Our spy photographers managed to spot this strange looking test mule that is using some derivative of a Nissan Note body in Southern Europe. From the pictures, it looks like it has shorter rear doors and a wider track. It has French-registered number plates, and was apparently seen coming out of a Renault test garage.
So, what exactly is the story with this vehicle? Some quarters are suggesting that it could it be a prototype for a small car platform that may spawn cars like the next-gen Renault Clio or Nissan Micra.
As we reported earlier, there are plans for a new Nissan Micra based on the Nissan Sway concept, and since the collaboration between Nissan and Renault is quite close, especially with the Renault-Nissan CMF modular architecture, what we could be seeing here is a Nissan Micra based on the CMF-B platform.
Since it’s a bit too early for a Renault Clio refresh (it has not even gone through its mid-life facelift), it will be an educated guess that this could be a test mule of the Micra. Based on our earlier article, Trevor Mann, chief performance officer at Nissan Europe, said that the Micra will get a boost in terms of quality, with a more serious look and discard its bubbly design. More importantly, it will also be bigger in size.
If the Nissan Micra does move up in size, would it be formidable enough to take on more established models like the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo? Well, only time will tell.
