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Nissan has been a leader in the compact car segment with the Versa as it can offer the four-door sedan along with a hatchback. With the 2014 Versa Note we’re finally seeing the promised redesign for this vehicle, which looks much different that the four-door sedan.

As you can see the vehicle looks stylish, but it’s not overly quirky or funky. Nissan is much more focused on practicality and fuel economy with this vehicle, targeting mostly couples without children.

You can see a video review below, and here are reviews from Edmonds, Autoblog, The Truth About Cars and Bullz-Eye.com.

Here’s some news on smaller cars from From the Detroit Bureau:

Hatchbacks are hot at Ford Motor Co. and the maker’s new Evos Concept – which officially debuts at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week – suggests that even more 3- and 5-door models are in the works, according to the maker’s head of global product planning.

Long considered unacceptable to U.S. motorists, hatchbacks are gaining ground fast with younger buyers and influencing even older motorists to take another look. That convinced Ford to go with a 5-door design for the Evos Concept which introduces a new look that “will become increasingly familiar” to the company’s customers around the world,” said product czar Derrick Kuzak.

“The (hatchback) body style is becoming increasingly popular worldwide and especially in North America,” Kuzak told TheDetroitBureau.com, in sharp contrast with years past.

Where hatchbacks were offered on past-generation Ford products sold in the U.S., said the product chief, they accounted for perhaps 20% of total sales. Now, Kuzak noted, “It’s just the opposite,” hatchbacks generating 60 to 70% of demand for models like the 2012 Ford Focus and 2011 Ford Fiesta.

Check out the full article.

Bullz-Eye.com reviews the new Mazda2 subcompact, and they are quite impressed.

When standing next to the new 2011 MAZDA2, you’ll immediately notice that it looks nothing like the quirky subcompacts introduced over the past several years by other car brands. It isn’t boxy, and it doesn’t look like the designers scrunched up a larger model to fit this smaller class. Rather, you’ll see a sporty design that evokes the “Zoom, Zoom” feel that Mazda has worked so hard to establish in recent years. In a crowded but growing segment, design is critical to attract potential buyers, and Mazda appears to have succeeded in providing an option to consumers who prefer a sporty vehicle as opposed to a more radical, quirky design.

We were invited by Mazda to drive the new car in Montreal, so we were able to put it through the paces on city streets and country roads as well. The results were impressive. The automatic version sports a 4-speed transmission and only 100 horsepower, but the car zips around nicely and you rarely lament the expected lack of power, as Mazda surgically removed unnecessary weight in a meticulous engineering process. Sure, you won’t get impressive acceleration as you’re darting onto the freeway, but the car performs adequately on those roads, and in city driving the car has plenty of power as you zoom through city streets and turn through the tight corners. The car grips the road and is just fun to drive. With the manual 5-speed you get some better acceleration as you’re ramping up to top speed, but we expect you’ll be satisfied with either option.

The subcompact area is growing rapidly in North America, and we expect to see fierce competition in this space as more brands like Fiat enter the mix, but Mazda seems to have a winner with this sporty option.

Fiat might be throwing Chrysler a lifeline.

Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC on Tuesday confirmed the Italian auto maker will take at least a 35% stake in Chrysler as part of a deal to share technology and bring small cars developed by Fiat to the U.S.

The move is an attempt to revive two of the world’s storied auto makers and is likely to eventually give Fiat control of Chrysler’s operations, people familiar with the matter said. Under terms of the deal, Fiat has the option of increasing that to as much as 55%, these people said.

Fiat, the stronger of the two car makers, wouldn’t immediately put cash into Chrysler. Instead, it would obtain its stake mainly in exchange for covering the cost of retooling a Chrysler plant to produce one or more Fiat models to be sold in the U.S., these people said. Fiat would also provide engine and transmission technology to help Chrysler introduce new, fuel-efficient small cars.

The deal is the latest maneuver by Fiat’s chief, Sergio Marchionne, who has pulled the Italian company back from the brink collapse since taking over in 2004.

This might be a great combination. We’ll see how it plays out.