On the other hand, the raised hood and sweeping fenders, plus the glasshouse look, are distinctly different, seemingly borrowed from Peugeot's popular 307. Mind you, it wouldn't be fair to just point out similarities to current European competitors, as a large dose of styling content comes from Nissan's global divisions. The combination of beveled and curved edges is inspired by the subcompact Micra, while the thin SkyView roof looks to the 2004 Maxima.
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| The C-Note's cabin could easily pass for that of a production car, though some may argue that it's a bit on the plain side. (Photo: Nissan) |
Around back, the five-sided rear window, stretched 350Z style tail lamps, and low loading lip are similar in design to Mazda's new 3. Still, it looks good. And in North America, the brand's largest market, only the Mazda will cause any comparison as Renault and Peugeot pulled out years ago.
But this presupposes that the C-Note concept will become reality, and then that it will make its way across the Pacific looking even remotely like the very Euro inspired car shown here. One likely way to tell a frivolous concept from a production car in waiting is interior fit and finish. The C-Note's cabin could easily pass for that of a production car. Though some may argue that it's a bit on the plain side, the combination of light and dark earth tones, large windows surrounding and glass sunroof above makes for an airy, welcoming place to be.
Nowadays it's hardly rare to find genuine wood and leather on a car in this segment of the market, and the C-Note follows suit. Nissan uses its experience building premium Infiniti models to its advantage, creating an elegant interior design that includes especially thin air vents and chromed gauges. A simple, yet easy to navigate LCD-based infotainment system is mounted on the center console. Similar to Audi's MMI system, there are six main menus activated by their respective buttons. The large knob in the center adjusts everything from navigation to the audio system.
Not quite a pure hatchback nor a multi-purpose carrier, and definitely not a sport utility vehicle, the C-Note seems to bridge the gap between all popular configurations currently available in the C-segment.