Car review: The frog-in-a-sock charm of nutty new Nissan Juke

You may not guess, just from looking at it, but the Nissan Juke’s typical driver is not some Shoreditch hipster in Doc Martens, “ironic” tattoo of Sandie Shaw and a Charles Darwin-style beard, but is in fact an British woman in her mid-50s. The car may be avant-garde, but the buyers? Maybe not so much. Hipsters don’t drive, you see.

Indeed the British market is by far the best for the still-fashionable Juke, fittingly for a mass market car that is actually designed, engineered and built in the UK (for now). The British took a fair chunk of the 1.2 million Jukes produced so far, and Nissan has decided to play safe with a daring design by making it a bit better, a bit more daring, and a bit more up to date.

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It is obviously and identifiably a Nissan Juke, and the aim would seem to be for Nissan to maintain its leadership in the market for baby-SUV/crossover cars, up against the likes of the Ford Ecosport and VW T-Cross, Citroen C3 Aircross and Seat Arona, to name a few of the innovative and popular competitors. Nissan want to hang on to their loyal customers in what is a “challenging” new car market.

Well, yes, it is a bit more Jukey you might say. The face is still frog-like, but the Nissan badging is a touch bolder. It’s a little longer, higher and wider than the old one, but the most significant change is the longer wheelbase. In effect the four wheels have been moved much closer to the car’s corners, which makes for a better grip on the road and more room for passengers and their luggage. The boot is usefully bigger and some extra room in the back has been wangled too. It’s what the customers said they would like to see, so Nissan gave them what they asked for.

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The designers have also taken the opportunity to give the car an even more rakish, coupe-like profile, so that the “floating” roof (a visual effect using different colours for the roof and bodywork rather than from sorcery, you understand) seems even lower. Despite this visibility is better with slimmer pillars, plus a rear reversing camera on all but the most basic models.

Again, the concept of a very highly styled yet practical car has been maintained. The mix of creases and curves on the doors is a remarkable achievement, as pressing steel panels into such a complex mixture of shapes is no mean feat. The rear light cluster now juts out more dramatically, as in the current Micra and Leaf, and the shape of the boot gives the Juke a sort of bobcat appearance. The massive, optional, 19-inch alloy wheels add to the distinctive effect.

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There’s not much to fault in the Juke, in fact. For the launch (it is in showrooms next month) there’s just the one engine, a three-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit, and a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. To my mind the auto suits the car better and makes the best use of the engine’s properties, whether you’re driving in optional sporty or economy modes.

The Juke is easy to drive in all senses – so on the posher variants you get the full suite of driver assistance, including lane assist, which offers, I found, an unexpected bonus when driving in Europe, because it means you manage to stay in lane and judge distances rather better. In all you can get: Intelligent Emergency Braking with Pedestrian and Cyclist Recognition, Intelligent Speed Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition, Intelligent Lane Intervention, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and Blind Spot Intervention. Basically, the car will do its best to stop you killing yourself and others. Handy.

The Juke also represents quite a leap forward for Nissan in connectivity, with full internet connections promised – which will mean, for example, a more sophisticated search for the built-in satnav, and the facility to, say, send a pre-programmed address from your smartphone or tablet direct to the car’s navigation system. Then again, I wonder whether some of this isn’t a case of technology for technology’s sake, rather than representing a real value-for-money offer on the better specc’ed models. I did, though, like the extra speakers built into the headrests in the one-piece seats. This Bose system is very effective, either in conventional use or to turn the inside of the Juke into a miniature concert hall.

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I think that will be the biggest issue for the Juke – ensuring that the more expensive models, with the superior features and the option of personalisation (including an especially garish “Energy Orange” interior finish) offer that value that is a traditional Nissan virtue. You may also notice that the acceleration, on paper, isn’t all that scorching, though it is enjoyable to drive, and the little engine does need a bit of revving to get the best out of it, which hurts CO2 emissions and fuel economy.

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Anyway, the Juke is a highly competitive and attractive contender, now we’ve all got used to its frog-in-a-sock nuttiness. There is a lady in Ely, I believe, who holds the record as Nissan’s most loyal customer. Since she purchased her first Nissan (Datsun) Cherry in 1972, she has run a total of seven Cherrys, three Sunnys, four Micras, six Almeras, two Notes and, since 2011, four Nissan Jukes. Now I could make a really lazy journalist’s gag about her having suffered enough and deserving some time off after her 46-year ordeal. Obviously I won’t, but merely observe that she has now pre-ordered this second generation Nissan Juke. Nissan’s market share in the compact “B-segment SUV” market is secure.