Nissan NZ managing director John Manley won't take the 4WD Juke. "We see Juke in NZ primarily as a funky hatchback and contemplate using the marketing campaign, 'Qashqai's little brother'. NZ will take Juke ex Sunderland, UK with production scheduled for October and launch in late January 2012. We'll start with one variant, with unique specification, using a 1.6-litre petrol engine with CVT auto."
What we say
Think of Juke as a funky-looking hot hatch and you've just about got it pinned.
The design does narrow the rear seats and boot a tad. But there's plenty of headroom, the seats fold flat to take the 251-litre boot to 550 litres, and there's a spacious underfloor storage area back there.
On the road
Our UK press car was a 140kW/240Nm, 1.6 turbo and thirsty.
It returned 9.1-litres/100km, thanks to energetic performance allied to 1.3-tonnes of weight and a high-riding stance. We'll get a less-thirsty, normally aspirated 86kW/158Nm, 1.6 with CVT auto. However, we'll still benefit from assured handling with very little body roll. The downside is over-firm suspension that delivered a too-jiggly ride, and over-numb steering.
Why you'll buy one: You like the up-high view around town allied to parking-friendly dimensions, not to mention Juke's sharp good looks. It's fun to fling about, too.
Why you won't: You hate that jiggly ride and regularly carry adults out back.
