Nissan Intima Concept

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What is it?
Nissan Intima

What's special about it?
With commuter traffic as out of control in Japan as it is in New York or Southern California, it's not surprising that manufacturers have begun designing cars not just for driving, but for long-term habitation. Nissan's Intima sedan draws upon the company's "Modern Living" design concept, which also influenced the Tiida, known to us as the Nissan Versa.

As roomy as the Versa feels, it's dwarfed by the Intima's size and extravagance. Rich-looking leather and wood are used in such quantities that this four-door sedan could only be a prototype for a luxury flagship. Naturally this invites speculation about the future of the discontinued U.S.-market Infiniti Q45. Yet the Intima is significantly shorter than the Q45, which was last sold in the U.S. in 2006. With a 111-inch wheelbase and an overall length of 196 inches, Nissan's concept is roughly the same size as a Mercedes-Benz CLS550 — and with its reverse-hinged rear doors, perhaps it is another attempt at a four-door coupe.

If so, the Intima doesn't strike one as a particularly sporting coupe, judging by its sizable front and rear overhangs, modest wheel arches and recliner-like seating. The front passenger seat swivels up to 80 degrees to ease entry and exit. A four-zone automatic climate control system eliminates any possibility of mild discomfort by using infrared sensors to match heating and cooling to the body temperatures of the occupants and a grape seed-base polyphenol filter to cleanse incoming air of potential allergens. A glass roof lets in plenty of natural daylight, while a generous application of backlit blue-green acrylic panels assures a light-filled cabin even on cloudy days.

Nissan also notes that the Intima includes driving aids like adaptive cruise control and its new Around View Monitor. The latter feature, which makes its debut on the Infiniti EX35 sport-utility, is an enhancement on conventional rearview cameras. Images from four cameras mounted on each side of the vehicle are pieced together into a single 360-degree overhead view to give the driver a better read on his surroundings.

You might expect a V8 under the hood, but instead the Nissan Intima has a turbodiesel V6. It's undoubtedly the same 3.0-liter motor Nissan is planning to put into the 2010 Maxima.

What's Edmunds' Take?
We suspect a production version of the Nissan Intima would be only for the Japanese market. In addition to this concept car's unusual proportions, it lacks the athletic stance characteristic of current U.S.-market Infiniti models and likely wouldn't appeal to its largely male customer base. — Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor