We really have to take our hats off to Nissan for bringing the wacky Qazana concept (shown here last year) to production as the Juke without watering it down much. As a younger sibling to the Qashqai crossover, the Juke is meant to be an alternative to the B-segment supermini class, just like how the Qashqai tempted many Golf/Focus to opt for something less conventional.
And it’s not just the looks that stand out, for the Juke has surprisingly advanced mechanicals when Nissan could have got away relying on just the funky styling. Three engines will be available when European sales start later this year: a 1.5 diesel and two 1.6-litre petrol units, all Euro 5 compliant. The range topping engine is a new turbocharged petrol engine with direct injection, producing 187 bhp and 240 Nm. Nissan claims “performance from a 2.5-litre engine with the economy of a smaller engine”.
The other petrol unit is the HR16DE that Malaysian Latio and Grand Livina owners are familiar with. Improved for the Juke, the 1.6-litre engine gets a unique dual-injection system which allows finer metering of the fuel sprays for better combustion. Other changes include a larger exhaust manifold, retuned intake manifold, twin VTC, improved intake tumble flow and new catalyst with a hexagon cell formation. New pistons with revised crowns and integral oil jet cooling have been adopted along with low friction techniques such as diamond-like carbon coating on the valve lifters. With all those tweaks, vital figures now stand at 115 bhp and 157 Nm from 108 bhp/153 Nm, while fuel efficiency is claimed to be much improved. Petrol engines come with either a six-speed manual or Nissan’s Xtronic CVT.
The range topping turbo variant gets Nissan’s All-Mode 4X4-i electronic system with a new function – lateral torque vectoring capability. This not only splits torque between front and rear axles, but from side-to-side across the rear axle as well. The system counts wheel speed, steering angle, yaw rate and lateral G to distribute torque, and is effective in reducing understeer. In total, up to 50% of total available engine torque can be sent to either rear wheel. The rear axle incorporates electric couplings at either end plus a new final-drive. So now when your BMW X6 owner friend boasts about his torque vectoring system, share with him this piece of news.
I took the chance to sit in the Juke and found the rear quarters to be quite tight compared to superminis like the Honda Jazz and Perodua Myvi/Daihatsu Sirion. I fit in, but six footers are sure to brush their heads against the headlining. The driver enjoys a nice steering wheel with sporty instruments, while the climate control screen is a full-colour unit incorporating readouts such as fuel consumption. Pleasing design, but dash plastics are hard.
UPDATE: Fresh live pictures added to the gallery, including headroom shots that some have requested for.
More live pictures after the jump.
Nissan Juke live images from Geneva
Nissan Juke official images
Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.
bulat bulat
Nice looking car especially in white..
Front looks like triton and rear headroom looks limited.
UGLY
Aku tengok keta ni macam katok pise pun ada….hahaha…Tiu
This car mostly for the youngster who prefer the unique style and character.
The tail light same concept with 370Z?
OMG IT'S SO UGLY I CAN'T WAIT WHAT JEREMY CLARKSON HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT
my gosh…I pretty sure somebody gonna say it ugly..but I love it..wish it will come here
ugly…
Any plan to bring this to Malaysia. Awesome tech.
Nice ..
It looks like a big red bug.
…or a frog…
Nice design and rugged. hope TCM bring it in
Cool Car.. Am i'm 1st?
Bugs!
dannng~
speechless
ahahahaa…seems like kena sengat tebuan or lebah…bengkak sana sini…nice colour tho…
this car is meant for asians. rarely asians are over 6 feet tall. screw the europeans.
Buruk tak ingat… asal kereta jepun, org kata cantik..
1.6 with 115bhp???? boleh naik GH ke???….hmmm….. any basher here?
Did you see the pity lady pulling the car?
Juke….or joke??
Juke sounds like junk…….But well….average design and styling…..and as for the interior……its very ugly and abit outdated. Kinda cheap……As for the engine………1.6l engine is kinda too weak…..As for 2.5l…..i think it will be adequate…..Will be judging from the price….It may be a good buy…..But from JDM market…….it will be kinda too expensive when it reached here………. .
WHICH One the headlamp?.
the sharp ? or the bulat?.
look nice what.. better than x6?
Wicked ! Two thumbs up for Nissan for the design, this is definitely outside the box.
the designer stuck with the ideas. look so funny
ultraman car
All new Fiat Multipla……….What kind of insect is this??
so so so ugly!!
If this consider UGLY, then Proton is a piece of shit already !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tu la pasal. As long as it's not proton, it can be said beautiful. If it's a proton, konfem kena kaw2
nasib baik badge dia nissan, kalau P1, mesti kene bash with P1 Basher… in term of tech… mmg best
fiskter said,
March 3, 2010 @ 9:45 am
Buruk tak ingat… asal kereta jepun, org kata cantik..
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setuju sangat… kalau ni bukan nissan, mesti orang kata buruk… lebih2 lagi kalau kete dari china..
Danny, can you upload a picture of the rear seat so I can see if it'll me? thanks very much…I love the juke
This looks like a perfect rugged city car! Bring in the 1.5 diesel, perfect for the pothole ridden and flood prone roads we have here. I'll be the first to buy it when it comes in.
why… whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy so ugly.
what were they thinking?
1.6 liter 115hp.. leh sampai genting ke? dah la body gemok bulat je.. hiks2.. :p
Sorry, just can't appreciate the design cues. Its a weird looking little thing!
scary looking car…
it look better if they take off the 2 head light …..still feel the headlight look kacau
rear look weird ….
if it on the road …….i guess the car will stand out …..cause still look weird
words fail me….
smiling from ear to ear
i wonder what drugs those nissan designers took….to inspire them to produce this car!
Active lateral torque transfer?
Honda had the ATTS in the 97 Prelude and the last Acura RL had the Super-handling AWD as with the RDX and MDX.
So no, this isn't new.
If this P1 model, sure they will kutuk kaw2…
4G63T DSM, I meant that torque vectoring is a new function of Nissan's All-Mode 4X4 system, not a new invention
Very exotic.
Danny Tan is that u sitting in the Juke??? u so lucky…TQ for the photos
WTF said,
March 3, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
i wonder what drugs those nissan designers took….to inspire them to produce this car!
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hahaha.. makan candu masuk angin kot.
UGLY beast… but would I would definitely want to own it…its a head turner..
Jane, Yes that's me! My hair was brushing against the headlining even though I'm not nearly six foot tall, not sure if that's obvious from the picture though.
Nissan Froggy…
methink better the Kia Soul…
ugliest ever! but interior is ok..
How to open the rear door from outside?
there is a hidden handle beside the rear window, I saw it on an Euro TV CM.
The interior look nice, especialy the centre console, it looks like a tank of a motocycle, but for the external looks, I prefer Suzuki SX4 Xover, It look nicer….