(Image courtesy of Nissan)
It’s no secret that manual transmissions have been going the way of the Dodo—if Ferrari has moved on from it, then it’s clear we are in Code Red. Now, for 2026, we can name one more casualty in the name of “progress.”
The Nissan Versa has the lowest base price out of any car in the American market. The base model, the Versa S FWD, includes a five-speed manual for around $18,330. However, since less than 5 percent of 2024 Versas sold last year in America was the Versa S FWD with the standard transmission (that’s about 2000 cars), Nissan will no longer offer the transmission or the trim level on our shores.
Car and Driver reports that the Versa is built in Aguascalientes, Mexico, one of the many countries whose exports to the U.S. will be affected by President Trump’s tariffs. A 25-percent tariff will raise the Versa’s price by over $4500, which will likely reduce the take rate of the manual transmission even more.
“While automakers might be able to absorb tariff costs on higher-priced vehicles while still returning a profit, the typically thin profit margins on affordable cars make such an increase far more damaging,” says the Ann Arbor periodical. As such, it makes sense for Nissan to call it a day for the five-speed and focus on the most popular configurations in order to improve production efficiencies.
If nothing changes in our crystal ball, the Honda Civic Si will become America’s cheapest car with a manual transmission at just over $30,000.
