Van wars: Mitsubishi Versa vs Nissan Urvan

Not too long ago, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation revived the Versa van nameplate, providing a passenger transport tandem to its long-running commercial vehicle, the L300. 

The returning Mitsubishi Versa is a rebadged version of the Nissan Urvan, from its fellow Alliance member, which is also available locally. 

With the two people movers sold side-by-side in the Philippine market, it’s not surprising that fleet operators and even buyers with extended families ask how the two nameplates stack up against each other. 

To answer that question, we pit the cousins against each other to see which van would come out on top. 

Before we get started, here is a quick look at the tale of the tape: 

	Mitsubishi Versa	Nissan Urvan
Dimensions (overall length, width, height in millimeters [mm>)	4,710 x 1,695 x 1,990	4,695 x 1,695 x 1,990
Ground clearance (in mm)	195	195
Wheelbase (in mm)	2,555	2,555

Based on the above numbers, the Mitsubishi Versa and the Nissan Urvan are virtually identical, with the former gaining the edge over its fellow by just a hair when it comes to overall length. So, is a few mm everything the three-diamond-badged van has over its rival? 

Here is a quick look at their exterior appointments: 

Exterior 

At the fore, the new Mitsubishi Versa shares the same fascia as the Nissan Urvan. The grillework also replicates the V-motion aesthetic that identifies the latter’s vehicles. 

The fascia is flanked with multi-reflector halogen headlights with integrated signals, and there appear to be provisions for fog lamps on each side of the front bumper. 

Befitting its role as a people mover, the Mitsubishi Versa has a clean side profile, with blacked-out door handles, a sliding door, and 15-inch steelies covered with silver-colored caps. These wear 195R15C road tires. 

Its clean aesthetic makes the large side panels a good canvas for one’s business ID. 

At the back, the Mitsubishi Versa has an integrated brake lamp at the top of its large rear window, a black garnish on the door handle, bulb-type taillamps, and a rudimentary black bumper. 

In comparison, the Nissan Urvan (specifically the Standard variant) — as mentioned earlier — has the same fascia, the same illumination (no front fog lamps), and a black bumper. 

Aside from Nissan’s logo and the silver garnish on the meshwork, one can’t tell them apart. 

Now, onto the side, the Nissan Urvan Standard gets black-colored mirrors and black door handles, as well as 15-inch steel wheels with 195R15C minus the full wheel cover.

At the back, the same template has been used with a high-mount stop lamp, a large glass, taillamps that use bulb-type technology, and a black bumper. 

In general, the differences between the Mitsubishi Versa and Nissan Urvan are very little. If car buyers are not particular about silver garnishes on the grille (Urvan) or riding with a full wheel cover (Versa), then selecting either model will have little to no impact exterior-wise. 

On that note, this round is a clear tie. 

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Interior 

The cabin of both the Mitsubishi Versa and Nissan Urvan both lean towards utility and durability. Nevertheless, there are still some points to look at, starting with the former having standard fabric seats, two cupholders, and two bottle holders. 

In addition, the Mitsubishi Versa gets a manual air conditioning system with an independent control for the rear passengers and 12 vents. 

For entertainment during long trips, it offers a 1DIN sound system with AM and FM frequencies, as well as two speakers. 

As for the Nissan Urvan, it also has standard fabric upholstery, two cup and bottle holders, and a manual A/C with independent control for its 12 rear vents. 

It also has a single-DIN audio head with AM and FM frequencies sending audio to two decent speakers. 

All-in-all, the cabins of the two vans offer similar amenities for both the driver and passengers. Thus, we have to call this round yet another tie. 

Powertrain, chassis 

Under the hood of the Mitsubishi Versa is a 2.4-liter turbocharged diesel engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The said setup makes 127 horsepower and 356 Newton-meters of torque. 

For halts and deceleration, it relies on ventilated disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear. It also gets anti-lock braking with electronic brakeforce distribution. Suspension-wise, it gets a torsion bar with a stabilizer at the fore and an elliptic leaf spring at the back. 

Likewise, the Nissan Urvan packs the same YD25 DDTi 2.5-liter diesel mill with a five-speed manual gearbox. On that note, the same performance figures are to be expected.

The same disc-and-drum-brake combination allows easy and safe stopping power for the Nissan Urvan. Further, it also uses a torsion bar with a stabilizer, but is now paired with a rigid axle with leaf springs for its suspension setup. 

Both arrangements offer good performance when it comes to power and payload capacity. Hence, the round is another tie. 

Pricing, verdict 

The Mitsubishi Versa is offered in a single variant (GLX MT) priced at P1.649 million. On the other hand, the Nissan Urvan comes with various trims, but the closest to the Versa in comparison is the Standard grade priced at P1.57 million. 

As both vans are neck-and-neck in this battle, the choice between the two falls to one’s personal preference, as the difference between the two is fairly minor. 

To break things down, here are the unique features we spotted:

Mitsubishi Versa	Nissan Urvan
With full wheel cover Uses elliptic leaf spring suspension P1.649 million	With silver garnish on grille  Uses rigid axle with leaf spring suspension P1.57 million

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