It seems like more and more vehicles are categorizing themselves as crossovers. This newest segment in the industry is also the fastest growing. But with that expansion comes a lot of imitations and gelatinous creations.
My tester for the week refuses to conform to those crossover standards. The Nissan Juke is a segment-busting, small crossover that lives up to its clever, youthful name.
The Juke has a distinctive trimline. A raised A-pillar slopes down toward the back while bulging, cutesy wheel wells and front grille contribute to the Juke’s love-it-or-hate-it appearance. A friend of mine who saw my pearl white Juke said, “If that thing was green it would look like a bullfrog.”
That may not be the exact intention of the Nissan engineers, but that’s a typical reaction to the Juke’s looks. On appearance, alone, the Juke differentiates itself from other small crossovers, including its more traditional Nissan brother the Rogue.
But the Juke’s distinction doesn’t stop with the superficial. How could a vehicle be named Juke without having moves like Barry Sanders? In that regard, the Juke does not disappoint.
Backed with a 1.6-liter direct-injected turbocharged engine, the Juke throws out 188 horsepower and car-like handling. Torque-vectoring all-wheel drive further enhances the Juke’s sporty handling.
Inside, the Juke, as is the case with its equally-quirky stablemate the Nissan Cube, has some unusual styling. An undulating dashboard, and bulbous instrument cluster stands out for its boldness. Kudos to Nissan for the orignality, but as part of those quirky designs, it loses some in intuitive design. Knobs and instrumentation are in different locations, which only adds to the Juke’s thumb-your-nose-at-the-establishment feel. But, in this case, it’s to the detriment of the driver and definitely takes some adjusting.
Second-row passengers as well as cargo space are further hindered by the sloping roofline. Rear passengers have sparse leg and headroom. In this regard, it’s competely unfair to call the Juke a crossover as space is tight, and at times almost unusable. Take the cargo space (or lack thereof) as a case in point. There is only 10 cubic feet behind the rear seats and only 36 cubic feet with the seatbacks folded down. These numbers are compact-car like, and at the bottom of the crossover segment.
Because of the continuously variable transmission the Juke does well in terms of fuel efficiency. It is rated at 25 MPG city and 30 MPG highway. In a week’s worth of “Jukey” driving, I averaged nearly 27 MPG. The Juke offers adaptable drive modes where the driver can shift into normal, sport or eco mode. These modes bolster the performance of the Juke, either making it even sportier or more economical. I drove it primarily in normal mode, but did find more punch in the sport mode and more tameness with the eco mode.
The Juke is available in three trims – S, SV and SL. My tester was the top-of-the-line SL which comes standard with automatic headlights, leather upholstery and heated front seats. Other features included are a sunroof, Rockford Fosgate audio system and navigation system.
Pricing starts at $20,280 for the base S trim, and approaches $30,000 for a tricked out SL trim. My tester had a MSRP of $26,650, but with a few options added had a final price of $29,055.
The Nissan Juke is a niche vehicle. It rebels against being categorized, and does so blatantly with a standout design and a quirky interior. But one thing that it does best is love up to its name as a sport-handling, turbo-punched vehicle that has moves that live up to its name.
Jimmy Dinsmore is the Wheels editor for Cox Media Group Ohio and may be reached at (937) 225-2115. Follow him on Twitter @wheelseditor