Nissan Versa: Buy Score, Reliability & Ownership Costs
Subcompact Car · Sedan
Our Verdict
Based on model-specific reliability data, ownership costs, and longevity signals.
Buy Score™
Pros
- RepairPal ranks it 9th of 21 subcompact cars, with repair costs right at the class average and low severity
- Was the least expensive new car sold in the U.S. — remaining dealer inventory and the used market both offer real value
- iSeeCars shows solid 5-year value retention (34.5% depreciation) for a subcompact car
- 35 mpg combined keeps fuel costs low
Cons
- Nissan discontinued the Versa in the U.S. after the 2025 model year — no new ones are being built, and it's used/remaining-dealer-stock only going forward
- 122-hp engine and CVT-only transmission (manual dropped mid-2025) feel basic even for the price
- No all-wheel-drive option ever offered
Can this car reach 300,000 miles?
Likely
RepairPal's model-specific score (4.0/5.0) ranks the Versa 9th of 21 subcompact cars, with excellent, right-at-class-average repair costs. Important buying note: Nissan discontinued the Versa in the U.S. after the 2025 model year (production ended December 2025) — it was the last new car sold under $20,000, and the Hyundai Venue is now the cheapest new vehicle on sale.
First-Time Buyer Friendly
88/100Simple controls, predictable running costs, and forgiving handling make this an easy first car.
Reliability Timeline
What tends to need attention, and when — based on model-specific reliability data.
30,000 miles
60,000 miles
100,000 miles
150,000 miles
200,000+ miles
What It Actually Costs to Own
One of the cheapest cars on this entire site to own — low purchase price, low insurance, and solid resale for a subcompact combine into a genuinely inexpensive ownership profile.
Full Specifications
Check for open recalls before you buy
We don't yet have a live recall feed wired up for the Nissan Versa, so we won't guess at a number here. Before you buy any specific Versa, run its VIN throughNHTSA's free recall lookup tool— it takes about 30 seconds and confirms whether that exact vehicle has any open, unrepaired safety recalls.
Similar Vehicles
Sources: RepairPal model reliability score (4.0/5.0), annual repair cost ($456), and 9th-of-21 subcompact car ranking: repairpal.com/reliability/nissan/versa (live lookup, 2026). Versa discontinuation after MY2025 (production ended December 2025), Hyundai Venue as the new cheapest new car: carsdirect.com, tflcar.com, and kbb.com Versa discontinuation coverage (live lookup, 2026). MSRP reflects the final model year's pricing, not a current new-model-year figure. iSeeCars 5-year depreciation (34.5%): iseecars.com Versa resale-value and Frontier-vs-Versa comparison pages (live lookup, 2026).