2020 Nissan Juke: first drive of reinvented compact SUV

So what about those love-it-or-hate-it looks? Nissan design director Matt Weaver talks lucidly about how the original’s features have been interwoven with elements of the Nissan GT-R 2020 Vision Gran Turismo and Nissan Gripz SUV concepts, but it’s still recognisably a Juke. 

The defined hips, a tapering roofline and concealed rear door handles are retained, but there are hints of Volvo XC40 in its scalloped, clamshell bonnet and Toyota C-HR where the rear wing meets the roof. The reimagined LED headlights aim to create a more cohesive look than the controversial outgoing model’s. 

The same goes for the inside. The uplift in quality is palpable. Even the entry-level Visia trim (as before, mid-spec Acenta and N-Connecta versions will account for the bulk of sales) comes with a soft-touch dashboard. It’s broken up with a strip of squishy, cross-hatched material running the width of the dash, which is mirrored in the door cards. The centre console, window switches and central air vent surrounds come in an agreeable, lacquered, metallic-grey gloss. 

The top spec will be Tekna Plus, which we saw fitted with the optional Midnight styling pack. One of three personalisation packs available, it incorporates contrasting stitching, swathes of Alcantara and gloss black trim. The upshot is a car that feels considerably more premium than before. 

Infotainment has also taken a step forward. The 8.0in touchscreen is glass-fronted and clear. It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wi-fi for up to eight devices and an embedded 4G sim – to facilitate map updates, Google Street View and live traffic. 

There’s a Nissan Connected Services app, which allows you to check on your Juke’s location and speed remotely – handy for parents lending their car to their kids. 

The app also allows you to lock and unlock the car’s doors remotely. You can even hook it up to your Google Home assistant and ask it up to 20 commands (these will grow to 35), such as: “Google, do the tyres need inflating?” 

The Juke also gets height and reach adjustment for the steering wheel for the first time. Space-wise, there’s now room for four six-foot adults, thanks to vastly improved rear knee room and decent head room. The boot has swelled to 422 litres from 354 litres. With a new height-adjustable floor plus – if you don’t add a spare wheel – some under-floor storage, the boot is flexible, too. 

The new Juke will go on sale at the end of November. Expect price rises of between 5% and 10% over the current model.

What’s the new Juke like to drive?

If you were an avid Autocar reader back in the day, you’ll be acutely aware that the original Juke had dynamic vices to go with its questionable looks. Indeed, during an early test, Matt Prior had to pull over to check the tyres weren’t “massively overinflated”. They turned out to be just fine. It simply rode like an unsaddled mule. 

Is the new car any better? It’s tricky to tell after our brief encounter of a prototype, which involved following a Nissan official around a loop of Millbrook test circuit’s hill route. 

There are still nagging doubts. The secondary ride is less jittery over smaller imperfections, but the primary one still feels a bit abrasive over sharper ridges. That said, our car was on 19in wheels, and apparently on 17in rims, with bigger sidewalls and redefined spring and damper settings, it’s much smoother. The suspension has been signed off, though, so fingers crossed. 

The steering is much more fluent now. It’s light but weights progressively and, paired with tight body control, that should bode well for relatively dexterous handling. 

As for performance, the 1.0-litre three-pot feels perky enough to match the unit of identical output in the VW T-Cross. Bearing in mind there’s still a bit of tuning left to do to the throttle response, it accelerates in a linear fashion. The fundamental difference between this installation and the Micra’s is the availability of 15lb ft of torque overboost in all six gears. The Micra has it in the first five ratios only. 

The engine is a tad grumbly at idle and the seven-speed dual-clutch auto (yes, the old CVT has been ditched) introduces more resonance on the move than the six-speed manual gearbox. Both issues have been flagged up with the development team. 

On the topic of gearboxes, Nissan’s engineers want to improve the feel of the manual’s gait, but it’s already better than a Nissan Qashqai’s. The brakes need tweaking, though. They’re strong enough when you reach the meat of the pedal, but the engineers are looking to improve the initial response. So far, then, it’s a cautious thumbs-up. 

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