First look: Will this turn into a Pulsar?

IGNORE the sliding doors and you might be looking at Nissan's vision for a small car beyond the next generation Pulsar.

Okay, a car as mainstream as the Pulsar will not look exactly like the Evalia concept revealed at the Geneva motor show in the past few days, but the futuristic design theme of the five-door should not be ignored.

And that's official from Nissan, which describes Evalia as "potential direction for a contender in the C-segment" - C-segment being Pulsar-size.

Styling features that should flow into production include the curved nose and tail-lights which echo the 350Z sports coupe.

Created by Nissan Design in Europe, the Evalia is meant to combine coupe lines with hatchback practicality.

Among its unique features are those parallel opening front and rear doors and the lack of a central B-pillar - vehicle strength is channelled through the sills and roof. Removing the B-pillar enables easy access to the passenger compartment.

The combined themes of sports and practicality continues with plenty of storage spaces inside, but also a coupe-inspired driving position.

Lowered sports suspension is also part of the concept's package.

The Evalia rides on the same 2.7m platform that underpins the Renault Megane II and will be used under the next Pulsar, which is due in 2005.

The concept car is powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine mated to a seven-speed CVT transmission with paddle shifts.