MotorMouths

With its combination of space, efficiency, features, safety and appealing design, the 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan will be impossible for the marketplace and Nissan’s competition to ignore. Not to mention, the price is right.

As a small car, the Nissan Versa does everything it needs to do. It features oodles of room for three people in the back, is exceptionally affordable, and delivers admirable fuel econom.

The Nissan Versa is a fine, budget-minded people mover. A vehicle able to fit 5 adults in comfort, and get great fuel economy, all for about half the cost of the typical family sedan, is indeed hard to find. However, it would not be our first choice.

Fuel economy, comfort, and style (depending on your point-of-view) are improved in the 2012 Nissan Versa — and so is value.

Vanilla, but solid and confident. That might sound damning, but Versa delivers precisely the pleasant character a mass-appeal car should.

If you’re looking for cheap, reliable wheels, the Versa is an unbeatable buy. I can’t think of another car that offers so much equipment and proven reliability for such a reasonable price.

The Versa sedan has been completely redesigned for 2012. It’s more efficient, spacious and refined, while its styling is less bulbous. You can also expect a comfortable ride, as the Versa is one of the more plush subcompacts on the market.

The 2012 Nissan Versa is a competent, if somewhat uninspiring effort, delivering a decent blend of quality, refinement, safety and practicality for not a lot of pocket change.

In a crowded field of subcompact sedans, the Versa stands out as having the best city fuel economy but also the least power. It leads the pack in both interior volume and cargo space. It is the lightest of the bunch, but also the least–distinctive looking.

If you need a fuel-efficient commuter car for the lowest price possible, then the Versa 1.6 S can be a good fit. Even so, cars with a greater level of convenience are enticingly close in price to this one, and we came away from the Versa feeling that we could do better.

There is no vice in the 2012 Nissan Versa; it is all virtue. But virtue can be quite boring. This latest Versa comes out with inoffensive style. Its engine is small, getting good mileage and offering no temptation to blow over speed limits.

Your time behind the wheel will inspire no thoughts of touring the French Riviera in a Porsche Boxster. But a Nissan Versa probably will keep you on your commuting schedule for just pennies per mile.