Used 2017 Nissan Versa Note Consumer Reviews
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Note-Worthy update
This is an update on my previous review. After 26,190 miles, the Nissan Versa Note keeps on going with no complaints. The front seat are comfortable for my 5' 10" medium frame, especially when considering that some of my trips are 12 hours at a stretch. The back seats and leg room are huge. The A/c and heater work fine for the Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado environments. My driving characteristics are moderate, but I like driving to the legal limit, and taking it faster on mountain roads as the standard tires grip well, and the brakes are excellent in spite of deer and elk seem to have a death wish by Nissan Note proxy. It handles well in light snow and wet weather. The wipers are very good. While the power is certainly not its strong suit, it still makes it up Vail or Wolf Creek Pass in remarkable form, especially considering its small engine. The night driving lights are very adequate. I find the car quiet; as quiet as our Toyota Avalon [wife tends to disagree on the Note is not as comfortable, but then we are talking about a high end Toyota], which is again surprising when considering that the Note is essentially an entry level car. It was unfortunately so quiet, especially with an absence of wind noise, that I got caught in west Texas doing 78 in a 65 mile zone. Visibility is very good. A odd finding is that my gas mileage is amazing, particularly in the mountains of northern New Mexico and Colorado, my August and September monthly averages being 45.1 mpg by computer and calculations. This is also noteworthy when you consider that we were carrying a full load during our trips. In Texas, my monthly average is lower at 38.1 mpg, presumably due to the higher density of air [1,000 ft elevation vs. 8,400 ft]. We have had no service, mechanical, or electrical problems, just oil changes and tire rotation every 5,000 miles, and the people at Bates Nissan in Killeen, Tx have been most courteous and prompt in their servicing of this vehicle. Even the standard radio on the SV version is fairly good. The CVT transmission takes a little getting use to, but using both the "power" button on the transmission shifter and your right foot permitted us to pass some slow moving vehicles on mountain roads where forward visibility was limited. One more thing; It feels like you are driving a much bigger car than it is Cons: We wish that the car came with an outside temperature indicator, and the horn seems a bit tinny. Also, on some cold mountain mornings, the dashboard indicated "low tire pressure" but did not indicate which tire it was. There was never a problem once the outside temperature warmed up, but we spent needless time checking to see if we picked up a nail in any of the tires. Also, our previous car had a in-dash compass, which was handy when driving on mountain dirt roads, and hoping that you were going in the right direction. While we found the car essentially basic versus other more expensive "loaded" vehicles, it was user friendly in its relative simplicity. While I could afford a much more expensive vehicle, its excellent gas mileage and low maintenance cost of the Nissan Note, plus the above comments, why spend more on a vehicle that depreciates the instant you take it off the lot when this car seems to satisfy the needs for getting where you want to go in economical and quiet safety. If you need a vehicle to enhance your ego, or need the latest tech stuff, or air-conditioned/heated seats, or a car that tears up concrete, then don't get this car.
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3 years with no, no repair costs and 33 to 40 mpg
This is a basic manual shift car with very comfortable front seats. Purchased new summer 2014. Driven in Tx at highway speeds in very hot weather. AC is excellent. Only expense was gas and oil changes for over 50K miles. Steering is fine, brakes fine, manual shift fine, tires excellent, visibility fine. Purchased for trips over 3000 miles. No back or knee issues, surprising considering only adjustment was for/aft and recline. 6+ footer comfortable in back for 3k trips. Child safety seat no problem. At 45 mph speeds 40 mpg. At 80 mph 30+ mpg. Highest mileage was over 40 mpg driving flat 50 mph roads. Engine temp gauge indication same in summer and winter. Traction in heavy rain excellent, no ice or snow driving. Manual windows work great. Only inconvenience was no power door locks and no cruise control. Would also liked to have 6th gear. I could enter 80 mph road at 80 with up hill reasonable ramp, car cruised at 80 to 90 indicated speed all day in Tx. I never exceeded 6k rev and would typically rev to 5700 to get to 80 mph. 80 mph would take 4K revs. in 5th. Enough power in 1st to cherp front tires. Car always felt safe and solid on the road. Car still looks like new in and out.
- Performance
- 1.6 S Plus 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $13,395179 mi away
- 1.6 SL 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $6,997184 mi away
- 1.6 SV 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $8,99524 mi away
Problems, problems, problems
First off, you probably should know that this is our second Versa. We really like the model...it is, it seems, as close to our ideal vehicle as exists today. Sure, we wouldn't mind some cavernous SUV but the fact is that we can't afford it, and with gas getting dearer and dearer still we appreciate the economy of a well built "misermobile". We bought the first used as well and have put 140K miles on it (so far...it's still running well!) but we were ready to get another, thus the 2016 Versa Note SV. We purchased this one via Enterprise Car Sales and I cannot say enough about the buying experience...first rate all the way; great price, wonderful vehicle, just what we were looking for, and with pre-arranged financing through our credit union we were in and out of the dealership in well under an hour. Now, as to the car...first things first, it's not a race car, so take reviews from sites like Car and Driver and Motor Trend and their ilk with a VERY large grain of salt. The Versa Note is a commuter car, and it does that job exceedingly well. It rides well, has a quiet, roomy cabin (I am 6' 3" and fit fine both in the back seat and behind the wheel) and everything is laid out logically. The SV package includes just about every electronic widget you could possibly desire sans navigation, but that's why I have an iPhone and a GPS. The backup camera is a nice touch but with so many enormous windows it isn't wholly necessary. It's nice to have, though. The body style is a significant upgrade from the rather shoe-like boxiness of the 2011 Versa we own, and is very pleasing to look at. The cargo space is remarkable with the rear seats folded down (my bicycle fits just fine, thank you!) and the Divide-n-Hide storage is a neat feature that gives you a nice flat floor with a nifty hiding place beneath. Every car should have this sort of thing! As to the driving, I enjoy the CVT personally though I can understand why drivers who prefer more input might desire a five or six speed. I certainly can't argue with the results though...my average gas mileage has been a jaw-dropping 41.5 mpg in combined highway and local driving. Seriously. I watch this stuff carefully (with my budget I have to) and this is not just accurate, it's spot-on. Those are near hybrid numbers, at what, a half of the cost? A third? Remarkable! Mind you, I drive with a balloon foot mostly, but hey, I stay out of the way and don't slow anybody else down. I bet I could speed up a bit with little loss in mileage, but I'd rather be kind to the car. The small fuel tank probably helps too, holding about 2.5 gallons less than the 2011 Versa. Less gas, less weight. Less range too, you would think, but at 41.5 mpg you're talking 450 miles per tank, and that's more than the 2011 ever got. The steering is precise on the road but remarkably light in the parking lot...nothing to complain about there. The car mags all note the supposedly gutless engine, but hey, it gets me up to speed just fine and I don't have any problem keeping up. So far as costs go, apart from gas, regular oil changes, and rotating tires, the Versa would be frugal on that score too. In the summing up, as a used vehicle, fleet or otherwise, the Versa Note is a remarkable bargain, proof that you don't have to give up much to gain a lot of value. I expect to be driving it for many years to come. UPDATE 5/5/20 This may not come as much of a surprise to other Versa owners, but we have now had serious problems with our machine. It started with a sudden Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) that noted that we apparently had problems with our ABS system. Next time the car started, the error cleared. Bemused, I continued to drive the car. A couple of weeks later, the same error reappeared. In order to clear it, I shut the car down and restarted it (yes, I am an IT tech, no, it wasn't terribly bright to do this whilst stopped at a traffic light.) To my alarm, the car would not restart again! I got help to push the vehicle off the road...a few minutes later it restarted and I managed to get it home. I took it to a shop which replaced the Camshaft Position Sensor. I took the car home. I went out to start it to go to work the next day and...it happened again! No start. The shop got the car and took it back, then called me later to tell me the "computer" was faulty and needed to be replaced. They tried to do it and finally refunded all my money and said I'd need to take it to a dealer. I did and...THE DEALER AS MUCH AS TOLD ME THEY DIDN'T WANT TO WORK ON IT. They said it would entail many hours of research and an expensive part and boy, there sure were a lot of nice cars in the lot and wouldn't I be better off to look at them...? So I took the car home, and here it sits. Weirdly, it appears to have something to do with temperature, as it seemed to be okay all winter, but now that the weather has gotten warm again, the problem has recurred. The Versa is now discontinued, and I am sorry that it has ended so badly. UPDATE 11/5/21 I'm happy to provide an addendum to this drama. We finally managed to convince someone to take a serious look at this. $2200 later, the wiring harness is replaced (the, the whole wiring harness!) and the car starts as it should now. Now, in the interests of full disclosure, we do still have a Check Engine light come on every so often...I invested in a code reader and when it tells me is that an oxygen sensor is bad. I am told this is not an uncommon problem...and also that the error could be a an error itself. So, we clear the light when it appears and blithely drive on our way. We are over 110K miles now, and the car is holding on, which in this frantic age is a good thing.
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versa4life!!
depending on ur driving behavior and the money that u have, this car is the "best bang" for ur buck!! the "overall" effectiveness, efficiency, and utility of this car is EXCELLENT for the price (i paid 16K out the door). the mileage i get is 38.2 miles per gallon and it's running off fuel. would love to have a leaf or even a hybrid, but those cars are ridiculously priced so i REFUSE to pay that kinda money out for basically the same car i get in my versa. btw, this is my 3rd versa and i continue to be "in-love" with my car. so yeah, if u want cost-effectiveness in a product, coupled with utility and kewtness, the versa is ur car. the yaris and fit have "nothing" on this car and this car is easily 2-3K less in cost. ok, enjoy!
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The Note sings
The Note is an interesting piece in a sea of sameness. Even with only 600 miles on the clock, I've been averaging about 35 miles combined highway and city. I have the SV with the CVT and am very happy with it. It seems to gave enough scoot, but with only 600 miles on the clock, I'm not doing any hard driving yet. The Note is a car where reading the owners manual is a definite plus, though I found a few features on my own. I'll list them in the next section. It's a roomy, reasonably quiet, though the bluetooth and media volume buttons are not intuitive. The up and down button is the phone, while the button going across is the volume control.