It appears Nissan has read my post from last week, about how to become Europe’s best selling Asian car brand again, in which I explained my idea that the key to Europe for them lies in the subcompact car segment. The current Micra is a bit too small in size and its looks aren’t appealing enough to the European car buyer. The Toyota Yaris outsells the Micra by more than 100.000 units a year, thanks to being designed in and for Europe, and being produced here as well (in France).

At the Geneva Auto Show this week, Nissan has lifted the curtain from the Sway, a concept car that hints at a future entrant in the subcompact car segment, although Nissan won’t admit outright this will be the new Micra. Its bold design with the trademark V-motion grille, boomerang-shaped rear lights, and floating roof make the Sway a better fit into Nissan’s line-up, whereas the Micra stands out from the rest of the family like a sunburnt gingerhead Englishman in Istanbul. However, I can also see a little influence from Renault in the design, most notably the differently colored section at the bottom of the doors and the rear hatch, with its straight vertical section and the sharp edge around it. [Read more…]