If you’ve ever met me in real life, you’d laugh that I’ve had the pleasure of test driving cars for a few companies in order to share them with the world. I carry my geek girl badge with pride — and am the go-to tech support person for the majority of people in my life — but I am in no way, shape or form a mechanical person. When I first started driving I decided that the little red light on my dash that you might know as “Check Engine” meant “turn around immediately and drive to dad’s house.”

When I was a teenager, I’m pretty sure I only had two criteria in a car: a cool (and loud) stereo and preferably a fun colored car (I wanted purple at the time). Now that I’m a few years beyond teenagerdom, I still may treat the check engine light as “oh em gee must call boyfriend“, but I most definitely know what to look for in a car.

If I were getting a brand new car today, these are the items that would be on the top of my “Want” list:

• a car payment that won’t make my bank account cry;
• a roomy backseat and enough trunk space for a successful trip to Costco (this statement officially brands me as an adult);
• a music system that gives me exactly the music I want to listen to (hello iPod/iPhone, goodbye radio);
• and a car that can handle any kind of road, adverse weather, and most of all … u-turns.
• (optional: I’m still thinking I might want a pink car eventually. But not Mary Kay pink.)

When Nissan asked me to go to Seattle to try out the soon-to-be-released 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan, my first thought was “yay Seattle!” and my very next step was must research this car. I almost fell on the floor when I saw the price on this thing – just under 11k! From the low price, I wasn’t expecting much from the car, but I was pleasantly surprised.

On Saturday morning of our weekend in Seattle, we were prepped with a driver checklist including a rundown all of the specifications and all sorts of other nerdy stuff over breakfast. And then came the good part! On being escorted to the hotel garage, we saw a lineup of shiny new cars, all beautifully arranged. This is when I reallllllyyy thought someone had been misquoting the price to us. If I saw that car on the street, there’s no way I’d guess it was an economy car.

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around Seattle. We got to explore the city, drive up some MEGA hills, and may have done an impromptu how-quick-does-this-thing-stop-in-the-rain test. Related: did I mention my mom went on this trip with me? Like many Gen-Yers, I have a great relationship with my mom. We’ve traveled all over the world and I’d definitely include her in major purchasing decisions, so it only seemed natural that she was part of the test driving experience. In fact, my first driving impressions and learn-to-drive experience happened in her Nissan, so I have a special place in my heart for the brand.

My final verdict on the Nissan Versa: A+. If I had to pick one feature to highlight, I’d say I love the way it handled. I’ve never driven on such steep hills as Seattle and that car had some serious get-up-and-go to it. My second favorite feature has to be the iPhone integration. Bet you can’t guess the first thing I did when I got in the car. Ever heard the nerd saying ABC? It stands for “Always Be Charging”. When we got in, I plugged my iPhone in mostly so it wouldn’t die and so that I could continue my picture taking adventure, but was surprised when my music started play automatically. Another fun feature of this car is the backseat. Nissan’s Product Manager, Mark, was doing a demo for us and he sat in the backseat to show us how much legroom he had even at 6 foot tall! The only downside (for me) is that it doesn’t come in pink :)

Last but certainly not least, here’s what my mom thought about the Versa:

“The Versa held the road so well even on wet and curvy streets. It is very peppy on take off unlike lots of smaller cars which you feel like you need to hang your leg out and peddle on take off. The leg room in the front and back seat was simply mind blowing in a good way. Overall, the versa was fast fun and exciting.. Thanks Nissan for yet another brilliant car!”

*disclaimer: Nissan provided travel and accommodations for this trip as an opportunity to test drive the 2012 Nissan Versa. All opinions expressed here are my own. If you want to know more about the Versa you can visit: Nissan Versa. Innovation Upsized. The photos in this post were either taken by me or provided by Nissan.

And so I leave you with this, how do you think car shopping now differs from that “first car” hunt in your teens? What is on your “want” versus “must” list now?