About a month ago we saw the first renderings of the 2012 Nissan Versa, and were more than a little taken aback at the model’s apparent move from geeky hatch to sleek sedan. Now the first images of the Chinese-market Nissan Sunny have hit autohome.com.cn [via Burlappcars.com], and they show a rounded little sedan that’s equal parts Altima and IS250. The Sunny nameplate is known as the Sentra in the US, but there’s some speculation that these images actually portray the next-gen Versa (based on their similarity to the earlier-leaked rendering). Alternatively, Nissan could be going for a similar look for both its compact and subcompact offerings. In any case, these pictures hint that Nissan is not taking improved offerings like Chevy’s Cruze and the forthcoming Ford Focus and Hyundai Accent sitting down. The compact and subcompact segments are heating up as designs improve, and Nissan is not about to be left behind.
Does this mean they’re abandoning the hatch altogether for the Versa? I rarely, if ever, see a Versa sedan on the road. For this class of car a hatch looks better (though I’ll admit that the current Versa hatch is no beauty queen) and provides a lot more utility.
Why, why, why, why does anyone buy sedans in these classes? Makes no sense at all. A hatch be it traditional or wagon-style is SOOO much more useful. Stupid Americans. And Chinese too, evidently.
And I find it hilarious that anyone considers the Versa to be a “sub-compact” – those things are HUGE!
“Why, why, why, why does anyone buy sedans in these classes?”
Because they look much better.
Because they have more luggage space (hatches usually have the tail cut short)
Because they are more rigid with a steel parcel shelf welded across the back of the shell ,and they don’t rattle so much on bad roads.
“Because they look much better.”
I beg to differ. Small cars with trucks look like a deformed caricature of a traditional sedan. The existing Versa sedan proves this out, as does the Yaris sedan, Aveo sedan and even the Fiesta sedan.
“Because they have more luggage space (hatches usually have the tail cut short).”
This is a tradeoff. A lot of hatches are shorter than their sedan counterparts, but the space they do have is more usable and easier to access.
“Because they are more rigid with a steel parcel shelf welded across the back of the shell ,and they don’t rattle so much on bad roads.”
This is not true concerning modern cars (unless the manufacturer skimped on NVH measureswhich would hit a sedan just as hard as a hatch). These aren’t the flexi flyers of decades past. Cars today are much more solid, and stiff than those in the past. Safety dictates this to a large degree. Sales of the Fiesta are weighted heavily toward the more expensive hatchback.
Looks are a matter of subjective opinion – I think most small sedans look goofy.
Hatchbacks have significantly MORE luggage space, it is just arranged vertically rather than horizontally. Plus an enormously larger opening instead of a mail slot. Better still is to have a wagon. I brought home a 55″ TV, in it’s box upright in my Saab 9-3SC – try that in a sedan.
Rigidity, maybe a tiny bit, but pretty much every sedan in this segment has folding rear seats anyway, so I doubt it makes a bit of difference.
Modern hatches do not rattle, this is not 1979. Collision standard requirements alone mean tha body shells are almost infinitely stiffer than they once were.
This image matches the sketch I received from nissan exactly. The sketch clearly stated 2012 nissan Versa. As far as a hatch being more useful I will disagree. The versa sedan is actually larger then the hatch. Plus I was able to fit four wheel with tires in the trunk and could still fit 5 people in the car. I had friends put four wheels in their hatches. You must fold the seats down and you can now only carry 2 people including the driver.
There was another occasion I took my versa sedan to lowes to get landscape and building materials. Again it all fit in the trunk and I had room for my passengers. This would not have been possible in the hatch.
I’m sure a hatch will be coming as nissan does sell a ton of them. But this is a huge improvement over the current sedan model. I think the versa and sentra will be lumped into this one car within the next few years. If nissan keeps similar interior dimensions of the current Versa this car will continue to be a sales success. If it’s small inside like a civic or corolla I see no point in it.
The new Hyundai Elantra and Accent will eat Nissan’s lunch.
If the scale of the latest Altima is anything to go by (it’s longer and taller than the Maxima), this new Versa will be the size of a barn. I’m not sure Nissan have quite got the ‘size’ right on many of their latest offerings.
mjz has got it right. What is wrong with this picture is that the new styling theme of the Versa looks an awful lot like the new styling theme of the Hyundai Accent…only Hyundai is developing this theme organically across its whole lineup.