Video: 2012 Nissan Versa

This particular trim here is about 15 or so but still that's pretty cheap. You get a lot of room for that money, which we cover and you can check out in our video of the styling and interior of the car from the 2011 New York auto show on cars.com. Once you get behind the wheel though it becomes pretty apparent that you're getting what you paid for, not much else. I'll explain. As you might expect for an entry-level car, the Versa doesn't exactly fly but there's enough power around town. And with the automatic, the EPA estimated 33 miles per gallon in combined city highway ratings is pretty competitive. Push the Versa hard on the highway and the CVT automatic takes its time kicking you up to higher revs. And at those higher revs, the tiny four cylinder engine just doesn't have a whole lot of beef. So you'll wanna plan your passing maneuvers. Look for those gaps in traffic, especially if you've got passengers. Base trim levels still have a stick shift which we have yet to drive. The larger problem though is highway composure. The Versa like the previous generation still rides comfortably but you get on the highway and it feels out of its element and kinda twitchy. The steering feels numb. A lot of course corrections are required especially when you get hit by crosswinds. Not a real comfortable setup that the car feels like it was built for. Get on some curvy roads and the Versa still feels kinda out of its element. The tires skate wide really easily and there's a lot of body roll. The electronics stability system eventually kicks in, keeps you on course but this doesn't really feel like it's that fun to drive. It feels more like yesterday's entry-level cars. Today's competitors like the Ford Fiesta and the Honda Fit are a lot more fun to drive, a lot more planted and confident here. The Versa kind of isn't. But few of them have as much room as the Versa especially in the trunk which has enough room for a few golf clubs or sets of grocery bags. Not too bad for an entry level sedan nor do any of that magical 10990 starting price which still gets you things like air conditioning and a radio with an auxiliary jack for your iPod. So Nissan definitely hit the bullseye on values here but rival brands have cars in the entry-level area that you'd kinda want to own. That's where the Versa has a little bit of catching up to do. <v man>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog kickingtires.net.