I own a 2010 Nissan Versa SL hatchback. My daughter is 17 and needs a car. We are considering giving her the Nissan so she has a car with low miles that we know the history of rather than buy her a used car of questionable history. I would then replace the Versa with a 2015 Fit EX for myself. I'm wondering if any Fit owners have driven a Versa and could give me any thoughts on how the Fit compares to the Versa.
Thanks for any thoughts,
Steve

 

Hi Steve,

I test drove both the Versa and the Fit and I went back and forth between the 2. The Versa was less expensive and discounted heavily (the SV for $16K was tempting), but in the end I decided to go with the Fit for the following reasons:
-Reliability: I have owned Honda and Nissan and the Honda have proven to be more reliable and less costly to maintain.
-Power: The Versa felt short on power. My test drive took me through a steep hill and the little engine was struggling roaring.
-Finish: The Fit felt better finished and more luxurious.
-Leather: I wanted leather something that's not available on the Versa.

The Versa was a nice car overall but, for me, the Fit came out on top.
I also consider the Prius C, but did not want to pay an extra $4K just to get better MPG. I don't drive enough for that.

 

Lol I actually own the same model Versa you have. Fit all the way!

FYI the new Versa has a weaker engine than the older Versa. You can wiki this. The model we have is comparable to the 15 Fit, but the transmission on the Fit is so much smoother (obviously) and feels more livelier and capable when going up hills, which was my main concern when purchasing the Fit.

On the Versa I have to hear a constant drone around 5k rpm going up hill on the freeway sstretches while shaking my head as the car shifts back and forth. Sometimes, hearing that drone while not really gaining any speed.

On the Fit, going uphill isn't really a problem. The drone comes sometimes but if I keep my foot steady it hovers around 3-4 and maintains speed or goes faster.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Funny all three of us are in So Ca. I wanted the Fit when I bought the Versa four years ago but the Versa was discounted so it was a few grand less than the Fit.

 

Forgot another advantage: based on my experience resale value should hold better on the Honda vs Nissan. Not a big factor for me since I plan to own the Fit for 10 + years. This will be my daughter's car in 3 years when she goes to college. For now I get to enjoy it. May be she'll need to get her own Fit. LOL

 

I test drove the Versa Note as an inexpensive option since this is my second car (other car is a 370z so I am not a Nissan hater or anything). That being said, the Versa Note was pretty awful feeling from materials feel to driving dynamics, steering and brake pedal feel. Even as a second car for running errands around town and taking the dog places, I just couldn't live with the Versa note even with the price difference. Just drive both and you'll see the Fit is way better in every way. I also test drove a Prius C which was okay for locla streets, but way unerpowered for the freeway. It could be a good option though for an around town car if you don't need the space versatility f the Fit and want better mpg. The Prius C is small though.

 

I'd like to point out an FYI that the Versa Note (Note) is NOT the same as a Versa hatchback (Tiida) despite having the name Versa in it. Few years go before the GK Fit was announced, I had actually waited for Nissan to release a new Versa hatchback, saw spy photos of it, and waited. Instead, Nissan released the Tiida successor in China and gave the US market the Note instead, renaming it Versa Note.

In the end of the day, they're all the same cars ... but I would think driving the "new" Versa Note is not exactly the same experience/class as the older model Versa which are technically Versas.

 

I test drove a new Versa Note and bought a 15 Fit (getting delivery later today).

Fit over Versa.
- The Versa Note felt WAY underpowered, the worst of all the cars I test drove.
- Gas mileage is worse
- Interior felt cheap and from 2006, not high tech at all like the Fit (I am a techie so that's pretty important to me).
- Resale value of Honda is better
- Reliability of Honda is better
- Optional leather on the fit

Versa over Fit
- It's cheaper (up front).
- The Nissan dealer near me gives a free lifetime powertrain warranty.


Bear in mind this is a Fit forum so almost all the responses will be Fit over Versa Note. You might wanna ask on Nissan to see the other side.

 

Automobilemag.com compared the 2015 Fit to the 2014 Versa.

2015 Honda Fit EX-L vs. 2014 Nissan Versa Note SL Comparison

 

We looked at all the available hatchbacks in this range when we were got our 2013 Fit. The Versa was a contender until our neighbors told us it was terrible in snow, even with serious snow tires. We are in the northeast, get a lot of snow, and I had been driving a subaru forester. The other areas where the Fit had it all over the others were 1.the amount of room, especially headroom that my daughter has when riding in the backseat...she spends a lot of time in the car, and the Fit felt much more spacious to her; and 2.the visibility when looking through the rear-view mirror out the back window. With some cars, like the Prius and Hyundai I had almost no visibility. I love how much I can see in the Fit, front and back. So I drove in the Fit (with snow tires, of course) all last winter, without problems...

We decided to trade-in for the new 2015 Fit EX. Mostly very happy, but sadly lost a couple of things...The seat material is no longer upholstery-like, and my daughter finds it scratchy, the back seats themselves are pretty hard, almost bench-like. Since there was limited test drive opportunities, these were things we didn't know in advance. I miss the small box under the back seat where we kept a first-aid kit (it's down with the spare now), there's no plain old audio jack plug for me to listen to music from my kindle (the usb doesn't seem to be able to play the audio from the kindle). But I love being able to adjust the driver's seat height, it really helps my driving that I can see around curves and over the crest of a hill. And even on the econ mode, there's a ton more power. That's more fun and safer! I'm getting used to the rear and right-side cameras quickly, and really appreciate them. And I've gone from 38-39 mpg in the 2013 Fit to 43-46 mpg. So we're happy.
*BTW, I seem to get much better mileage in warm weather than cold, last winter my mpg went down to about 32, which was low for that car. Anyone care to speak to this?*

 

Check the Versa's crash test ratings. Not sure the model you have but it may not be a vehicle you want a young driver who is more likely to get in accidents to be driving.

 

Not a Fit owner but I drove a friend's Versa and then a 2015 Fit EX 6sp and IMHO the Fit won hands down.

 

Boy, do I agree with this statement about safety. We had an older 2008 Honda Fit, but we did not feel good about having our daughter take this to College (she is a Junior this year). Instead, we sold the old Fit and purchased our Daughter a new 2015 Honda fit. I say we purchased, but my daughter contributed to the downpayment, in order to have some "skin in the game", so to speak. We make the payments until she is out of school, then she picks up from that point on, making it something of a partnership (being the smart girl that she is, she notified me last weekend that she intends to stay in school for a LONG time, so I guess my wife and I will be paying the car off). It is titled in both her and her mothers name, so she is also building up her credit.

That was our solution to getting our Daughter into a safe and reliable car.

Having said all that, here is the link for your 2010 Nissan Versa-Hatchback, which reflects rather good safety results (unlike the sedan version):

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/veh...hatchback/2010

 

Most likely because of winter gas.

http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/PICS/winterGas/winterGas.html

 

Don't underestimate how good this can be! I owned a 2005 Scion xB until I bought my Fit. When I sold it, I got 50% what I paid for it brand new! It was almost 10 years old!