Juke goes mainstream - and is all the better for it

Juke almost single-handedly created the small crossover market with a model which is part sports utility, part estate and doubles nicely as a city car. But Nissan hasn’t rested on its laurels.

Far from it, the latest model just out has been fine tuned in a few areas – it has a bigger boot, slightly more mainstream styling and it rides and handles better.

Juke, it seems, is maturing well. Juke was always good but early models had some annoyances – the gearing meant revs were high at motorway speeds, and the boot was too small. Both these issues have been tackled.

And while the early versions were quirky – some might say odd – with bizarre headlights and rear light clusters, the latest Juke is more mainstream.

Juke – more than a million of which have been built in Sunderland over the last decade – rides well and handles incredibly well for a crossover and feels less like a small car and more like a family model.

New Juke has changed just enough to keep it up with some fast emerging competition from the likes of SEAT, Skoda and Volkswagen.

At the heart of this model is a fabulous engine – a 1.0 litre unit which is punchier than you could reasonably expect, It comes with eco, standard and sport modes, and even in eco it is sprightly and spirited. Technical wise, Juke is a major advance. It has Nissan ProPilot and the NissanConnect ‘infotainment’ system with on-board wifi smartphone links and over-the-air updates which help make drivers’ lives easier and safer.

New Juke is more spacious and the boot is now 422 litres – a 20 per cent increase. The cabin has been restyled – or “reimagined” – in a more upmarket way.Juke safety features include emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, speed assist, traffic sign recognition, intelligent lane intervention and devices which ‘see’ cars in your blind spot.

ProPilot is good. The system controls steering, acceleration and braking to maintain position and a safe distance from other vehicles. Juke remains fresh and quirky with much to admire.

Nissan Juke Tekna 1.0

Price: £23,895. Entry level model is £17,395Engine: A 999cc three cylinder petrol enginePower: 117bhpTorque: 147lb/ftTransmission: Seven speed automaticTop speed: 112mph0-62mph: 10.4 secondsEconomy: 46.3mpg combinedCO2 emissions: 116g/km