Revised Nissan Juke revealed

FOLLOWING a minor refresh in late 2022, a mid-life update of the Nissan Juke light SUV has been revealed in the UK where it is manufactured ahead of an anticipated Australian on-sale date toward the end of this year.

The current five-variant Australian Juke line up, priced from $28,390 excluding on-road costs, is a modest seller (1256 units delivered in 2023, earning a 2.4 per cent segment share) that appeals to a certain clientele and has plenty of competition.

Among the Juke’s petrol-powered front-drive rivals are Mazda’s long in the tooth CX-3 – which dominates the segment with a 22.5 per cent share – as well as the Toyota Yaris Cross, Hyundai Venue, Kia Stonic and VW T-Cross that are in a close battle for the light SUV sales podium.

The facelifted Juke benefits mostly from a revamped interior while powertrain choices remain the same with a petrol-electric hybrid that is not available in Australia and a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder petrol.

Nissan Australia says local pricing and specification for the new Juke will be confirmed closer to the launch date, although the 84kW/180Nm petrol engine will be carried over, driving the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

A six-speed manual available overseas does not make it Down Under.

Given the federal government’s impending New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, the Juke’s hybrid powertrain option may arrive Down Under with the newly announced N-Sport variant that takes aim at the Yaris Cross GR Sport with some go-fast styling tweaks.

This variant utilises a 1.6-litre petrol engine and transmission combination specifically developed for working in a hybrid powertrain application.

Petrol contributes 69kW and 148Nm, blended with 36kW/205Nm from an electric motor that in turn is supported by a 15kW starter/generator fed by an inverter and 1.2kWh liquid-cooled battery.

The setup is designed to selectively engage the power sources as necessary. Start-off is always by electricity and the powertrain offers e-Pedal one-pedal driving for maximum energy harvesting through regenerative braking.

Nissan says the Juke hybrid system provides 25 per cent more power than the current petrol engine with fuel economy gains of up to 40 per cent on the urban cycle and up to 20 per cent over the combined cycle.

Most other Juke changes have been applied to connectivity and advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) with upgraded screens and more standard equipment.

According to the MY24 Juke press release, Nissan’s designers and engineers have made significant changes to the Juke’s interior to “elevate the ambience of life-on-board, with a redesigned centre console and instrument panel”.

The interior benefits from new leather-like materials, trim and upgraded fit and finish. The model’s connectivity has been updated with a larger 12.3-inch angled touchscreen and additional features including a multi-mode “combimeter” that conveys critical information to the driver.

Nissan makes much of Juke’s available bright yellow duco, returning for this update due to popular demand and with coordinated interior trim including yellow recycled Alcantara seat trim.

“When we first introduced the second generation of Juke, the question we were asked most frequently was will there be a yellow one,” said Nissan AMIEO region vice president of product strategy and pricing Arnaud Charpentier.

“With such clear demand from our passionate Juke customers, we had to listen. We took the opportunity part way through Juke’s lifecycle to make some other changes which would improve the comfort, convenience and overall life-on-board ambience for drivers and passengers”, he added.

Other new exterior colours and wheel styles are available.

The upgraded infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay comes with a more intuitive home screen which allows the user to tailor the screen to include the “widgets” for the functions they use the most frequently.

Additional new features include speed camera information and fuel price information that can now be displayed in the navigation map while the infotainment system can now play video content from USB connected devices when the car is stationary.

Other interior updates revealed are an enlarged glovebox, redesigned armrests and a credit card clip incorporated into the centre console lid.

In terms of safety, the already five-star ANCAP rated Juke gains standard fitment of lane departure warning but emergency lane keeping is an option on some models overseas.