Nissan Juke
HELLO £ 25,295 OTR/£25,295 as tested/£350pcm WHY IT’ S HERE
To see if the original baby crossover can reclaim its crown DRIVER
Esther Neve
I’LL ADMIT IT RIGHT NOW... WHEN IT WAS MOOTED
I’d be running the Juke, I wasn’t totally overwhelmed.
Trouble being, I have very vivid recollections of the original Juke – terrible ride, cramped interior, literally NO boot and, being kind, a polarising design.
I vented my concerns to Paul Horrell, who went on the New Juke’s launch. He tried to allay my fears by reassuring me New Juke had a much less jarring ride, and stacks more interior space. He said I’d be pleasantly surprised. I remained unconvinced; I still doubted that Nissan could achieve such a momentous turnaround.
Then Ollie Kew went on the UK launch. “I think you’ll like it,” he said when he got back from the event. “Well, apart from the tangerine interior, anyway. But you’ll definitely like the speakers in the headrests.”
In the face of such unswerving positivity, I steeled myself, and took my first drive in New Juke. It was... well, it was fine. Nay, it was good. Which is a gazillion per cent improvement on how I felt when I drove the old Juke. Paul and Ollie – you were right. Praise be.
Our Juke is a Tekna+ (the highest spec, with literally everything on it). So, £25,295 buys you every possible safety intervention system, every possible technology extra – including ProPilot, a package Nissan must have created to help keep all those distracted parents safe on the road – and every possible comfort option. Plus, it has an excellent Bose Personal Plus stereo, featuring eight speakers, some of them in the headrest.
The only extras you see on the Juke are the Fuji Red roof and mirrors, and the shark-fin antenna – and they cost a big fat zero. Thus, the price of a car packed with tech and boasting sporty seats, leather interior, privacy glass, nav, keyless entry, keyless start, 19in alloy wheels etc, remains at just over 25 grand. Pricey for a Juke, but that seems good value for money for all the kit. And only £350 a month. The next six months will be fascinating.