Does Nissan’s British-built, mould-breaking crossover hold up in the face of trendy new rivals?
It’s thanks to the commercial success of the original Nissan Juke that the market segment known to some as B-SUV (B being the prefix traditionally used to identify superminis) exists at all.It’s at least partially Nissan’s doing that the compact crossover hatchback has become Europe’s biggest automotive market growth area.Inevitably, that success cleared the path for a second-generation Juke. And given how much more competition there is for this one than there was for its predecessor, you can bet that it’ll be a few years before we see the third generation, set to go electric.Plenty is different about the car this time around. Whereas the original had a specially adapted chassis used only by Nissan, this one is based on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s CMF-B platform, which also underpins the likes of the Dacia Sandero, Renault Clio and Renault Captur.Diesel and four-wheel-drive powertrains have been ditched in favour of a more modern petrol unit, sending its power exclusively through the front wheels.Inside, it has a much bigger boot – almost doubling the original’s tiny 251-litre capacity to 422 litres – as well as extra passenger space and more upmarket materials.But is that enough to meet the mark set by popular rivals like the Ford Puma, Skoda Kamiq and Vauxhall Mokka? Read on to find out.The Nissan Juke range at a glance The second-generation Juke was launched in 2020 with a lone choice of engine, the 1.0-litre turbo petrol three-pot that’s also used in the Sandero and Clio, here producing 112bhp. It’s available with a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.It was joined in 2022 by Renault’s E-Tech hybrid powertrain, which combines a four-speed unsynchronised dog ’box with a 48bhp electric motor, a 20bhp starter-generator and a 93bhp naturally aspirated 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. Trims range from Visia up through an unusually swollen mid-range of three intermediate steps (Acenta, N-Connecta, Tekna) and culminate at Tekna+, which comes with 19in alloy wheels, two-tone paint and part-leather seats as standard. N-Connecta cars have sat-nav, a rear parking camera, cruise control and LED headlights.
