Nissan Australia has finally confirmed pricing and arrival of an all-new Juke. The funky compact crossover is due Downunder in June 2020 and promises more refinement, space and driving sophistication.
Oh, and of course, it packs the Juke’s signature out-there styling. But underneath it comes from more humble beginnings, sharing the Nissan Renault alliance platform with the French brand’s Clio and Captur.
Despite being a pioneer in the segment, the new Juke enters a crowded and fast-evolving marketplace with the Hyundai Kona, all-new Volkswagen T-Cross, and Mazda’s fresh CX-30.
Don’t worry, it’s still a Juke.
Powering the new Juke is a one-litre turbo three-cylinder engine with outputs of 84kW and 180Nm, which should be enough to push the 1,270kg Juke along nicely.
The Juke is front-wheel-drive only and will deploy its power via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Thanks to some smart low-friction cylinder technology – borrowed from the Nissan GT-R – the claimed WLTP economy is 5.8l/100km. Impressive.
And wow, even with the shift towards ever wilder styling in the compact crossover segment, the Juke still holds its own. The signature oval headlights remain, as do flared haunches – we hope there’s a NISMO in the works – and overall funky shape.
The cabin looks cool, too.
Funkiness continues inside the Juke; the new car boasts a larger eight-inch floating touchscreen, and upper trims get partially digital driver’s display. An elevated gear lever surrounded by a ring of light sits as the centrepiece of the interior.
It’s bigger, too, growing by 75mm in length to 4,210mm and 1,800mm wide – 35mm more girth – which Nissan claims adds 58mm of leg space. That means it’s a whole lot bigger outside, too, pushing up half a size-class in this fuzzy compact SUV world.
Adding size also addresses practicality concerns of the old Juke, the new boot packs 422-litre of VDA certified cargo space, making it one of the best-in-class.
An elevated gear shifter control a seven-speed dual-clutch.
Standard equipment is generous, too. For $27,990 (driveaway pricing TBA) the ST includes goodies such as paddle shifters, 17-inch alloy wheels, cloth seats, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and Nissan’s intelligent ride control system.
As for safety, the ST gets a generous suite including city-speed AEB, rear cross-traffic, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and LED headlights with high-beam assist as standard.
A little extra hard-earned cash at the Nissan dealership will net the ST+. For $30,740 (driveaway pricing TBA) your Juke will be equipped with LED foglights, satellite navigation, heated front seats, and the addition of front parking sensors,
Partially digital driver’s display standard on the ST-L grade.
Second from the top of the range is the $33,940 (driveaway pricing TBA) ST-L with a snazzy set of 19-inch alloys, partially digital drivers display, rear USB ports, partial leather upholstery and leather-trimmed wheel and gear knob.
Bolstering safety in the ST-L is adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree camera.
At the top of the range sits the familiar Ti moniker for $36,490 (driveaway pricing TBA) which gets a premium eight-speaker BOSE stereo, leather and Alcantara seats with Alcantara padding around the cabin and a tyre pressure monitoring system.
And around the rear, yep, definitely still a Juke.
We reckon the new Juke looks pretty good and looks to be priced sharply within the segment thanks to plenty of standard tech. The driving experience needs to be there to back up the funky exterior, though, we’ll have a full road test to confirm that soon.
