[JRMichler]

I recently rented a Nissan Versa. This car is labelled a subcompact, but the interior space and general appearance are more like a larger car. I put about 300 mostly highway miles on it. It was comfortable to sit in for several one hour trips.

The shortest trip was three miles of city driving with several stops and some creeping along. The dash display showed 30.4 MPG for that trip. Most of the miles were at a range of highway speeds up to 70 MPH. The dash display showed 46 to 53 MPG for those trips, and the average trip mileage was 50 MPG. Temperatures ranged from 50 to 70 deg F. About half of the 46 MPG trip was at 70 MPH.

This car had a CVT transmission, but no tachometer. I used DWB and DWL as best I could without any instrumentation. There was room for improvement in my driving because much of my driving was on unfamiliar roads at night. Overall, it's a good car that gets excellent gas mileage.

My one big complaint is that Nissan seems to think that people like car keys the size of a banana. They forget that car keys are carried in pockets, and bananas make big uncomfortable lumps in pockets. I had the key in my pocket when walking past a parked Dodge Charger. The door locks in the Charger clunked and the lights turned on. I resisted the temptation to see if I could start the Charger. I wonder just how secure these electronic keys are.