Previously shown in a teaser pic last week, the Pulsar marks the carmaker’s return to the C-segment and the revival of the Pulsar name. Designed and engineered for Europe, the model will be built at Nissan's Barcelona plant

Bearing a strong resemblance to its Qashqai and X-TRAIL big brothers with a bold design including the Nissan V-motion grille, signature boomerang-shaped lights with LED headlamps, the Pulsar is intended to bring ‘a new dimension to the C-segment, offering all the familiar Nissan qualities in a stylish new package’.

At 4,385mm the Pulsar is slightly longer than the Golf but is said to have the longest wheelbase in the class (2,700mm) helping it to offer ‘considerably more rear legroom and shoulder room than its sector rivals’.

The all-turbo engine line-up is focused on efficient and powerful drivetrains. There’s the 115PS 1.2-litre DIG-T petrol unit, while the 1.5-litre dCi generates 110PS and 260Nm of torque. A 190PS 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine will join the range early in 2015. Nissan also says CO2 outputs are below 95g/km.

The Pulsar is also offered with Nissan's XTronic automatic transmission, engineered for smooth power delivery at low engine speeds and positive, direct shifts under heavier loads.

Advanced technologies are a key focus and include Nissan's Safety Shield set of systems and technologies that combine to offer a fully comprehensive "safety net" for drivers. These include Forward Emergency Braking, Moving Object Detection, Lane Departure Warning and Blind Spot Warning.

As part of its drive to deliver sector-first technologies, Nissan says the Pulsar is the only car in its sector to offer Moving Object Detection, Lane Departure Warning and Blind Spot Warning as standard on at least one model in the range.

The Pulsar also features Nissan's second-generation NissanConnect system with features including full smartphone integration, Google Send-to-Car and access to a wide variety of useful and informative apps.