If you're a Central Carolina Technical College student hunting for a new Nissan Versa in 2026, start with one fact. Nissan ended US production of the Versa in December 2025. New 2025 models may still sit on some lots, and the all-new 2026 Nissan Sentra just stepped in as Nissan's entry point for budget-conscious buyers. The story isn't over. It just changed.
For CCTC students in Sumter and across the four-county service area, that shift lands in a specific way. Commuting from Lee County on US-521, running back and forth between the Broad Street downtown location and the main campus on North Guignard Drive, driving in from Kershaw County (fuel costs are real and they compound fast). A car that burns through a tank every four days hits a student budget differently than one that doesn't.
What's the Plan at a Glance?
Your CCTC week runs across a few campus stops, each with its own timing and parking reality, so the smart move is to match your arrival time and your car's footprint to each one, and the table below maps those stops along the same stretch of Broad Street where our lot sits. Read it as a snapshot of the commute, not a rulebook.
| Campus Stop | What You're Doing There | Best Time to Arrive | Parking Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Campus (506 N. Guignard Dr.) | Classes, labs, student services, library | Before 8:30 a.m. or after 6 p.m. | Surface lots fill fast; arrive early for front-row spots |
| Broad Street Downtown Site (853 Broad St.) | Simulation labs, colliseum-style lecture halls | Mid-morning for scheduled labs | Compact cars navigate the street parking easily |
| F.E. DuBose Campus (US-521, Manning) | Clarendon County coursework, continuing ed | Varies by semester | Open surface lots; roughly 30 miles from Sumter main campus |
| Nissan of Sumter (2600 Broad St.) | Test drive, financing conversation, service | Tuesday through Thursday mornings | Straight down Broad St., 1.7 miles from the downtown CCTC site |
That last row isn't filler. Broad Street connects the downtown CCTC location and our lot without a single highway entrance ramp. Students who know this tend to stop in after class without going out of their way.
The Versa's Real Story for 2026
Nissan has confirmed that production of the Versa for the US market ended in December 2025, making 2025 the final model year for the nameplate stateside, which is a genuine loss for entry-level shoppers even though a handful of new 2025 cars may still be waiting on dealer lots. The 2025 Versa was the last new car in America priced under twenty thousand dollars, and it earned a 5-star overall safety rating from NHTSA. The EPA rated the CVT-equipped model at 32 city and 40 highway. Genuinely impressive for a non-hybrid powertrain.
We'll tell you the tradeoff straight. New 2025 Versas may still sit on some dealer lots while supplies last, but you're not buying into a living model line. That matters for parts availability, service continuity, and resale years down the road. If you're thinking long-term, it's worth weighing (not a dealbreaker, but not nothing either).
The final model gives you 44.5 inches of front legroom (roomy for a subcompact, full stop), up to 15 cubic feet of trunk space, and standard automatic emergency braking across every trim. For a student hauling a laptop bag, textbooks, and a part-time job uniform, that trunk earns its space. We've watched students open it next to their current hatchback and walk away surprised by how much clears the lip.
Browse our pre-owned inventory if a well-maintained used Versa fits your situation. There are solid options in the Sumter market that bring that 40-highway EPA rating within reach at a lower entry point.
The 2026 Sentra Steps Into the Gap
The all-new 2026 Sentra steps into the space the Versa left, arriving as a full ninth-generation redesign that Nissan has named explicitly as the replacement for budget shoppers who want something new off the lot, and it does that on a bigger, better-equipped platform. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder makes 149 horsepower (more than the Versa's 1.6-liter made), paired with a recalibrated Xtronic CVT. Nissan lists the S and SV trims at 30 city and 40 highway (34 combined), nearly matching the Versa's highway number on a larger, more refined platform.
Now for the honest part. The Sentra costs more than the Versa did, and that's the market reality right now. If your budget is locked and a used Versa gets you there, that's a legitimate path. But if you have room to step up, the Sentra delivers a standard 12.3-inch touchscreen on every trim, plus Nissan Safety Shield 360 across the board. That means automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. All of it standard equipment, no optional packages required. For a student driving US-378 into Columbia for a clinical rotation or a second job, that safety suite on a budget sedan is a markedly different proposition than it was a generation ago.
Why a Sumter Commute Tests a Car Differently
Sumter's geography spreads CCTC students across a wide area, so a car here has to handle several commutes at once, from the main campus on North Guignard a few miles north of downtown to the separate Broad Street site, with Kershaw County students on US-601 and Lee County students on US-521. That's not one commute pattern (it's four or five different ones converging on the same parking lot at the end).
In practice, you're not choosing between city driving and highway driving. You're doing both, sometimes in the same trip. A car with strong numbers in each condition (the Versa's 32 city / 40 highway, or the Sentra's 30 city / 40 highway on the base trim) actually fits that split better than a vehicle optimized for one or the other.
SC Midlands summers add a real variable. August in Sumter regularly runs into the low-to-mid nineties, and an AC system working hard in stop-and-go traffic on North Guignard will shave a few mpg off your real-world numbers below the EPA estimate. That's not unique to Nissan (it's physics). Just budget for a small gap between the sticker rating and what you'll actually see in August.
The Nissan Kicks is worth a look if the sedan format isn't a firm requirement. Students who need more cargo flexibility or prefer the taller seating position find it fits the same budget tier, different shape, same affordability logic.
Getting to Campus in the Car That Actually Fits
A student commuter car earns its keep by getting you to class, getting you to work, and leaving your textbook budget intact at the pump, not by impressing anyone in the parking lot, and both the used Versa and the new Sentra are built to do exactly that. The rest is just matching the car to your week.
Our financing team works with first-time buyers, including students establishing credit for the first time. The process is more straightforward than it looks from the outside, once you're sitting down with someone.
The 2025 Versa was a genuinely good car for this purpose, and we'll say that plainly. Discontinuation doesn't change what it delivered. If a pre-owned Versa lands in your budget, it earns serious consideration. And if you're stepping into something new, the 2026 Sentra carries that same 40-mpg highway number onto a more capable, better-equipped platform (the one Nissan built specifically to fill the gap it left).
We're on Broad Street. So is your campus. Come see us.
By the Nissan of Sumter Team | August 2026
