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It’s teen time where cars are concerned and Nissan heads the pack with its new offering – the Nissan Mixim Concept car. Everything about it spells youth, with the steering wheel and the controls looking so much like computer games controls and the driver’s seat right in the center, with two seats on either side for passengers.
The Mixim was unveiled at the 62nd Frankfurt Motor Show this year and will be on the road in 2012, just in time for this young set of gamers to enter the car market. What the car aims to do is to awaken this young population’s interest in cars.
The Mixim is the first small electric car from a major manufacturer so just that should gather a lot of interest, and a glance at how things are going to be. Further, the target audience is youngsters who are not yet in the car market but who the company is hoping to attract as and when they do enter.
The car is tiny – just 145 inches from one end to the other and is a baby hatchback with rather swoopy lines. This all-electric car can seat three with the driver.
It weighs only 1200 pounds and has got rather crazy but cute interiors. The windscreen is a wraparound style and reminds one of a crash helmet. It’s got LED front driving lights with a rear hatch that opens up to a surprisingly large boot. One can put in a fourth seat here as well. The roof slopes down and the center of the doors has a great big angular slash across them below a triangular window.
There’s more. On the windscreen, you have virtual information displayed on a split screen. Of course, the Mixim is absolutely a ‘green vehicle’ and is in line with the company’s Green Program.
Mixim is powered by compact lithium-ion batteries and has Nissan’s ‘Super Motor’ electric motor/generator. Both the front and the rear axles are powered by these Super Motors so in effect, the Nissan Concept is an all-wheel drive.
Clean, green and young – that’s what this car promises. And at a price that is expected to be in the range of 12,000 to 15,000 dollars. It’s got the appeal for the young – will it convert to sales once they are eligible to drive is the question.