First Look – Nissan Juke 2010

I attended an event this afternoon at a local Nissan dealership to showcase the new Nissan Juke. Prior to the event, I wasn’t sure what to expect – whether this was simply a sign of the times and the Juke was going to another ‘crossover’ that wasn’t capable of going offroad, or if it would actually offer something in the small/medium car segment. I left pleasantly surprised.

First of all, the Juke is exceptionally striking to look at. As I’ve written previously, in many ways it is a car that can replace the Micra and when seen side by side the latter simply looks incredibly dated. The Juke on the other hand really does look like a car for the times.

Exterior impressions were good – the paintwork is neat, especially in the metallic blue hue and silver variants. The front end though was perhaps the most impressive; I’m extremely glad that it didn’t wander too far from concept and lived up to the design from that aspect.

The interior was a similar story. Whilst some of the dials were rather cheap looking (the rotator dials in a very naff faux silver for example), the rest of the interior had a more upmarket feel. Strange that there was such a comparison between the two. The top of the range version comes with the obligatory leather, which I didn’t get to see, but the sample thereof did look tasteful.

The interior controls were very well done too – the air con/boost which can be displayed at the flick of a switch were both quite striking visually and it actually reminded me of the Nissan GT-R. No great surprise they have borrowed the look given how impressive that particular car is!

There are plenty of cubbies and lots of space for storage in the various compartments within the cabin, whilst everything is at hand for the driver with all of the wheel mounted controls. There’s also plenty of space for passengers both front and rear in the Juke.

Perhaps the only real complaint I have about this fun and funky looking car is the lack of boot space. The Juke isn’t a miniscule car by any stretch of the imagination – whilst some may compare it to the MINI I’d say it’s closer to the Golf in size, though perhaps that’s down to the overhang on the front end. So, I was naturally quite surprised to find space limited in the rear, though not unbearably so and I think you’d still be okay for a weekend.

Ultimately, the Nissan Juke is definitely a very modern looking car, with a lot of neat twists in the design. The 190bhp engine is also meant to be a great powerplant for the car, so I’m looking forward to testing that in the future. Worth a look? I’d say definitely if you’re after something that’s a reasonable size, will turn heads on the road and put a smile on your face when you leave the house…