Geneva motor show 2012: Top 10 cars - Nissan Invitation

The Nissan Invitation sparked a national news story on the opening morning of the show, when Nissan revealed the car will be built at its factory in Sunderland.

Of course, the show car is a concept version, so we’ll expect it to be toned down before it rolls off the production line. Even so, the Invitation hints at a much more appealing vehicle than the relatively boxy Note. The practical styling is masked on the five-door show car by a lot of bodywork creases that make it look more swoopy than it really is. If this can be retained on the production car, then it could be a really stylish small hatchback. It’ll be green, too – expect the cleanest version to emit less than 100g/km of CO2.

It also ought to be affordable. As a direct replacement for Nissan's baby 'MPV hatchback', the Note, we’d expect the Invitation to cost from around £12,000.

Bentley EXP 9 F
Audi A3
Renault Zoe
Seat Toledo
Mercedes A-Class
Ford Kuga
Fiat 500L
Jaguar XF Sportbrake
Volvo V40

John McIlroy

See also: All Geneva motor show 2012 news