My wife wanted a new car & was looking at an Aveo. Then she saw 4 Aveos broken down next to the highway & she stopped looking at Aveos.

She got a 2008 manual tranny Hyundai Accent. It got 33MPG thru a hard winter, & tough commute. She let me take Accent for 3 day trips over 1400, 3000, 4000, & 5500 mountain passes into e. Washington & near Mt. Rainier. Feather footed gas tanks went 41.5, 42.6, & 45.1 MPG. Again, this wasn't on a flat highway, but in the mountains. Accent runs 100% & not one squeak, creak, or rattle. The short-shift 5 speed is the 2nd best clutch-shifter combo I've ever used. Nice low (0.31) coefficient of drag. A few months ago I saw Accents selling for $9000 with the 100,000 mile warranty.

I have a Dodge Caliber with CVT tranny. Jatco, owned by Nissan made the CVT. So Versa's CVT is much like Caliber CVT. The 2007 Versa has the worst toxic off-gassing interior of any car. However, the 2008 Versa's off-gassing has improved a lot. Go to HealthyCar.org for info on all cars, a very good website.

I love the CVT which gives motion like auto transportation always should have been. Its magic carpet elegance at its best.

Lots of people don't get good MPG with it. When driven hard, the CVT's internal hydraulic pressure approaches 1000 psi to allow the smooth shifting operation to function. However, I drive with a feather foot & avoid high pressures. My 3000 pound auto CVT Caliber averages 31.4MPH with a highway high of 35.6MPG. I am most proud that my CVT Caliber averages 33MPG on trips over 4000 foot mountain passes, providing a seamless plush ride through the mountains. The CVT takes all the jerkiness out of stop & go traffic.

In the past CVTs that relied on rubber belt drives were not reliable. That is why I stayed away from them for 16 years. The Jatco CVTs for Versa & Caliber use a carbon impregnated steel process(4 times stronger than normal steel) for a pushing mechanism CVT that has made the CVT reliable. Reliability data from Consumer Reports & Michael Kiresh's TrueDelta, indicate that this is true.

If the Nissan CVT Versa had the same good tuning as my Caliber, I probably would have averaged near 34MPG with a highway high of 39 to 40MPG with the Versa. The 6 speed manual Versa tranny is geared low for performance. That is why the CVT Versa gets better MPG than the manual Versa.

I have a CVT in my Ford Awd Freestyle and have manage 32mpg on it. Not bad for a 4200lbs car.