2010 Nissan Versa: A Top Safety Pick For Around $10,000
The 2010 Nissan Versa has been named an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick.
The Versa's scores aren't quite perfect though. It earned a rating of just 'acceptable' in the head/neck injury category, with a 'good' score in the rest of the subcategories. Also in side tests, the IIHS noted just 'acceptable' scores in torso and pelvis/leg injury measures, and 'acceptable' with regard to structure and safety cage.
Especially of note is that regarding the Nissan Versa side test, the IIHS said that for the driver, "Measures taken from the dummy indicate that rib fractures and a fracture of the pelvis would be possible in a crash of this severity."
The Versa hasn't done nearly as well in federal crash tests either, with four-star results in all frontal and side impact tests from NHTSA.
That said, from a safety-feature perspective the 2010 Nissan Versa remains one of the better-equipped small cars. Nissan has held the line on the price of its Versa base model—just $9,990—and it includes side and side-curtain bags but not stability control. For security, TheCarConnection.com recommends that you spring for the anti-lock brakes, a $250 must-have option.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
