Nissan have pulled the covers off their next-generation Juke crossover, doubling down on its unique blend of quirk and faux sportiness that made the original such an offbeat hit. In its new form, the soft roader has inherited a few of the Japanese marque’s newer corporate genetics, looking more polished and mature as a result.
Those who were big fans of the Juke’s oddball look will also find plenty here to find redeeming despite its newfound elegance clearly taking aim a broader taste spectrum. It retains the somewhat coupe-like roofline and nearly-upright front end, but the V-Motion grille and slim headlights, coupled with no shortage of character lines, give it an athleticism its predecessor lacked.
Whether or not the all-new Juke will prove to be as influential as the version it replaces is something only time will tell, but it’s unlikely to be anywhere near as genre-defining mainly due to the fact that many of the compact crossovers today are in some way a derivative of the OG Juke.
Dimensionally, the Juke II is an overall larger vehicle with an overall length of 4210mm, width of 1,800mm, and is 1,595mm tall. However, thanks to better construction materials and techniques, it’s about 23kg lighter than before. This yields a roomier interior and a boot capacity of 422-litres - or 20% more.
Any extra weight saved is a valuable commodity here given power is derived from a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol motor at launch. At their respective peaks, outputs of 86kW is achieved and funnelled to the front wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic or 6-speed manual transmission.
Peak torque was not mentioned at the time of writing, but should this three-pot be a permutation of the M281 sourced from Mercedes-Benz, a figure north of 170Nm can be expected, a good deal higher than the naturally aspirated 1.6-litre units used in lower-to-midrange variants of the older model.
Stepping inside the all-new Juke is perhaps is where you’ll find the more pleasant of surprises. The cabin, at least in this range-topping Tekna+ grade, is decked out in dual-tone leather and/or Alcantara upholstery and rather premium trim finishes overlaid upon funky ergonomics.
A large 8-inch infotainment display dominates the centre stack with its placement high up and Nissan is pitching the Juke as being considerably customisable. Buyers will be able to select from multiple colour and material options for the interior, body, and roof.
In certain markets, the car will arrive with the NissanConnect suite to enable live mobile services such remote door locking and realtime mapping info, though Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (and even Google Assistant) connectivity will likely also be a standard fitment. Optional are the premium 8-speaker BOSE audio system that have integrated near-field woofers for the headrests.
Also dependent on region is the comprehensiveness of the ProPILOT package which would offer features such as Intelligent Emergency Braking, Traffic Sign Recognition, Intelligent Lane Intervention, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and Blind Spot Intervention.
We’ll have more on the second-generation Juke as it more is revealed, particularly as it pertains to its Australian launch.
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