Nissan Versa getting Scion-like sport package and accessories
Nissan has announced that come January it will be offering Scion-like sport package for its Nissan Versa sedan and hatchback. While not going as far into the customizing scene as Scion, Nissan will offer items in the order of shift knobs, floor mats and the like in addition to body pieces that include a rear roof spoiler, side sills, a more aggressive front fascia and foglights. These items will likely be sourced from NISMO, and a special color may also be made available for this new sport package.
Apparently the name of NISMO doesn't carry as much cache as Scion's, otherwise Nissan wouldn't have felt the need to refer to these new optional items as "Scion-like" accessories. Toyota should take this compliment as proof positive it has made a mark in the econo-sport segment.
The 2007 Nissan Versa sedan is shown above.
[Source: Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bob 10:15AM (6/02/2006)
i suspect the real reason that toyota didn't use TRD is that non-tuner kids probably wouldn't be as happy with something that had "TRD" on the outside. years ago I was persuaded by my navy friends not to buy a TRD package for my tacoma. "You don't want a car that says TURD on the outside, do you?"
ever since the early nineties always thought the major japanese tuning houses would be huge here... NISMO, TRD, MUGEN, STI, MAZDASPEED. i'll be interested to see whether these brands hit the mainstream, or if their products will just be sold as OEM.
Reply
Eric L. 10:55AM (6/02/2006)
The Versa is a very good small car, but doesn't quite have the spice that say, a Honda Fit does. So any effort by Nissan to appeal to a younger crowd with the Versa is a good thing.
Reply
R-Dog 11:12AM (6/02/2006)
has more spice than the Yaris i bet.. what a little toy car
Reply
Cameron 11:13AM (6/02/2006)
Why is it that all these economy cars are so tall? It looks goofy to me. I wish econo-boxes didn't have to *look* like econo-boxes.
Reply
Mike Homeniuk 11:45AM (6/02/2006)
Cameron...maybe you just need to adjust your "vision".
Tallness means more space in a compact package, and is the reason many of these so-called "econoboxes" have more room than many larger cars.
Reply
Michael Karesh 11:55AM (6/02/2006)
If you don't like tall, get a Cobalt or the Yaris. The Yaris is quite a bit lower than the Echo/Fit/Versa/etc.
The upside of tall, of course, is it enables roomy, comfortable seating in a small car.
Reply
Howard Kerr 12:06PM (6/02/2006)
"Apparently the name of NISMO doesn't carry as much cache as Scion's..."
It isn't a matter of cache so much as many folks don't know as much about Nissan's tuner arm as they do about a fairly well established car dealer network. Can you go to a NISMO dealer or a NISMO store? To many people, NISMO is about as well known as TRD.
By the way, I doubt dealers and their salespersons will be calling these items "Scion-like accessories".
Reply
J 12:16PM (6/02/2006)
you shrink the length and width of a car fairly easily, but you lower the roof and pretty soon people have to sit all scrunched over.
Reply
JimR 12:45PM (6/02/2006)
Where are the goods? Nissan showed the Sport Concept a while back, which was a two-door Tiida/Versa with serious performance upgrades.
Side skirts and wings are old news, and they make a too-tall car look even goofier. I don't want any of the rest jacking up the sticker, either.
Nissan needs the "Sport" version to be a base Mini fighter, not a dopey Scion clone. Uprated wheel/tire options, suspension bits, go-fast parts, etc., from the factory.
Reply
Cameron 1:17PM (6/02/2006)
You have a point about shrinking the dimensions. Perhaps cars are just getting taller in general. It just seems more evident when their length is shortened I suppose.
Reply
Jay 2:11PM (6/02/2006)
The Nissan Versa looked to be the car to beat for a while. But then Nissan revised the mileage estimates to something quite a bit lower than they were initially touting (still competitive for the class, but not the knockout 38-mpg average they bragged about in the beginning). And then reviews came out saying that powerful-for-the-class engine didn't really make it accelerate or move any better than other cars it competed against.
It's still a nice car, but it's no longer as impressive as it was, say, 6 months ago.
Reply
PJ 2:20PM (6/02/2006)
I'm glad Nissan referred to this package as "Scion-like." If I worked for NISMO, I'd be pretty pissed to see my company represented as a purveyor of spoilers, shift knobs, and floormats.
NISMO does offer genuine performance parts (struts, CAI, exhaust) for the SE-R Spec V, going farther than Scion does in most cases. These parts can be installed at the time of purchase and (mostly) do not affect the warranty. I don't know why Nissan never played up this customization angle more, because the NISMO SE-R is a serious kick to drive.
Reply
Howard Kerr 2:46PM (6/02/2006)
"It's still a nice car, but it's no longer as impressive as it was, say 6 months ago."
That statement highlights at least 2 interesting points:
1.)The car industry, like any other industry changes quickly.
2.)If a car is REALLY impressive, should the revision of a few numbers change that?
Reply
Jay 4:23PM (6/02/2006)
>2.)If a car is REALLY impressive, should the revision
>of a few numbers change that?
I suppose it depends on the numbers and how much they change. And of course what's important to the individual. I was really studying all of the players in that segment because I was looking at getting a new car soon. All of the cars in that class have their trade-offs, but in my mind, not one of them had enough going for them to make them stand out and be a clear choice, except the Versa. When it was announced that its fuel economy and power were no longer spectacular, it fell back into the pack again.
So that's what changed my mind on that, though I'm sure others may feel differently.
Reply
Campisi 5:13PM (6/02/2006)
Floormats, shifter knobs, and non-functioning aesthetic bits do NOT form a "sport" package. For some reason, very few companies seem to get that.
Reply
Jay 6:49PM (6/02/2006)
>Floormats, shifter knobs, and non-functioning
>aesthetic bits do NOT form a "sport" package. For
>some reason, very few companies seem to get that.
There's an ad out for the Chevy Cobalt....I can't remember the exact words, but to paraphrase, they say that the Cobalt is like a mini-Corvette, and to prove they're offering a sport package to make it more like the Vette. The package basically has chrome exhaust tips, chrome door handles, chrome wheels, and a couple of other trim baubles. No power or suspension tweaks...just some cheap chrome bits.
Reply
shiznannigan 11:50PM (6/02/2006)
Maybe that's because the Cobalt already has an SS (super SPORT) trim level for those who want more power/better handling.
I'm not sure I'd want to brag about "scion-like" accessories. They look silly and tacked-on in a Scion, I'm sure it doesn't get any better when they're in a Nissan.
Reply
kjs825 6:06PM (6/11/2009)
simplify this matter and have Nissan just bring out a Versa SE-R version. uh huh uh huh ..I like it
Reply