Nissan Announces Pricing for 2011 Nissan Versa Sedan, Hatchback
Since 2009, the Nissan Versa has been one of the most affordable new cars in the United States with a starting MSRP of just $9,990, and this trend will continue as Nissan North America announced the price for the slightly updated 2011 Versa. Of course, this price doesn't include the $750 destination and handling charge that has been increased by $10 for the 2011 model year. Nissan is hoping that the Versa's price and size advantage will help it compete against newer rivals such as the Honda Fit, Suzuki SX4 and the all-new Ford Fiesta.
The entry-level Versa 1.6 is only available as a sedan, and it comes in three trim levels. Next to the 2010 Hyundai Accent Blue three-door hatchback, the Versa 1.6 Base is the second-cheapest car in the U.S. by a mere $20. This model keeps the same pricing, but the eight other Versa models see price increases that range from $250 up to $470. For the sedan, the 1.6 with the manual transmission is now $11,240, while the 1.6 with the automatic adds an extra $1,000 - both of these are increases of $250 over the 2010 Versa.
Stepping up to the mid-level Versa 1.8 S, which is available as either a sedan or a hatchback, prices have increased by $470 for both sedan models and $370 for both hatchback models. With the manual transmissions, the 2011 Versa 1.8 S sedan and 2011 Versa 1.8 S hatchback have starting prices of $13,570 and $13,520, respectively, and both increase by $1,000. The top-of-the-line Versa 1.8 SL starts at $16,470 for the automatic and $16,900 for the continuously variable transmission (CVT). With the CVT, the Versa gets its best fuel economy numbers with EPA estimates of 28 miles per gallon in the city and 24 mpg on the highway.
Like the various trim level designations suggest, the standard engine in the Versa sedan is the 107-horsepower, 1.6-liter inline-four, while the Versa hatchback comes standard with the 122-horsepower, 1.8-liter inline-four - this engine is optional in the sedan. The base manual transmission for the Versa 1.6 is a five-speed manual and the Versa S starts off with a six-speed manual. All automatic transmissions are four-speed automatics.
Aside from the slight pricing changes, Nissan also made a couple equipment changes for 2011. Except for the Versa 1.6 Base, all 2011 Versa models now come standard with anti-lock brakes, and the Versa 1.8 S sedan adds an in-dash, six-disc CD changer as standard equipment. No styling changes were made to the interior or exterior meaning that the Nissan Versa continues to offer the most spacious interior volume in its class.
While Nissan has yet to release the pricing for its full 2011 lineup, it did announce the changes to the destination and handling charges on all of its models. Like the Versa, the Nissan 370Z, Nissan Altima, Nissan Cube, Nissan Maxima and Nissan Sentra all get the slightly higher $750 destination charge. All other models retain the same destination charge with the Nissan Frontier, Nissan Murano, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Quest, Nissan Rogue and Nissan Xterra all staying at $800, the Nissan Armada and Nissan Titan staying at $950 and the high-performance Nissan GT-R rounding out the lineup with its $1,000 destination charge.
With the same starting price and higher destination charge, that means that the 2011 Nissan Versa 1.6 Base now has a stripped-down total cost of just $10,740 which is just $50 more than a 2010 Hyundai Accent Blue three-door hatchback with its $9,970 starting price and $720 destination charge for a total cost of $10,690 (pricing for the 2011 Hyundai Accent lineup has not been released yet).
2010 Model Pictured