The Volkswagen Golf has been the hatchback benchmark for many years, and competing automakers have never quite cracked its formula. Although there have been several fine efforts, such as the current Ford Focus five-door, the Golf remains numero uno in its segment. Nissan, however, thinks it can do better with its upcoming next-generation Almera, a hatchback that's been around since 1995.

For its entire life it's been only sold in Europe, Japan, and other Asian markets, and likely will never come to the US. Why is that a shame? Because there have been rumors that Nissan is also prepping a high-performance hot hatch variant that'll compete with the likes of the VW GTI and the Ford Focus ST. An Almera with the Nismo treatment would be a winning combo, but at this point it'll remain forbidden fruit to US hot hatch enthusiasts, if it happens at all. These spy shots of the base Almera hatch were just snapped by our spy photographers in Spain, and the production car will likely debut next fall. An Almera Nismo wouldn't happen until 2015.