New 2007 Nissan Versa

[Tom]

Nissan expands lineup with Versa small car; redesigned Sentra, Altima due for '07 model year
DALE JEWETT | Automotive News
Posted Date: 9/29/05
DETROIT -- Nissan North America Inc. will expand its U.S. lineup next year with a small hatchback and sedan named Versa. The automaker is spending $800 million to upgrade its plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to build the cars for North America.

The Versa uses the platform from the Nissan Tiida sold in Japan. Nissan will use the Tiida name on cars sold in Mexico.

The Versa, which is smaller than the Sentra, is expected to have a base price of about $12,000. A typically equipped model will have a sticker price of around $13,500, Nissan said.

That low price is possible because the Versa shares much of its components with Nissan's global B-car platform, said Jed Connelly, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan North America.



The Versa will be equipped with a new, all-aluminum 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine rated at about 120 hp and 125 pounds-feet of torque. Mated to an optional continuously variable transmission, Nissan says the powertrain should deliver a combined city-highway fuel economy rating of 38 mpg.

The hatchback will go on sale in early summer 2006 as a 2007 model, Nissan said. Sales of the sedan will begin in late 2006.

The addition of the Versa will give Nissan a vehicle to compete in the growing B-car segment in the United States. That segment includes the Scion models and upcoming Toyota Yaris from Toyota Motor Corp. and the upcoming small car from Honda Motor Co., based on the Fit and Jazz models sold in Japan and Europe. The Honda car is expected to go on sale in the spring, about the same time as the Nissan Versa hatchback.



The entry-level and compact segments combined account for about 1.9 million vehicles, or about 11 percent of the market, said Jack Collins, vice president of product planning for Nissan North America. That's why it is important for Nissan to have more products in the segment, he said.

Nissan will emphasize the Versa's interior room in its marketing, Collins said. The Versa will have 25.6 inches of knee room in the back seat, nearly as much as the larger Maxima sedan.

The Versa will measure 169.1 inches overall, and have a 102.4-inch wheelbase.

Nissan also will deliver a larger, redesigned Sentra, a redesigned Altima and a Maxima with a redesigned interior for the 2007 model year.

The Sentra also is built in the Aguascalientes plant. The Altima and Maxima are built in Smyrna, Tenn. Some Altimas also are built in Nissan's plant in Canton, Miss.



Production boost in Mexico

Capacity at the Aguascalientes plant will grow from 200,000 units to 350,000 units with the addition of the Versa. Nissan says it will add 2,000 jobs at the plant. It expects that suppliers will add another 2,000 jobs.

Nissan is boosting the production rate at the Aguascalientes plant up to one car per minute.

Changes at the Aguascalientes plant include the addition of a flexible body line that can handle as many as four models with eight variations, more automation in the paint shop with the addition of 25 robots, and giving suppliers production space at the plant site to deliver components in sequence.

Nissan expects to increase exports from Mexico to the United States and Canada from an expected 130,000 units this year to 170,000 units in 2006.

Nissan says exports from the Aguascalientes plant will grow to 290,000 units in 2007, double the number of exports today. The plant opened in 1982.

Nissan also has an assembly plant nearby in Cuernavaca, Mexico, which builds the Tsuru and Sentra. It opened in 1966.

[TBR]

Wow, low profile tires on 16" inch rims on a $13500 car, very impressive. The is really a smart move on Nissan's part, younger buyers will definitely appreciate the look of the wheel/tire combo compared to the typical subcompact 15" wheels with chintzy plastic hubcaps and regular tires.

The interior also looks great.

[Catman]

[TBR]

Okay, the wheels aren't looking so great in that pic, maybe it was just the angle of the first one that made them look good.

[Tom]

Thanks for putting that up.  For some reason I was getting some error about an invalid code or something when I tried posting the Autoweek pics.

[Tom]

Wow, low profile tires on 16" inch rims on a $13500 car, very impressive. The is really a smart move on Nissan's part, younger buyers will definitely appreciate the look of the wheel/tire combo compared to the typical subcompact 15" wheels with chintzy plastic hubcaps and regular tires.

I'm not sold on the looks, but the performance aspect looks appealing for the price.

[thewizard16]

I don't like the exterior much, but the interior looks pretty nicely designed. Inoffensive, I guess. Price/engine/size combination seems pretty good.

[giant_mtb]

Wow, low profile tires on 16" inch rims on a $13500 car, very impressive. The is really a smart move on Nissan's part, younger buyers will definitely appreciate the look of the wheel/tire combo compared to the typical subcompact 15" wheels with chintzy plastic hubcaps and regular tires.

The interior also looks great.

The wheels still look cheap and chintzy, IMO.  Cool little thing, though.

[Raghavan]

ugly...

[Raza]

Reminds me a lot of the Renault Megane?  Any relation between the two?

[Tom]

Reminds me a lot of the Renault Megane?  Any relation between the two?

Other than similar looks, the are not related in terms of platform.  The new Versa will have the B platform that is shared with the REnault Clio and a few others.  next years Sentra will be based on the C platform along with the Megane you mentioned.

[thewizard16]

Reminds me a lot of the Renault Megane?  Any relation between the two?

Other than similar looks, the are not related in terms of platform.  The new Versa will have the B platform that is shared with the REnault Clio and a few others.  next years Sentra will be based on the C platform along with the Megane you mentioned.

I hate the Clio so very much.  

[Tom]

Reminds me a lot of the Renault Megane?? Any relation between the two?

Other than similar looks, the are not related in terms of platform.  The new Versa will have the B platform that is shared with the REnault Clio and a few others.  next years Sentra will be based on the C platform along with the Megane you mentioned.

I hate the Clio so very much.

The name certainly is ghey.  Imagine a group of businessmen sitting around a table deciding on the name Clio.

[Raza]

Reminds me a lot of the Renault Megane?  Any relation between the two?

Other than similar looks, the are not related in terms of platform.  The new Versa will have the B platform that is shared with the REnault Clio and a few others.  next years Sentra will be based on the C platform along with the Megane you mentioned.

I hate the Clio so very much.

The name certainly is ghey.  Imagine a group of businessmen sitting around a table deciding on the name Clio.

Like the Sony Clie?

The name sure is stupid, but there's a mid engined beefed up V6 version that kicks some serious ass.

[Raghavan]

it's great, but a bit heavy...

[Raza]

it's great, but a bit heavy...

I found just about 3000 pounds (under 3100) which isn't really heavy at all, considering the cars it would compete against.

And I saw some more pictures of the Versa in Automobile and it is strikingly similar to a Megane.