Nissan Sway Previews Future Supermini Design in Geneva

Big things are happening over at Renault-Nissan, things that could reshape the European automotive market. While the French copied the Qashqai’s success and made their own crossover, Nissan looked at the Clio in order to design a superior supermini. Its name is “SWAY” and it’s a concept car that made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show.

Rumors suggest this is a preview for the next Micra model, and if that really is the case, we couldn’t be happier with Nissan’s work. In 2016, the Micra production will move from India to France, which means it will be like a twin brother to the Clio 4. That’s why the Sway Concept is so much larger and better designed.

How do we know it’s a supermini-like Micra successor and not a Maxima? Because the Sway Concept is 4010 mm long, 1780 mm wide, 1385 mm tall and comes with a 2570 mm wheelbase. Cut away the oversized front wings and you have something nearly identical in proportion to a Clio (2590 mm wheelbase, 4,060 mm length).

At the front, the grille is large, shaped like an inverted trapeze and flanked by the LED headlights. Like the Clio, Nissan’s baby model has hidden its rear doors really well, making it appear like a 3-door coupe instead of a regular car. But it’s the concept’s blue and cream interior that we loved the most. The overall approach is minimalistic, but keeps all the major controls and mixes them with color displays. It puts even the S-Class to shame, so we can never hope to see it enter production.

Another thing that won’t make it on the production car, no matter how much we beg Nissan, are the Sway’s rear-hinged back doors and lack of a B-pillar. Come on, this is a company that puts CVTs on everything, so you can’t ask for Rolls-Royce features.