I was so surprised about the Nissan Versa that I went on-line and reviewed the latest Motorhome towing guide, which supposedly only lists vehicles that are approved for towing by the manufacturer (eg. my Mini is not listed). It states just what was true for our 2013 Versa sedan. For towing the manual transmission, it says to just make sure that the gear shift is in neutral, and idle it for 2 minutes every 500 miles. The car even has an intermediate position on the ignition switch where you can turn everything off but not lock the wheel. Are you absolutely sure that this isn't what the current owner's manual states?? It is a very basic car, but it made a great toad.
Ed