New Nissan Pulsar Revived to Compete with Europe’s Hatchbacks
Starting this fall, Nissan will be ready to compete with Europe’s best-selling C-segment hatchbacks. This is because they’ve just pulled the curtains off their revived Nissan Pulsar, a car the world hasn’t seen since 2000. However, this new European offering will come back to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the VW Golf, Vauxhall Astra and Ford Focus.
Check it out for yourself below:
As you can see, the new Nissan Pulsar fits right in with the rest of the Japanese automaker’s lineup complete with its signature V-motion grille. It’s designed to slot below the Qashqai and X-Trail/Rogue, and it’s built on the same CMF2 modular architecture as the two larger SUVs. Other noteworthy design similarities include the boomerang-shaped LED headlights and the curvature of the front clip and wheel wells.
With the exterior out of the way, let’s talk about the part of the new Nissan Pulsar you can’t see – what’s under the hood. Nissan has adopted a policy of efficiency with their latest vehicles, and that trend continues here with a relatively low-displacement engine range. However, what the engines lack in size they make up for with technology; each and every engine option includes a turbocharger. As for the actual stats, you’ll find that the three engine options closely mirror those available in the Qashqai:
- 1.2 liter DIG-T (direct injection turbo) petrol engine with 113hp
- 1.5 liter dCi (direct common-rail injection) diesel engine with 110hp
- 1.6 liter DIG-T petrol engine with 187hp, although this one won’t join the range until early 2015.
Thanks to the sheer efficiency of the engine range, the Nissan Pulsar is able to achieve CO2 outputs below 95g/km at every level. But, the technology used in the Pulsar’s powertrain is only the tip of the iceberg… There are even more techy features inside.
Chief among them is Nissan’s advanced Safety Shield technology suite, a collection of systems that “combine to offer a fully comprehensive ‘safety net’ for drivers.” These include Forward Emergency Braking, Moving Object Detection, and Lane Departure and Blind Spot Warning.
The revived Nissan Pulsar will also offer the longest wheelbase in Europe’s C-segment at 2,700mm, or 8.8 feet. This translates into massive trunk space and an extremely spacious cabin. In fact, Nissan boasts that the 692mm of rear knee room is “more spacious than many D-segment offerings.” Unfortunately, one area in which the Japanese car maker has fallen down again is in the sheer blandness of the styling. There is no classic shape (like the Golf), nor any sense of excitement and innovation (such as you see in Citroen’s latest design). It’s destined to chug a long as a solid choice, but is unlikely to capture the hearts and minds of most consumers.
Unfortunately, as of right now it doesn’t look like the Nissan Pulsar will ever be available outside of Europe. The new hatchback will be manufactured in Nissan’s Barcelona factory, and will likely go on sale in the fall for something around 15,000 pounds, or about $25,000 at today’s exchange rates.
If you’d like to see a bit more of the new Nissan Pulsar, you can watch a short promo video for it below:
