2014 Nissan Versa Note Pushes the Little Hatchback Forward

Perhaps this new version of the Versa, then, can change our minds a bit. Meet the Versa Note – the cuter, five-door version of the li'l sedan, making its debut here at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.

Aesthetically, the Versa Note is a pretty pleasant-looking thing; we've seen it before in JDM-spec. It's a decidedly aerodynamic thing, too, with a drag coefficient of just 0.29. And because of that – as well as an efficient little powertrain – the Note will achieve up to 5,88 L/100km on the highway.

Under the hood is Nissan's 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine churning out a furious 109 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque. Like, well, every other Nissan car, the Versa is equipped with a continuously variable transmission and will drive the front wheels exclusively. Base S models can be had with a five-speed manual transmission, but the moment you step up to a higher trim level, the do-it-yourself shifter goes away.

There's a whole bunch of technological goodies available on the Versa Note, as well, including Nissan's excellent AroundView Monitor that'll give you a bird's eye view of your surroundings. NissanConnect is also available on SL models with the technology package, equipped with things like NavTraffic, NavWeather, hands-free text messaging, streaming audio, Pandora and Bluetooth, all housed in a 5.8-inch touch-screen.

What's really attractive about the Note is its starting price: $13,990. That represents a $2,000 increase over the base Versa sedan, but well undercuts a lot of competitors in the segment.