have granted the Versa a controlled and comfortable ride which absorbs bumps well and without any ill effects on handling. Likewise, braking is well modulated and effective. If there was a weak point to recognize about our drive, it had to be those Continental ContiPro Contact tires fitted to our tester, which squealed like a distressed pig at the slightest provocation.