Interior boasts plenty of soft-touch materials
New Nissan Juke has a seven-speed DCT. Julie Marshall reports...
In June 2019 the Nissan Juke went into production in the UK after a £100m investment in the Sunderland plant was announced
Nissan is the UK’s most important car manufacturer with one in four British cars being built there, employing some 7,000 workers.
Following the industrywide lockdown on March 17 due to coronavirus, it reopened on June 8, though its future is still uncertain.
The first car off the production line on June 8 was a Juke, the subject of our test drive this week. The second-generation model after its 2010 debut, it is available with just the one engine, a one-litre, threecylinder turbocharged petrol, delivering 115bhp. It can be paired with a six-speed manual, or in the case of our test car, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with paddle-shift capability. If you have a mind there’s a driving mode selector (Eco, Standard, Sport) which matches your driving style. The first few minutes of our maiden drive was uninspiring with an intermittent power surge, causing a jerky delivery - that was until we realised the autohold brake function was engaged.
Once that was deactivated, things progressed more smoothly, although a bit more power would have been appreciated as the three-cylinder engine had to be worked hard.
The acceleration from 0-62 is a rather leisurely 10.6 seconds but the payback is official fuel consumption of 46.3mpg.
We managed 37mpg during an admittedly urban-centered week, so not too bad at all.
It gives a comfortableenough ride on the 17inch alloys. This was firm at times, due to the more rigid platform of this new model, but it made for better cornering and stability at speed There are five trim models, the entry-level Visia comes with traffic sign recognition, full LED lights, manual air conditioning, speed limiter and cruise control; Acenta has a rear-view camera and smartphone integration, an 8in touchscreen infotainment system with DAB radio and Bluetooth, and lane departure warning with lane keep assistant.
The N-Connecta which we had on test has a navigation system with Tom Tom traffic, a rear USB charging port. Tekna and Tekna+ complete the line-up. Our two-tone painted Juke looked the part, with a pearl black body and bright red roof at an extra cost of £975.
The body is sharply angled and the front end is particularly imposing with a large Vshaped honeycomb grille and circular headlamps. The dimensions of this second generation model have grown slightly but it weighs 23kg less.
There’s plenty of room for driver and passengers and we particularly liked the deep boot with its false floor. Luggage capacity with seats up in 422 litres, with the seats down it is upped to 1305 litres.
The interior boasts plenty of soft-touch materials which have a nice premium feel and the whole package is well put together. On the road price for the N-Connecta is £22,395 but withtheadditionofthepaintjob and a £295 heat pack - seats and front windscreen and pro-pilot advanceddriverassistancepack (£1,300) this came to £24,965.