2012 Nissan Versa

minicar / 4-door sedan

2012 Nissan Versa 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2012-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Nissan Versa S 4-door

The Nissan Versa sedan was redesigned for the 2012 model year, but the Versa hatchback was not redesigned and remained essentially unchanged for the 2012 model year. Therefore the small overlap frontal ratings detailed below apply only to the sedan. Also, the sedan's weight was reduced sufficiently to reclassify it as a minicar beginning with the 2012 redesign. (Earlier sedans and the 2007-12 hatchbacks are classified as small cars.)

Following a one-year absence, the Versa hatchback was redesigned for the 2014 model year and renamed the Versa Note. Nissan believes the Versa Note is sufficiently different from the Versa sedan that the two variants do not share ratings.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side and leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward structure. The steering column moved upward 12 cm and 15 cm to the right, contributing to a lack of protection for the head and allowing little airbag cushioning for the chest. The side curtain airbag deployed and had sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed. (Beginning with 2016 models, the driver frontal airbag was changed to a simpler design with flexible venting technology. Because the dummy's head barely interacted with the frontal airbag in the test of the 2014 model, it is unlikely that any changes in dummy kinematics would be expected in 2016 and later models.)

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.

During the crash, the dummy's head and torso barely contacted the airbag before sliding off to the left as the steering column moved upward and to the right. The side curtain airbag extended far enough forward toward the A-pillar to protect the head from contact with forward side structure.

Door hinge pillar and instrument panel intrusion was extensive and contributed to a high risk of injury to the left lower leg and a moderate risk to the left knee.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1334
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 42
Footrest (cm) 23
Left toepan (cm) 16
Brake pedal (cm) 4
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 11
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 10
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 22
Upper dash (cm) 27
Lower instrument panel (cm) 29

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1334
Head
HIC-15 77
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 39
Maximum Nij 0.39
Chest maximum compression (mm) 24
Femur (kN)
Left 3.2
Right 1.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 13
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 1
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 1.81
Right 0.70
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 5.8
Right 2.6
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 89
Right 45

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2012-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 S 4-door

The Nissan Versa sedan was redesigned for the 2012 model year, but the Versa hatchback was not redesigned and remained essentially unchanged for the 2012 model year. Therefore the moderate overlap frontal ratings detailed below apply only to the sedan. Also, the sedan's weight was reduced sufficiently to reclassify it as a minicar beginning with the 2012 redesign. (Earlier sedans and the 2007-12 hatchbacks are classified as small cars.) Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Following a one-year absence from the market, the Versa hatchback was redesigned for the 2014 model year and renamed the Versa Note. Nissan believes the Versa Note is sufficiently different from the Versa sedan that the two variants do not share ratings.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1113
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 6
Left (cm) 10
Center (cm) 9
Right (cm) 10
Brake pedal (cm) 4
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 2
Right (cm) 3
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 3
Rearward (cm) -1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 2

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1113
Head
HIC-15 245
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 20
Maximum Nij 0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm) 40
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 3.2
Femur force - right (kN) 2.5
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 4
Maximum tibia index - left 0.24
Maximum tibia index - right 0.60
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.8
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 1.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 54
Right 54

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2012-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 SV 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Nissan Versa sedan was redesigned for the 2012 model year, but the Versa hatchback was not redesigned and remained essentially unchanged for the 2012 model year. Therefore the side ratings detailed below apply only to the sedan. Also, the sedan's weight was reduced sufficiently to reclassify it as a minicar beginning with the 2012 redesign. (Earlier sedans and the 2007-12 hatchbacks are classified as small cars.)

Following a one-year absence from the market, the Versa hatchback was redesigned for the 2014 model year and renamed the Versa Note. Nissan believes the Versa Note is sufficiently different from the Versa sedan that the two variants do not share ratings.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES1201
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -8.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES1201
Head HIC-15 379
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Compression (kN) 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 27
Lateral force (kN) 1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 25
Average deflection (mm) 21
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.06
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.25
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.4
Acetabulum force (kN) 3.3
Combined force (kN) 4.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 1.1
L-M moment (Nm) 197
A-P moment (Nm) 69

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES1201
Head HIC-15 414
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 1.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 50
Lateral force (kN) 1.9
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 33
Average deflection (mm) 23
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.69
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.41
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.7
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.1
Combined force (kN) 2.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.5
L-M moment (Nm) 103
A-P moment (Nm) 45

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2012-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 S 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 2,412 lbs
Peak force 11,947 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.95

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat with fixed head restraint

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seat with fixed head restraint
Geometry
Backset (mm) 12
Distance below top of head (mm) 40
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 16.7
Head contact time (ms) 48
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 12
Max neck tension (N) 645

Seat type: Manual cloth seat with adjustable head restraint

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seat with adjustable head restraint
Geometry
Backset (mm) 4
Distance below top of head (mm) 20
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 13.7
Head contact time (ms) 50
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 362

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.