Nissan hasn't offered a proper C-segment hatchback in Europe since the rather insipid Almera rode into the sunset back in 2006.
Back then Nissan thought that the market for conventional hatchbacks in that class was waning and so focused its attention on the Qashqai crossover. A good-enough move, but... the segment hardly died now did it?
Now Nissan is itching to get back into the picture and it has the seventh-generation VW Golf firmly in its sights.
Nissan's product planning head, Andy Palmer, has revealed some of its secrets to various European media sources and he promises that it's going to be a striking product.
DARING DESIGN
Palmer told the UK's Auto Express that we can expect something somewhat more daring than the Golf:
“We can go after customers bored with the Mk VII. We can be more provocative - that's the advantage of the guys that come afterwards.”
Palmer also mentioned that the front end would be a little bit edgy: “You can see what we have been doing recently with the V-grille going into the hood.”
While it is widely believed that the hatchback will take its design cues from the Invitation Concept, we'll go out on a limb and speculate that it may also take some inspiration from the recent Friend-ME concept car.
Firstly, the latter is far more striking in its design and the Invitation concept was really just a preview of the latest Nissan Note MPV. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between.
DYNAMIC CHASSIS
Yet Nissan's new offering, which is due in 2014, is not going to rely on its looks alone to fight the C-battle - they've also put considerable effort into making it great to drive.
To that end, Palmer told Autocar that: “It's not a VW Golf, but it'll give you a similar, secure impression from behind the wheel.”
“What we've got is something very precise and predictable - relaxing to drive. But it's also got some of the handling satisfaction you get from a Ford Focus.”
The as-yet-unnamed hatchback would be designed primarily for the European market and built on the Alliance-C platform that also underpins the Renault Megane.
As far as engines go, we'd naturally expect to find a version of Nissan's supercharged 72kW 1.2 DIG-S engine in the base model, while top models are sure to have a version of the 140kW 1.6-litre DIG-T found in the Juke.
Whether Nissan can pull off a credible Golf and Focus rival remains to be seen but recent products like the Juke give us considerable hope and we're already fantasising about the Nismo version.