Next Gen 2014 Versa – Far Better Looking and Even More Fuel Efficient

[twoodcc]

i think it looks better than the current versa.

[WriConsult]

Originally Posted by RedylC94

Why did it need to be geared about as low as a Fit, even with a 1.8L engine (vs. the Fit's 1.5L)? To make their CVT look good?

That's been my belief for a while now. I can think of at least 3 automakers who appear to be deliberately hobbling their MTs to make their ATs look good. One of them has been doing it for more than a decade.

Remember, an AT costs little more than an MT to build (possibly less when you figure in economies of scale), but they have to charge $1000 less for the MT. Not so coincidentally, you can go to a Honda dealership with 50 Fits on the lot and not find a single one with a manual.

IMO the main reason they even bother offering MTs is so they can advertise a lower base price. But they severely restrict the supply of them because they probably lose money on them, at least at the entry level. The ideal situation for the automaker is for the manual to be effectively dead: existent on paper for pricing purposes, but impossible to find in practice.

[civic94coupe206]

If its priced right (less than 10k like the versa a couple years ago) and with a highway rating of 42 or so, it will be a hit. I would definately get it.

the versa now, the MPGs are just not there, even though its the cheapest car in america.

[RedylC94]

Originally Posted by WriConsult

I can think of at least 3 automakers who appear to be deliberately hobbling their MTs to make their ATs look good.

Hyundai did that in the Accent for a few years, then recently reformed and returned to more reasonable ratios.

[Jay]

Maybe this car will inspire Mazda to offer GDI in the Mazda 2.

[WriConsult]

That would be REALLY nice. There's already a Skyactiv-G version of the 2 in Japan, but they haven't brought it here yet.

[xcel]

Hi All:

Regarding the 2, Mazda would also need to extensively update the interior (the CX-5’s is excellent and a great target for Mazda to shoot for) along with the 1.3L SKYATIV-G with a 58 mpgUS rating on the Japanese JC08. Maybe 37 to 39 mpgUS combined here in the US? The Yen currency situation however is killing any Hiroshima production and that is mainly where the 2 comes from. Mazda used to produce them in Thailand but canceled that move. They also produce them in Vietnam but I do not believe we receive any of those? In either case, expect little improvement when it comes to a nicer interior and improved handling attributes for any upcoming 2.

Regarding the AT/MT questions and where pricing is concerned, the CVT may actually be less expensive than an MT. While the hydraulics have to be uber robust, the number of parts in the CVT is minimal while the wide range of ratio’s it has available to it are phenomenal. They are a real bitch to go take down a stick with the best drivers but for a steady state cruising speed and good take off through top speed, they trump the stick’s usually way to short ratio’s and standard AT without the wide range hands down.

And since we are talking about the next gen Versa, look out. Having driven that 13 Altima with the 2.5L and the CVT a few months back to a 64.x mpgUS on a 100 + mile RT loop (per the non-calibrated OEM aFCD), Nissan knows how to build fuel efficient CVTs. And this was with the inability to go advanced! The new Versa will probably arrive with a similar 7.0:1 wide ratio spacing from top to bottom and with a lighter and more aerodynamic platform, this could be something special. I would still prefer a tall final and wide ratio’ed stick for a little more but for general acceleration and steady state cruising, the new Versa may be the car to watch out for in the B/C-segment

Wayne

[WriConsult]

Wayne, I take it you've driven the Nissan CVTs. Did you not find them as P&G/N-coast unfriendly as I described earlier in this thread? Is there a trick to it, or was the one in the Sentra I drove different from the one(s) you've been in?

[xcel]

Hi Dan:

The 2013 Altima CVT cannot or I should say will not be P&G'ed or even FAS'ed as it is a kludge to do so. The CVT engages ok with a strict sequence and speed thresholds but it is a bear at higher speeds, the push button Start’s slow cycle time and inability to bump start.

Saying all of that, what mid-size non-hybrid/non-diesel AT have we driven to what the 2013 Altima provided below?

2013 Nissan Altima - First Drive

This was with only about ¾ of a mile of FAS’ing since it was too ungainly to use and it was not recorded in the aFCD anyway. The 38 mpg and 0 to 60 time of just 7-seconds from its 180 HP 2.5L I4 is pretty amazing indeed all thanks to its Xtronic CVT.

Wayne

[WriConsult]

I would never FAS any automatic while in motion. By P&G I mean alternately pulsing and then neutral coasting with the ICE on ("pulse and coast"?)

Sounds like it's a generic problem with Nissan CVTs, so does that mean our highway toolbox is pretty much limited to DWL and keeping the speed down?