Nissan Juke

Looking at the sloping roof from the outside, it’s apparent that the Juke’s rear cabin isn’t meant for full-sized adults. Fortunately, the front seats offer a tall seating position, along with easy ingress and egress. As for the overall interior design, it appears Nissan selected its surfaces carefully, with a genuinely sporty appearance that many driving enthusiasts will love. Stylish gauges, colorful interior trim, and a massive center console add to the cabin’s alluring presence. Standard features include a driving mode selector (Eco, Standard, Sport), eight-speaker Bose Personal Plus sound system with UltraNearfield speakers, Nissan Intelligent Mobility safety suite, and a NissanConnect infotainment system that links to an eight-inch touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capabilities.

True to the original, the 2020 version of the Nissan Juke is immediately distinctive. The retro style of the oval headlamps is offset by the contemporary sleekness of the slim daytime running lights that serve as its brows. This time around, the DRLs link to the grille into one seamless front feature instead of the disparate look seen in the first-gen Juke. This, in turn, gives this new version a more cohesive look at the front. A two-tone look further distinguishes the new-gen Juke from the previous one.

Likewise, at the rear, the C-pillars are given a more tapered silhouette, in turn making the interior cabin larger than its predecessor. There's more headroom and legroom for backseat passengers, albeit marginally. Cargo volume is also up by 20 percent. Measuring 4125 mm long, 1765 mm wide, and 1570mm tall, the new Juke is longer, wider and taller than before, but despite the fact, it is somehow lighter by 23 kgs. The crossover’s wheelbase is at 2530 mm, and ground clearance is at 170 mm.

With just three cylinders churning in the 1.0-liter power mill, the Juke operates awfully quiet. Coupled with the stellar NVH insulation, and you’re in for some welcome quietness inside the Juke cabin. Unfortunately, there’s a bit of wind noise to be heard in the windows once you speed up. As for the suspension, it feels well-tuned and confident despite the clunky 19-inch alloys and the overly simplistic torsion-beam layout at the rear.

The latest Juke is powered by a 1.0-liter DIG-Turbo gas engine that output 115 hp and 200 Nm. This is considerably less powerful than the old Juke, which could do 188 hp with its 1.6-liter engine. The downgrade is being attributed to Europe's ever-strict emission standards, the Juke’s biggest market. Case in point—while the rest of the world awaits the 2nd-gen crossover’s arrival, it is already making the rounds in Europe since November last year. Transmission choices include a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic or six-speed manual gearbox. While the outgoing model had both a front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive version, the new Juke reportedly comes only in AWD.

An automated emergency braking feature assists the driver in avoiding rear-end collisions while reducing the effects of an impact. As for the rest of the safety tech, the new Nissan Juke's got blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and traffic-sign recognition. Topping it all off is the Nissan ProPilot, a semi-autonomous driving system that lets the car maintain the correct speed and stay in lane with minimal driver input.

Agile, responsive, unique—indeed, there’s plenty of reasons to make the Nissan Juke your crossover of choice. As long as you’re okay with a cramped backseat, the Juke can prove to be quite the capable and stylish daily driver for you.