Nissan's concept car: Sway

Nissan's got a bold new hatchback in the form of Sway.

The compact hatchback was unveiled at the Geneva Show, and gave a glimpse at how the future generation of compact Nissan models will look with a new design language.

"With this new concept car for Geneva, we are experimenting to see how Nissan might be able to bring fresh ideas to the compact hatchback segment," said Shiro Nakamura, Nissan's Senior Vice President and Design and Chief Creative Officer.

Nissan said it designed Sway to "shake up the compact hatchback segment". The concept car has swooping lines, a striking nose and bold colours.

First, let's talk about that bold exterior. There's a V-motion grille, mounted low at the front between twin V-shaped quarter bumpers. Boomerang headlamps sit next to the grille and feature LED lights that look like a pair of eyes.

This car's design is all about contour, which curves over the bonnet and front wheels before dipping towards the centre of the front door. It then sweeps upwards towards the rear of the car.

The car looks cool from the back, too, with boomerang taillights and twin trapezoidal exhaust pipes that peek out from either side of the registration plate.

If you notice, this concept car has no central B-pillar and rear-hinged back doors. That is meant to ease ingress and egress, designers said.

Then there's the floating roof, which features a panoramic glass roof that runs all the way to just above the tailgate.

The colour coordination is definitely unique. The "bluish dawn grey" exterior is matched by a touch of contrasting orange colour, while the interior uses a darker, deeper blue, with high contrasting ivory and orange colours.

Inside, a three-spoke steering wheel has a "back-to-basics" simplicity, with a squared off bottom section and aluminium spokes.

Just two basic instruments face the driver. All other functions are found on a large tablet in the centre of the dashboard that can be used by both the driver and front seat passenger.

The lightweight seats have an aluminium structure and are covered in suede-like fabric partially accentuated with pearl-effect material, featuring what Nissan describes as "stitching techniques more usually found on luxury handbags".

Sway dimensions