Do you like music? If so you will no doubt enjoy the delicate stringed musings of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," followed immediately by a bracing heavy metal blast from Killdozer.
And who could forget the time that noted Vancouver tenor Ben Heppner brought us all to tears with an impassioned rendition of "Nessun Dorma," before galvanizing the audience further with a profanitylaced performance of Tupac Shakur's "Shorty Wanna be a Thug."
Wait, that never happened. As it turns out, musical tastes vary widely. If, for instance, you try to play a Justin Bieber song in earshot of me, my ears leap from the sides of my head and run off down the hallway.
Just as musical tastes run the gamut, so too with automotive needs. Some buy for wants, others buy for needs — some for safety, others for technology, others for driving pleasure, and some for sheer fuel economy.
With the Versa Note, Nissan would like to play you a tune that's heavy on the legato, while having only a pianissimo effect on your wallet. The question is: in the cutthroat small car market, is the Note's performance emphatic enough to be heard?
Design
There's not much a designer can do with a footprint this small, unless some element of retro-kitsch is what's being aimed for. Rather than making their hatchback resemble the Datsun B210, Nissan's gone for a fresh modern take that's reserved. Given how well the old Versa hatchback has aged (it hit the streets more than seven years ago now), that's a good thing long-term.
Standard cars come with 15-inch alloy wheels, but there's a choice of top trims with 16-inch alloys. This week's tester was the SR model, and had nicely machine-finished darkpainted rims shod with lowrolling-resistance tires.
The SR package is approximately the same as the old Sport package Nissan used to sell on its Versa, and includes unique front and rear fascias, side skirts, dark-look headlights and fog-lights, and a rear spoiler. Judging by the album cover, this is potentially a sporty little number.
Environment
However, pulling the vinyl out of the sleeve, so to speak, reveals the Note's true nature. As soon as you open the door, you can tell that this car is designed for easy listenin', with a roomy, comfortable cabin.
Any Nissan salesman worth his salt will insist that you sit in the back seat of the Note, even before you plonk yourself up front. There's enough legroom here that Wilt Chamberlain's chauffeur should have owned one. Rear-facing child seats are an easy fit, leaving plenty of room for adults up front, and four adults could easily pop across town in complete comfort.
The SR model comes with sporty looking suede seat covers trimmed in orange. Sporty they may look, but they're actually a bit more comfort oriented, with less bolstering than I'd like to see. The tradeoff on this is easier ingress and egress, and with a very upright driving position, you won't have to limbo your way into the Note in a tight parking lot.
Some demerits must be handed out for the way Nissan has used quite a lot of hard plastic in this interior, especially compared to how well the old Versa stacked up against its rivals. There are some nice touches, like twin gloveboxes, a leather-wrapped, threespoke steering wheel, and smart looking chrome door handles, but the lack of soft door armrests is a bit disappointing. Yes, this is an entry level car, but the old car hid its economy roots better than the new one does.
Trunk space is very good, and of particular note — not an intentional pun — is the adjustable sub floor. This can be raised to allow a small gap that'll fit a laptop or small bag, or lowered right down for maximum space. It flips up too, meaning you can use it to keep the groceries from sliding around too much.
Performance
How much you'll enjoy driving the Note will very much depend upon how you intend to drive it. To come back to our musical metaphors, you'd have a heck of time trying to mosh to Vivaldi.
Powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder making a very modest 109 horsepower and 107 foot-pounds of torque, the Note is available with either a five-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable transmission. The CVT is the only offering on SR models.
Even though the SR model looks like the sportiest version in the range, it doesn't have any chassis enhancements, and comes with those aforementioned low-rollingresistance tires. Trying to carve up a corner with this car is akin to playing Guns n' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" on the oboe. It's not that you can't do so, it's just that it's very silly to try.
Body roll is moderate, but the high seating position and numb steering feel aren't exactly designed to put you in attack mode. Work the accelerator too hard, and that little 1.6-litre is going to let you know it's doing a tough job.
It's entirely the wrong way to handle the car, so slow your roll. Where a CVT works is in smooth, efficient driving with moderate inputs. Call it the classical music approach.
Here, the Note excels, with the smooth, welldamped ride of a larger car, and only modest wind noise from the large side mirrors. It easily hits its fuel economy measurements of 7.5 litres/100 kilometres city and 6.0 l/100 km highway, and a careful driver might even be able to beat Transport Canada's figures without too much difficulty. Note that these are the new, more stringent five cycle test figures, and should not be directly compared to 2014 numbers, as those are often off by 10-15 per cent.
Features
The Note comes very well equipped at even low levels, with a backup camera, Bluetooth handsfree and streaming audio, and a nice-looking colour display screen on mid-range models. There's also the Nissan Connect system that allows you to access apps through your smartphone - fiddle as I might, I couldn't get this to work with my iPhone.
The SL model is the queen of the range, with a 360-degree camera, pushbutton ignition and heated seats. SV models can be equipped with everything you need for prices in the mid-teens, and represent the best value in the Note line. If you line them up against what a top-level Micra will cost, they're actually an even more frugal option than Nissan's bargain priced micro-hatch.
Green light
Spacious interior; comfortable ride; excellent fuel-economy.
Stop sign
Modest acceleration; hard plastics in interior; sporty looks don't match the drive.
The checkered flag
Hits all the high notes if you're looking for a compact cruiser.
Competitor
Ford Fiesta ($11,269): Refreshed slightly for 2014, Ford's Fiesta brings an engaging drive to the table, as well as the ability to option a very frugal 1.0-litre Ecoboost engine. This power-dense little unit has plenty of torque, and makes the Fiesta into an ideal highway cruiser.
Any Fiesta will be a little sharper-handling than the Note, and while the Ford can't compete on rear-seat space, up front is quite airy. However, the Versa's technology layout is far better, especially in basic mode, and a little more accessible to the casual user.
For a lot more money, the Fiesta also offers a genuine performance trim in its ST model. Considerably more expensive than the SR, the hottest Fiesta is one of the most compelling drives on the market at any price. However, the Nissan will give you the look without the accompanying thirst for fuel.
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