Yaris HB's seem rare on Long Island, a lot of Versa's though

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by Yaristeve

Versas are more common probably because they cost a LOT less than Yarises.

I remember when shopping for my Yaris, I decided to look at the Versa for "due diligence". Walking up to the demo car, I immediately disliked it's styling (especially that triangular shaped C-pillar). Then, it only took about 10 seconds sitting in the car to thoroughly dislike the interior. I think Nissan took a LOT of shortcuts to undercut the Yaris by something like $2000 (?). There is just something cheap feeling about it...

If all you are looking for is a transportation appliance (which most Americans are at this price point), then the Versa is just fine. I actually would prefer to like the car I drive and cars mean much more than just an appliance so, of course, I went with the Yaris...

I had two thoughts after reading the posts above (before seeing your post). My first thought was the same as your first thought. My second thought was the WHY. Cars in this segment, I would think, mainly attract two types of buyers. One, those who are frugel/value oriented/cheap and two, those who might be one or more of those things but also can't afford anything else. OP, don't take this the wrong way (as I love visiting the Tri-State area and don't mean this as an insult), but I would think that given the level of taxation and the COL in your general area, the piece of the pie that MOST people in this market segment have for a vehicle would be less than in other areas where there are fewer (or at least less burdensome) demands on the consumer, and thus the attractiveness of the Versa (not the physical car, but the prospect of ownership).