Nissan Juke Crossover 7‐Seater

Nissan's brave SUV crossover model breaks its own sales figures for the Japanese, the UK and the US markets. The Juke is similar to the Qashqai and Qashqai+2 Seven Seater, but the Juke only has 5 seats. Prices vary from just under £13,000 to po 19,945.00.

Exhibited at Geneva Motor Show

First reaching print at the Geneva Motor Show in 2009, the Qazana concept car soon came to fruition and was released to the public in June 2010. The Juke, as it’s now known, has sold 1,300 units more than the Japanese car maker predicted in its first month, and sales figures continue to grow.

Sunderland Manufacturing

In the UK, the cars are built at Nissan's plant in Sunderland, and this means that there are parts available at all times. The brave design, with its swooping flanks and high waistline, gives the Juke its unique profile, and it seems to take a well-known manufacturer to go all out when it comes to design in order to draw customers these days.

Design

The front end has a staggered array of lights, with the main headlights being almost on the bonnet and two larger fog lights, akin to the lights of rally cars of the 1960s and ‘70s, in the protruding bumper. Following styling cues from the Nissan Murano, the Juke is a more compact and versatile 'sport utility vehicle'.

Nissan Juke pictured above.

Engines Available

There are three engines available: 1.5 and 1.6 petrol engines, and a 1.5 diesel. The 1.5s dip into a cheap car tax bracket, helping owners to save over the year. The 1.6 has two variants; one with a turbo charger attached and one without. The turbo car gives the SUV firework-like throttle response and similar performance, to boot. Its 0-60mph time is 8.0 seconds, which is into 'hot-hatch' territory. The 1.5s reach the benchmark figure in and around 11 seconds.

Gear Boxes

There is a choice of gearboxes; a five-speed manual and a six-speed automatic. The latter has continuously variable transmission (CVT) that gives it seamless delivery when changing gear. The CVT box helps with fuel economy as it chooses the most efficient gear ratio for each given speed.

It's a short-wheelbase SUV and should be treated as a tall, city car, not an off-roader. The rear seats can be a squeeze for adults due to the sloping roof. The boot space is adequate for a car of this size and has the help of a 60/40 split rear seat arrangement, to help carry larger items.

During the first four months of availability, there has been 20,000 cars sold in Japan, 30,000 in Europe and more than 17,500 have winged their way to US customers. The popularity of the unique looking Nissan Juke has been incredible and has completely exceeded the Japanese manufacturer’s expectations.

Complaints?

There are complaints of the ride being too firm, but for such a fun-looking, snazzy SUV, there's bound to be a niggle or two. From a bystander's point of view, the Juke certainly turns heads, and there is of course Nissan's ever-faithful reliability to take into consideration. While it might not be the most economical or the cheapest to buy outright, there's almost nothing else like it on the road today.

.more...

• Qashqai +2;
• Pathfinder;
• Patrol GR;
• Nissan Qashqai 2 - 2012;
• Nissan Qashqai 2 - 2011;
• Nissan NV 2000 Taxi Cab.