If you look closer you’ll notice that this is in fact not the next Honda Jazz, but rather the venerable little Honda’s compatriot rival.
Nissan has prepared this Jazz competitor to debut at next month’s Geneva motor show, complete with a contemporary, sporty design and front-raked stance that we already love.
Called the invitation concept, the design exercise is a clear clue as to what Nissan’s forthcoming production model will look like, joining the range somewhere in between the Micra supermini and Juke crossover. As such, when it joins the market in 2013, we can safely expect prices to start in the 60 grand range.
Nissan isn’t giving anything away when it comes to technical spe4cificatio s, but if this little thing gets either the 1.6-litre normally aspirated or turbocharged engines available in the Juke, it’s happy days. Those lumps are good for 117bhp and 188bhp respectively, meaning if only the former makes it to the GCC, it will be trumped by the Honda Jazz’s 118bhp VTEC screamer.
The Invitation earns its conceptual name with a large a d airy cabin space, loaded with premium equipment levels. Nissan also promises a focus on safety, and efficiency, aiming to deliver a sub-100g CO2/km variant as well. In addition, the concept features an advanced Around View Monitor and the Nissan Safety Shield Technologies, “which interacts with the driving environment keeping the driver aware of what is happening around the car”.
Modern and athletic styling is just one of the Invitation’s plus points.
Nissan promises leading interior space - it will have to be ingenious to beat the Jazz in that department.
