The new Versa Sedan from Nissan offers some of the cheapest real estate on the market today. Completely redesigned for 2012, Nissan touts the new little four-door as “Small on the outside, big on the inside.” And actually it isn’t really that small on the outside.

What is small is the pricetag as compared to the market today. For 2012, Versa Sedan rolls in at just under 11 grand. Yes, $10,990 will get you a brand new Nissan, if you can find one of those entry models on the dealer lot. Figure spending something more in the ballpark of 15-16 large for one with most of the necessities.

Other taglines associated with the new Versa are “Small when you need it, Big where you want it” referring to a small powertrain that sips fuel ever-so-miserly but rearseat legroom that competes with large luxury sedans costing 4-5 times more.

As with most new Nissan products, the 2012 Versa Sedan comes with a peppy-for-its-class 1.6 four-cylinder engine backed by a CVT transmission. This combination, while a bit noisy when accelerating at a brisk pace, offered surprisingly quick action and very decent fuel economy of 30 mpg city and 38 mpg highway. Most of our driving was in town and we saw nearly 35 mpg even when being a bit abusive on the accelerator.

I mentioned the rearseat space a bit earlier. The new Versa Sedan is cavernous inside. Four adults ride in comfort although low pricing does impact the list of basic amenities a bit, like, NO VANITY MIRRORS. Not for myself, of course, but the “civility” of my civil union was put to test when Tish wanted to check her makeup.

While the standard amount of space was available on the window sticker the new Versa Sedan SV we recently took delivery on used less than half of that provided. There was a stereo system but no power trunk release at all, power windows and locks are not on the base model car, and I really cannot remember the last time I rode on 15-inch wheels and tires. Oh, and carpeting was extra, too.

Nissan does include a host of safety equipment in the new Versa Sedan including front and side airbags, ABS braking, traction control and vehicle stability control and even side curtain airbags and tire pressure monitoring system.

A base S Versa Sedan is offered with a five-speed manual gearbox but upfit SV and SL models only arrive with the CVT. Should you wish to load your new Versa Sedan with current technology Nissan does offer Convenience and Tech packages with the latter bringing nav and XM radio. Our SV tester with only the carpeting added to it came in at $15,490.

Let me not mince words here, the new Versa Sedan from Nissan is cheap. It does offer value by today’s standards and it DOES offer an unbelievable amount of space but it is still a cheap car. Even the best social marketing plans by Nissan will probably not elevate this vehicle to iconic status but for an affordable deal it is worth a look. And for those of you wondering, the Versa hatchback was not touched this model year, it is a carryover. Nissan could only afford to send one of its kids to college this year.

 

The Cadillac SRX is all-new for 2012 – under the hood that is. The current generation luxury crossover came to life a couple of years ago after a complete transformation that brought SRX from a “don’t-call-me-a-wagon” wagon to a modern sport-luxe utility.

Sharing the same platform as the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain, the 2012 SRX now sports one engine offering, that being a peppy direct-injection 3.6-liter V-6 that cranks out 308hp and 265 lb. ft. of torque. This is sent to the front or all four wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox with a driver-selectable Eco mode for enhanced fuel economy.

SRX models sporting the AWD chassis gain a limited-slip rear differential that allows power to be distributed to the wheel with the best traction.

The new SRX bespeaks modern Cadillac and features state-of-the-art amenities and sharp styling cues. It offers quiet and confident ride and handling while not giving up too much driving enjoyment.

Cadillac packages the SRX in “collections” as opposed to trim levels. Our recent tester arrived sporting membership in the Premium Collection with AWD running gear and very stylish new-for-2012 bright finish 20-inch aluminum wheels. A tire inflation kit replaces the spare tire.

Occupants are bathed in luxury with leather surfaces everywhere and ventilated and heated seats and this year the heated steering wheel is thrown in although that is one item we did not have the opportunity to test as summer was heading into extra innings.

A large 8-inch touchscreen is at the center of the dash as well as your infotainment world inside the SRX and nearly all physical adjustments in the crossover Caddy are power-assisted. Should the scenic view switch from the side windows to overhead, the SRX has that covered thanks to the Ultraview power sunroof.

Our test model also featured a dual screen rear seat entertainment system with its own DVD player and wireless headphones.

The SRX seats five in comfort and offers ample space in the rear for storage that includes a movable cargo fence with additional cargo space available under the cargo floor for total concealment.

Pricing for the 2012 Cadillac SRX begins around $35 grand for a base model with our loaded AWD Premium Collection tester coming in at $51,055. Fuel economy from the new SIDI 3.6 is 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway.

 

Some things in life just don’t live up to the hype. Take, for instance, the much anticipated iPhone announcement this week. For many it was a disappointment.

Fortunately not all things fall into this category of “much ado/much a didn’t.”

The new Chrysler 300 SRT8 is a shining example of “delivering the goods.”

I was all set to be underwhelmed with this latest overhyped made in Detroit machine. When first seeing the redesign of the model line last year my reaction was melancholy at best and to be perfectly honest I never quite got all the popularity of the 300 since reintroduction several years ago.

Sure, I had driven different iterations of the previous model but it never really did much for me and don’t get me started on that interior again.

Fast forward to delivery of the new 300 SRT8. Here is a true wolf in sheep’s clothing and thank goodness the Chrysler Group team chose to stay the course with rear wheel drive in its large sedan models.

There are many performance vehicles available and they all perform as expected but slipping into this belle of the ball one would be tempted to anticipate a snobbish attitude and that is totally not what the 300 SRT8 delivers.

Stomp the gas and it is as if lightning strikes the Frankenstein laboratory and brings the monster to life. I could almost hear a mad scientist yelling “It’s Alive!” in the background.

Alive it is – all 470 horsepower of its 6.4-liter HEMI V-8. And get this, the new motor features fuel saver technology to improve fuel efficiency to 23 mpg highway. That’s the same highway figure as the new small crossover from Cadillac with a six-cylinder engine. And yes, the 5-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty applies to SRT products.

Best of all is more torque is available over a wider range for some very exhilarating launches. All the power is delivered to the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic gearbox with center console Autostick or new steering wheel paddle shifters.

Taking advantage of the new 300s larger center dash monitor screen, the SRT team adds a host of features available digitally including multiple gauge setups and a dyno wheel showing torque and horsepower output in real time. Trouble is the driver needs to keep his/her eyes on the road so only passengers can enjoy the display. I did hear straight from SRT’s Ralph Gilles that they are exploring new technologies to possibly providing similar information in a head’s up display arrangement.

The sport seating inside the new 300 SRT8 is a comfortable surprise. It is supportive where it needs to be but easily adapts to everyday life in the vehicle.

Chrysler’s new monster rides on 20-inch SRT design wheels with performance rubber at each corner and in addition to all of the standard safety equipment the 300 SRT8 adds sport tuned steering and a two mode adaptive damping suspension that changes from normal to sport at the push of an interactive button on the center display screen. Sport mode also modifies transmission shift points for an enhanced driving experience as well.

And then there are the brakes. I made the mistake of aggressively stomping them once. ONCE. Never did that again.

While SRT does give the new Chrysler 300 some styling upgrades they did so conservatively – I would call it understated, as in street sleeper. And despite this being a large sedan its looks are deceiving when it comes to the feel from behind the wheel. The bulk disappears and the 300 SRT8 feels like you are driving a fine European luxury sport sedan. Think “AMG” or “M.”

Want to share your favorite tunes with all those on the road around you? Just crank up the 900-watt Harmon/Kardon audio system with its 19 speakers. That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.

Base pricing for the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 begins at $47,170 with our tester rocking a $55,635 final sticker and that includes the humorous $1,000 gas guzzler tax.

So while Apple may have let me down this week Chrysler and the SRT team certainly did not.