Q: Is that the new electric Nissan?
A: Nope. You’re thinking of the new Leaf—which is roughly as weird looking. Juke’s got a 1.6 litre four-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection, a crankshaft, fuel injectors, pistons and oil inside of it. No drive batteries and plug-in charging here.
Q: Turbocharged? Really? How’s the pickup?!
A: Awesome! The turbocharger fires things up when drivers plant their right foot, and the CVT transmission allows the engine to rev to its power peak and keep spinning at full boost with no pause for shifting. Passengers will be surprised by the available acceleration—but the sound effects are mediocre at best.
Q: Aren’t CVT transmissions, like, weird?
A: Sort of-- but Nissan does them right. The Xtronic CVT transmission delivers power on a linear, uninterrupted curve. At full throttle, it can feel strange, but driven gently, you’d almost never know it wasn’t just a very smooth automatic.
Engage sport mode, and the CVT even pretends to shift gears-- simulating the experience of quick gear changes. There’s even a manual mode with lightning fast shifts that’s a real treat to use.
Q: Sounds sporty—can I get it with a six-speed?
A: Only in front-drive variants. With the torque-vectoring AWD system, Juke only comes with the CVT.
Q: Torque Vectoring?
A: Yep! By splitting engine power between front and rear, as well as across the rear axle, the Juke can ‘overdrive’ 3 of its wheels, giving less power to the inside rear wheel in a corner. This notably enhances agility and helps the Juke to steer. It behaves less like a neutral AWD machine and more like a little rear-drive sports car when pushed.
It’s also pretty good in the snow with proper tires, and drivers can even switch the AWD system on and off as needed.
Q: I thought it was bigger?
A: Juke is smaller than a Nissan Rogue, or in the same ballpark as the Toyota Matrix or Dodge Caliber.
A: Nope. You’re thinking of the new Leaf—which is roughly as weird looking. Juke’s got a 1.6 litre four-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection, a crankshaft, fuel injectors, pistons and oil inside of it. No drive batteries and plug-in charging here.
Q: Turbocharged? Really? How’s the pickup?!
A: Awesome! The turbocharger fires things up when drivers plant their right foot, and the CVT transmission allows the engine to rev to its power peak and keep spinning at full boost with no pause for shifting. Passengers will be surprised by the available acceleration—but the sound effects are mediocre at best.
 |
| Juke’s got a 1.6 litre four-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection, a crankshaft, fuel injectors, pistons and oil inside of it. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com) |
Q: Aren’t CVT transmissions, like, weird?
A: Sort of-- but Nissan does them right. The Xtronic CVT transmission delivers power on a linear, uninterrupted curve. At full throttle, it can feel strange, but driven gently, you’d almost never know it wasn’t just a very smooth automatic.
Engage sport mode, and the CVT even pretends to shift gears-- simulating the experience of quick gear changes. There’s even a manual mode with lightning fast shifts that’s a real treat to use.
Q: Sounds sporty—can I get it with a six-speed?
A: Only in front-drive variants. With the torque-vectoring AWD system, Juke only comes with the CVT.
Q: Torque Vectoring?
A: Yep! By splitting engine power between front and rear, as well as across the rear axle, the Juke can ‘overdrive’ 3 of its wheels, giving less power to the inside rear wheel in a corner. This notably enhances agility and helps the Juke to steer. It behaves less like a neutral AWD machine and more like a little rear-drive sports car when pushed.
It’s also pretty good in the snow with proper tires, and drivers can even switch the AWD system on and off as needed.
Q: I thought it was bigger?
A: Juke is smaller than a Nissan Rogue, or in the same ballpark as the Toyota Matrix or Dodge Caliber.
 |
| It’s no exercise in excessive space, but the colour-matched décor and generous equipment levels make it a nice place to spend some time. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com) |