Nissan will come full circle at Geneva 2010 by giving the Juke crossover its debut, which is the production version of the Qazana concept first shown at 2009's show.

We've already had a load of pictures of the Juke, which will be built in Sunderland and thus provide a shot in the arm for UK car manufacturing - but the true test will be how it looks in the metallic flesh. Nissan admits it's pretty much a smaller Qashqai, though it will stand or fall on the detail; if it looks too weird in real life, the Citroen C3 Picasso offers all kinds of similarly funky, cubic space for kids.

The Juke will be available in four-wheel drive and be powered by petrol and diesel engines with outputs stretching to a heady 187bhp, as well as coming with five- and six-speed manuals or a CVT automatic transmission. Its proportions mean it should seat four real persons in comfort too, while being slightly more dynamic than the average van-like mini-MPV.

In other news, Nissan has announced that it will also unveil the first car built on its new global small car chassis, named 'V platform'. It's widely expected that this will be the new Micra, though no pictures or official information has emerged as yet, and we wouldn't be surprised if Nissan keeps it that way until March so it has something surprising to pull the covers from.

A few makers, most notably Ford, are now migrating towards global platforms that will blur the traditional lines between markets (Europe, America and Asia) in order to save development and manufacturing costs. It's thought that Nissan is developing three cars on the V platform at present, two of which will be US-only, though more could follow in Europe - if Nissan has any niche gaps left for small cars, that is. It now has the Micra, the Cube, the Note and the Juke all vying for broadly similar clientele.

Mark Nichol - 16 Feb 2010