2020 Nissan Versa Pricing - No Longer Cheapest, Still Cheap

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Nissan has announced pricing for the 2020 Versa, and the increase should mean that it’s no longer the cheapest car one can buy in America.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the price jump moves the car out of the “cheap” category.

Cheap in the low-cost sense, not the quality sense. More on that later — I just drove the car, but I cannot comment on it publicly until next week, due to embargo.

The cheapest car for sale 2020 title cannot be bestowed on any given econobox just yet, as it appears not all of the Versa’s competitors have released pricing for 2020 as of this moment.

If you head over to Nissan’s consumer Web site, you will see that the base price on a 2019 Versa starts at under $13,000, before fees. That price has jumped to $14,730 for a stick-shift ( Versa S. Want a continuously-variable automatic transmission? That’s gonna be $16,400. Pop for the SV mid-level trim, and it’s $17,640, while the top-line SR checks in at $18,240.

None of those prices include the $895 destination fee. You can only get a stick if you stick with the base S trim.

The redesigned Versa offers things such as a suite of driver-aid/safety tech, fog lamps, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, heated front seats, automatic climate control, Bluetooth, LED headlamps, 17-inch wheels, remote keyless entry, and push-button start.

A Convenience Package available for the SR includes heated front seats and smart cruise control.

There’s just one engine available — a 1.6-liter four-banger pushing out 122 horsepower and 114 lb-ft of torque.

Contributor and Ace of Base guru Matthew Guy did some digging and found that Mitsubishi is pricing the base 2020 Mirage at $13,995. That may be a $200 increase from this year, but it is now cheaper than a Versa. So even if the Mirage doesn’t end up being the cheapest car on the market in 2020, the Versa will have relinquished that dubious title, at least.

We’ll have full review of the updated Versa next week.

[Images © 2019 Tim Healey/TTAC]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Jeff S Jeff S on Aug 04, 2019

    No thank you for any Nissan with the CVT transmission at any price. Any savings you get buying a Nissan is more than spent on a replacement transmission.

  • Johnster Johnster on Aug 04, 2019

    I see a lot of these on these on the roads where I live. They are much more common than Sentras and they seem about as common as Chevy Spectrums, Kia Rios and Hyundai Accents. OTOH, I see fewer Toyota Yarises, Ford Fiestas and Mitsubishi Lancers on the roads. Decidely "meh," but probably O.K. for basic transportation.

  • Theflyersfan I wonder how many people recalled these after watching EuroCrash. There's someone one street over that has a similar yellow one of these, and you can tell he loves that car. It was just a tough sell - too expensive, way too heavy, zero passenger space, limited cargo bed, but for a chunk of the population, looked awesome. This was always meant to be a one and done car. Hopefully some are still running 20 years from now so we have a "remember when?" moment with them.
  • Lorenzo A friend bought one of these new. Six months later he traded it in for a Chrysler PT Cruiser. He already had a 1998 Corvette, so I thought he just wanted more passenger space. It turned out someone broke into the SSR and stole $1500 of tools, without even breaking the lock. He figured nobody breaks into a PT Cruiser, but he had a custom trunk lock installed.
  • Jeff Not bad just oil changes and tire rotations. Most of the recalls on my Maverick have been fixed with programming. Did have to buy 1 new tire for my Maverick got a nail in the sidewall.
  • Carson D Some of my friends used to drive Tacomas. They bought them new about fifteen years ago, and they kept them for at least a decade. While it is true that they replaced their Tacomas with full-sized pickups that cost a fair amount of money, I don't think they'd have been Tacoma buyers in 2008 if a well-equipped 4x4 Tacoma cost the equivalent of $65K today. Call it a theory.
  • Eliyahu A fine sedan made even nicer with the turbo. Honda could take a lesson in seat comfort.
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