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The company hopes to change that with an aggressive styling theme seen on the new Murano, Maxima, and this 2015 Geneva Motor Show concept car.

The Nissan Sway previews what a compact hatchback would look like with this new styling theme, and the result is certainly more engaging than the boring Pulsar hatch Nissan currently sells in Europe.

At the front, Nissan’s new corporate grille and “boomerang” headlights tie the Sway to other models, while big air intakes hint at performance production versions may not actually have.

An interesting feature is the fold of sheetmetal above the front fender, part of a design flourish that connects to the taillights. It’s probably meant to give the Sway a more muscular appearance, but it also kind of makes the car look like a wrinkled shirt.

The floating roof is another element taken from recent Nissan designs, while the lack of a B-pillar increases the amount of glass to make the interior feel roomier.

That interior borrows design cues from the popular IDx concepts from the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.

It features a “back to basics” approach, with plenty of exposed aluminum structural pieces and just two instruments facing the driver. Most information is conveyed by a touchscreen display on the center stack.

The seats are essentially aluminum frames covered in a suede-like material, with stitching inspired by luxury handbags, Nissan says. That’s probably not a detail you’ll find on any production econobox.

In fact, the Sway isn’t intended for production at all, but it would be great to see some of its styling ideas used to reinvigorate Nissan’s small cars.

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