The Nissan Juke is the cheeky little brother of the Qashqai: nothing for the down-to-earth family, more for free-spirited singles or couples who live in the big city. They can now also choose the small crossover as an economical hybrid. Can the eco drive convince?
The Juke doesn't pretend to be a particularly practical car. With him, form clearly comes before function, which in the second generation is not quite as polarizing as it was in the first edition. Former design extremes such as the reptilian four-eyed face and the burly, coupe-like cut have meanwhile entered far too much into the canon of small car design. The fact that the Nissan is rather narrow in the front seats and quite dark in the back is also known from the first edition.
Likewise the poor visibility towards the rear. The trunk is at least adequately large for this class, despite the space-consuming battery, but the high loading sill, which is typical in this class, has to be overcome when loading. The Juke does not set any particular accents when it comes to variability either, it only offers a double loading floor and hooks for the shopping bag. On the other hand, it is comfortable to get in through the large, wide-opening doors and the raised seating position for the driver and front passenger.
The dynamic appearance is matched by the chassis tuning, which ranges from taut to slightly rough. Extremely comfort-oriented natures should bother other tastes could definitely enjoy the jagged character of the crossover. However, the Juke is not a sports car, like almost all of its colleagues in the segment, if only because the center of gravity is too high. And the hybrid drive also likes it quiet. If you demand it, you will be slowed down with an unpleasantly gruff engine sound, at a manageable 166 km/h it's over for technical reasons anyway.
Because the interaction of the drive sources with each other and with the continuously variable transmission is sometimes quite erratic, there are always brief interruptions in traction. Occasionally, the combustion engine also switches on suddenly and roaring to ensure power is replenished in the battery. On the other hand, the acoustic comfort with a relaxed driving style is well done - the dreaded rubber band effect occurs with the complex combination of two electric motors, combustion engine and specially designed multimodal automatic transmission, taken over from alliance partner Renault.
In city traffic, on the other hand, the 105 kW/143 hp system output is lively and lively. The brisk acceleration and a good draft in the first few meters go well with the cheeky appearance. In addition, the consumption of the front-wheel drive crossover can be pushed below the five-liter mark with a little effort. In the mix it's more like six to seven, at higher travel speeds it's sometimes almost eight. All in all, no dream values in view of the considerable technical effort.
Nissan wants around 31,000 euros for the small SUV - a good part of which goes to the account of the hybrid drive. In compensation, the small crossover offers manageable maintenance costs and decent equipment. Above all, the program of assistants is convincing, including lane departure warning, emergency braking system with pedestrian detection, traffic sign recognition and parking sensors. The items on the option list are priced fairly, so that you get an almost fully equipped small car for around 35,000 euros.
The small SUV class is highly competitive. The Juke competes less against rational models like the VW T-Cross, but rather against small young dynamics like the Ford Puma. It can't hold a candle to it in terms of sportiness, but with its hybrid drive it offers a special feature that only a few competitors like the Toyota Yaris Cross have in their range.
As in the first generation, the Nissan Juke remains a matter of taste. Anyone who falls for the charm of the still slightly slanted design will get a solidly made crossover with decent equipment and no bad weaknesses.
If in doubt, you can save yourself the expensive hybrid drive, which is only recommended for absolute frequent drivers in city traffic. The alternative three-cylinder petrol engine with 84 kW/114 hp is available from 21,500 euros. Although it only offers very manageable driving performance, it should usually be enough for city traffic.
Nissan Juke 1.6 Hybrid - specifications
