The 2020 Nissan Versa is here, and it actually looks pretty alright. Nissan totally re-did the sheetmetal on its subcompact car, giving it a sleeker profile that's less frumpy. Off-the-bat we see the signature V-Motion grille up front with sharp angles and striking lines. There aren't many curves on this face, but we're alright with that. Then, around back, Nissan went with its ubiquitous floating roof design, and it might just be the smallest car that this design has ever appeared. In general, the Versa has less of a "basic transportation" look, but it'll be interesting to see what the base trim looks like.
We wouldn't say the interior is pretty by any means, but it definitely looks better than before, too. The range-topping SR trim we see here has some cool contrasting color stitching going on, and it even has a flat-bottom steering wheel. Again, we wouldn't count on those being in a base Versa.
On the other hand, Nissan is touting its standard safety features on even the cheapest of Versas. Those stripper cars will still have features like automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, auto high beam assist and rear automatic braking. You'll be able to further specify other trims with blind-spot warning, rear cross traffic alert and even adaptive cruise control. With all those tacked on it's bound to be more expensive, but the Versa should remain one of the cheapest cars on the market.
The little 1.6-liter four-cylinder gets updated and makes more power for 2020, coming in at 122 horsepower and 114 pound-feet of torque. That's 13 more horses and 7 more pound-feet than the 2019 model year car. A manual transmission continues to be standard, while a CVT is optional.
Finally, some tech features like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be available as options to play on the infotainment screen. Nissan says that the 2020 Versa will go on sale in summer this year, but hasn't let on about the price. The current Versa is the cheapest new car available, so we'll see if Nissan wants to keep that crown. We'll also note that Nissan has no plans of bringing the Versa Note hatchback along into 2020.
