Nissan's Blitz of Friendly Fire

NISSAN HAS DROPPED a concept car bomb on its bland saloons and hatchbacks with the Friend-ME, an excruciatingly named but very desirable take on the compact saloon.

Like Audi with the A3 four-door and Mercedes with the CLA, Nissan clearly has an eye on the compact saloon market. It says the Friend-ME concept is 'applicable globally', though the hotspots are the USA and China, where the concept was uneiled.

You can't knock the business case: the C-segment is China's biggest, and the Friend-ME is aimed specifically at the Chinese equivalent of Thatcher's children (Deng Xiaoping's children?), the 240million people born in the 1980s.

This 20-something, middle class demographic - especially the males - 'will shape automotive trends worldwide for decades to come,'says Francois Bancon, not a famous Irish artist but a Nissan product planner.

Nissan envisages the Friend-ME as a sort of social club, where only-children can meet and share things swiped from their smartphones to big shared screens.

The exterior design is far removed from the long-gone Almera, and today's Versa/Tiida which is inflicted on US and Chinese buyers. The glasshouse is reminiscent of the GT-R's   ,and the flowing wings look shared with the Inifiniti Essence concept. The deep, U-shaped nose is a strong take on the front end that's being rolled out on Nissans globally. Under the skin, the Friend-ME adopts an existing platform, and runs hybrid power, as most concept seem to.

Heavily Scuplted Bodywork

• It's all about 'distilled Da Qi' or, gibbers Nissan, standing out while going with the flow. Presumably by wearing Vivienne Westwood clothes in the dark.

Long, Wide Stance

• The look of the car is given a boost by the low and wide stance, giving butch proportions and plenty of presence.

Hybrid Platform

• Underneath the swoopy bodywork is an existing Nissan floorpan with a hybrid drivetrain. Car is poised for a production green light.

Flying Buttresses

• There's a hint of Ferrari 458 about the C-pillar buttresses, and glasshouse very GT-R. All told, the Friend-ME stands out from typical bland Japanese saloons.