According to Consumer Reports, the median price of a new car in the US is $47,000, up $10,000 from 2020. Supply chain problems during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the rapid rise in prices. New cars were harder and harder to find as manufacturers ran low on some parts. Also, Americans have started buying more SUVs and crossovers, which are more expensive than sedans. Very few cars are priced below $20,000 now. The least expensive of these is the Nissan Versa, which has a base price of $15,830. These are the most affordable cars in America.
The Versa’s small 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine produces only 122 horsepower. Its combined city/highway gas mileage is 35 MGP. The base model has a five-speed manual transmission. The Versa is tiny. It has only 15 cubic feet of trunk space and barely seats five people.
The Versa’s high-end version costs $20,170 and has an upgraded armrest and splash guards.
The Versa is part of Nissan’s line of five sedans, which also include the Sentra, Ultima, LEAF, and Maxima.
Nissan is one of Japan’s two huge car manufacturers, the other of which is Toyota. Founded in 1933, it used to market cars under the Datsun brand. Today, it is the sixth-largest car company in the world. The increase in US gas prices brought on by the 1973 oil crisis helped push the sales of high gas mileage cars from Japanese manufacturers, which gave Nissan a larger foothold in America.
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