Nissan’s Nuvu – a futuristic 2+1 urban concept car – and a new Suzuki Alto-based city car will make their debuts at the Paris motor show in October 2008.
Nissan Nuvu?
The Nuvu name literally means ‘new view’, so the concept previews urban transportation for the next decade. Pictures won’t be released until Paris, but we know the Nuvu will feature similar electric technology to the EV-02 prototype and the production EV that Nissan will unveil at the 2009 Tokyo motor show.
What else should I know about Nuvu?
It’s a mere three metres long, 1550mm wide and 1700mm tall, with a 1980mm wheelbase. (A Smart, by comparison, measures 2695/1559/1542/1867.) Inside the Nuvu you’ll find two regular seats, plus a third ‘occasional’ seat and, Nissan claims, decent luggage space. Sounds like Nissan’s answer to theToyota iQ.
The Nuvu’s all-glass roof features solar panels, shaped like leaves, while the interior features natural, organic and recycled materials.
‘Nuvu is a concept car, for sure, but it is an entirely credible vehicle,’ says Francois Bancon, manager of Nissan’s exploratory vehicles division. ‘It is light, clean and easy to drive. It is practical and a sensible size, yet it also embodies an element of fun: the future doesn’t look so bad, after all.’
Click ‘Next’ below to read about Nissan’s new Pixo city car
When do we get to see the Nuvu?
Not until the 2008 Paris motor show, but in the meantime Nissan has released pictures of a city car you can buy today. The Pixo is based on Suzuki’s new Alto and will be built alongside it in India. It has five doors, four seats and a three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine. Sales start in spring 2009, with prices around £6-7k.
Anything else?
Nissan has revised its Note mini-MPV, with new headlights, grille and bumper, along with darkened rear lights. Under the revised bodywork are suspension tweaks, a tweaked interior and a worked-on 1.5-litre diesel that now produces 119g/km of CO2.
The revised Note will also get Nissan’s new Connect sat-nav, audio and communication system in early 2009, before it’s available on other vehicles later in the year. The touch-screen system features MP3 and Bluetooth technology.