Nissan dials back the weirdness on new Juke. It's still weird though.

Wednesday, 4 September 2019

Nissan designer Matt Weaver talks about the all-new Juke.

Nine years after the original shocked people with its insectoid design, Nissan has unveiled an all-new Juke with toned-down weirdness, loads of tech and a new engine at a simultaneous reveal in London, Paris, Milan, Barcelona and Cologne.

The five-city European reveal signifies the Juke's importance to Nissan in Europe, with the company having sold close to a million units of the small SUV there.

Nissan says the new Juke has been created to 'appeal to European drivers, who value design, technology and performance, in addition to practicality, in the crossover segment.'

The Juke gets a new engine and sits on a new, stiffer platform.

The blatant pointy weirdness has been wound back on the new car, with a Nissan corporate grille dominating the front end, alongside far less prominent headlights. The overall shape of the small SUV remains, however, with Nissan adopting a contrasting 'floating roof' on the new car.

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The overall shape is still familiar, but Nissan has scaled back the Juke's blatant weirdness. It's still quite weird though.

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The new Juke now gets a contrasting 'floating' roof.

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Being larger overall than the previous car, the new Juke is roomier for both passengers and their belongings, with rear-seat knee room increased by 5.8 cm, rear head room by 1.1 cm and a 20 per cent larger boot, now with a capacity of 422 litres.

Multiple customisation options mean you can go as horrific as you like with the new Juke's colour scheme.

The Juke is bigger in every direction, at 4,210mm long, 1,595mm high and 1,800mm wide, but it is also 23kg lighter thanks to its extensive use of high strength steel, which also makes the new platform more rigid.

Nissan says new soft-touch materials on the dashboard, door trim and foot-wells offer a premium feel, while multiple colour combinations for body, roof and interior upholstery are available, as well as customisable bumpers, side sills and 19-inch alloy wheels.

The new Juke also gets a new engine - a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with 87kW hooked up to either a 6-speed manual or 7-speed dual-clutch transmission - and is loaded with Nissan's infotainment and driver assistance technology, with the company saying it is 'the most connected Nissan ever.'

Nissan's new NissanConnect infotainment system not only integrates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but also features TomTom Maps & Live Traffic and an on-board Wi-Fi hotspot to allow passengers to connect their laptops or tablets.

The NissanConnect Services app offers direct control over multiple aspects of the Juke, allowing owners to the check tyre pressures and oil level, as well as the door-lock status of their vehicle and lock or unlock it directly from their smartphone.

The new Juke also has Google Assistant compatibility, giving drivers voice control over functions including central locking, lights and sending destinations to the car's navigation system.

Nissan's ProPilot semi-autonomous technology - which offers electronically assisted steering, acceleration and braking - will be available on the Juke for the first time as well, while it also gets a full package of safety technologies, including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, traffic sign recognition, lane keep assist, rear cross traffic alert and Nissan's new blind spot intervention system.

Blind spot intervention is a step further than blind spot monitoring in that that not only warns the driver when a car is in their blind spot, but will also intervene to bring the car back in its lane if the driver attempts to change lanes.

There is no word on whether or not the new Juke will come here, but given the current car's popularity as a used import, we will no doubt see it sooner or later.