ok everyone first off want to say that i have driven an older nissan versa hatchback before and will be the first to admit that the old hatchback was very odd looking and screamed cheaply made all over the exterior and interior before i get on with my initial impressions of the new versa note, that being said here are my initial impressions of the new versa note hatchback.
Looks: Much better by a long shot compared to the old versa hatchback, still a little odd looking when it comes to the front grille, but flows oh so much better with the rest of the car. back to front a very attractive hatchback although i would have to say without the add-on spoiler it looks a little incomplete, otherwise very good looking package.
Interior: Wasn't expecting much for the interior considering the class of vehicle that this car falls under, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the interior has gotten a HUGE upgrade from the old versa hatchback, aside from some hard plastics which are to be expected in this class of vehicle everything was put together very well, seats were VERY comfortable and as far as legroom there is tons of it both back and front. The back seats i was especially surprised with as i have sat in a comparable car (ford fiesta) and felt very squished in and with me being only 5'10" that wasnt a good thing, but the versa note had room to spare even with the front seat pushed back to my normal driving position. Aside from that i also noticed that the versa note has more cargo space than the ford fiesta, not by much, but the space that you do get is very useable and if you need more the back seats have a 60/40 splitting ability with the seats folding completely flat so they dont get in the way at all when you need that extra space. also one thing i'd like to mention is that when you close the doors on the versa note they make a nice solid "thunk" when closed just like a VW, another good sign of the overall solidness of this car.
Test drive: So now it's down to the test drive, i really wasnt expecting much seeing as all the complaints i've heard about nissans CVT transmissions and such which the car i test drove same equipped with, but this car had none of that, took it out on the road and first thing i noticed was how quiet it was, i mean i was flooring it and the only thing i could hear was the engine and even that wasn't that noticeable, the sound deadening was that good in this car. even when tooken on the freeway wind noise was almost completely non-existent and road noise was not existent at all. suspension setup on this car is very nimble, but absorbs bumps in the road so well you barely even notice them, i kept on thinking to myself the whole test drive "this is what nissan should have been doing all along with all their cars". Also i found that the get up and go that comes from the engine in this car is very suprising, it reminded me alot of the Honda Fit and although the honda has a little more power the power comes on a little earlier in the rev range on the nissan versa note which was a welcome suprise.
In summary the versa note is definitely worth a look for someone cross shopping the Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, or any other hatchback on the market for that matter. I even found myself wanting to trade in my honda civic right then and there, but as i told the dealer, "if i didnt have a Z coming in next week, i would definitely trade in my civic for this right now". overall i came away very impressed with the job that nissan did on this new hatchback and would advise everyone to take a test drive if you already haven't, it's really that good
