The trendsetting Nissan Juke crossover is being reinvented for 2020 with an all-new generation. Ahead of that car’s official unveiling in early September, Autocar joined Nissan for a preview of a disguised pre-production model, including a brief stint behind the wheel.
The original Nissan Juke arrived in 2010 with a design that can be best described as polarising. But that didn’t stop Nissan selling a total of one million Jukes in Europe, with 60,000 sales last year. But it knew the writing was on the wall: the crossover market, which the Juke arguably conceived, is full to bursting. With an abundance of more modern rivals on the scene, Nissan couldn’t afford to rest on its laurels for the second-generation Juke.
So it hasn’t. The aim was simple: keep the sense of fun and sportiness that drew in existing buyers, but smooth off the sharper edges and annoyances, such as limited rear seat and boot space.
The new Juke uses the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s Common Module Family B (CMF-B) platform. This platform also underpins the new Renault Captur and Renault Clio and brings several benefits. For a start, the Juke’s footprint is still a reasonable 4210mm (up 75mm) but the wheelbase has grown by 106mm to 2636mm. That’s 85mm up on a Volkswagen T-Cross, allowing for one of the roomier cabins in its class.
At the same time, the use of high-strength steel has made the body-in-white 13% stiffer and 6% lighter.
That’s helpful, because for now the only engine will be a Nissan Micra-sourced 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol unit, with the same 115bhp and 133lb ft of torque (reaching 148lb ft on overboost). CO2 figures for it have been homologated, sitting at 113-118g/km with a manual gearbox and 111-116g/km for the auto version (NEDC derived).
Nissan wouldn’t confirm that a plug-in hybrid is on the cards. But a Renault Captur PHEV has already been announced, so it’s a strong likelihood. A fully electric version is less of a given.
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The Juke's on who?
I tried to like the old Juke but I failed because of quality, but then realized I was being unfair as I'm not the target. So having taken off my personal biases I still found it a little lacking as a product but one that more than made up for it in spirit. It was a brave little thing that did well for that reason. It was (slightly) rebellious and self-consciously intended to polarize - as my old product planning teacher reminded me, "If you really please 30% of the people then you can get 10% of them and let the advertising focus on 'em".
So hats off to Autocar for being mildly critical of the car in a preproduction form. I'm pretty sure from the quality of those photos though that this was no grab-a-quick-drive in a prototype, but a fully finished vehicle that Autocar had. So I'll be watching to see if 1) the engine refinement changes and 2) whether it has the chutzpah of the original. It's OK not to opine yet, I'd like Autocar to be given a fair explanation of the finished car and its communications strategy first before doing so.
I wish it well, the last one was a storming success and the fact that I didn't like it means anything. Except that I know nothing.
Sadly I won't buy another Nissan
My Qashqai comes to the end of it's three year term in November. Three things put me off another Nissan.
A local dealer (John Clark, Aberdeen) who have an "Anything is too much trouble policy" - taking a day off work as they couldn't check Aircon on Saturdays, etc, etc. Same story about BMW, Aberdeen also owned by John Clark - everything is a trouble for them too...
They wouldn't refill the aircon refrigerant gas on a 2.5 year old car - it wasn't leaking, it just needed refilled at a cost of £150 (I got it done at ATS for £100). Internet awash with stories of Qashqais losing air con gas, blamed on new gas type not being suitable for the system. I might be hard to please, but having to pay £150 for this on a new car pisses me off.
Lastly when I look under the bonnet there are rusty parts, a leaking gearbox seal, and the trim material is ridiculously easily scratched.
I actually love the car, had 12 new cars in my life, but love it's comfort, economy, and ease of use. Dealer is apathetic, and long term durability is suspect in my view. A real shame.
Sadly I won't buy another Nissan
My Qashqai comes to the end of it's three year term in November. Three things put me off another Nissan.
A local dealer (John Clark, Aberdeen) who have an "Anything is too much trouble policy" - taking a day off work as they couldn't check Aircon on Saturdays, etc, etc. Same story about BMW, Aberdeen also owned by John Clark - everything is a trouble for them too...
They wouldn't refill the aircon refrigerant gas on a 2.5 year old car - it wasn't leaking, it just needed refilled at a cost of £150 (I got it done at ATS for £100). Internet awash with stories of Qashqais losing air con gas, blamed on new gas type not being suitable for the system. I might be hard to please, but having to pay £150 for this on a new car pisses me off.
Lastly when I look under the bonnet there are rusty parts, a leaking gearbox seal, and the trim material is ridiculously easily scratched.
I actually love the car, had 12 new cars in my life, but love it's comfort, economy, and ease of use. Dealer is apathetic, and long term durability is suspect in my view. A real shame.