NISSAN has released details of its new Golf-class car, the Pulsar.

Any new model from a big manufacturer like Nissan in this part of the market is important news, but the arrival of the Pulsar has even greater significance.

For several years, Nissan has been focusing on niche models and new categories such as crossovers, rather than going head-to-head with big-selling hatchbacks and saloons from the other leading car-makers, and this approach has been wildly successful – the imaginatively designed Qashqai, Juke and the rest have been far more popular than the dull but worthy old Almera and Primera were in their day.

With the Pulsar, though, Nissan is now offering once again a car that is much more directly comparable with big selling hatchbacks such as the Golf, Focus and Astra in one of the most crowded and fiercely competitive parts of the market.

The proof of the car is in the driving of course, but at least Nissan seems to have come up with a look for the Pulsar that is closer to the crisp designs of its recent successful models than the company’s previous old-school hatches.