- Compact SUV meets sports car to challenge small car traditions
- Powerful new turbocharged direct-injection gasoline engine
- New torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system
Johannesburg – The Nissan Juke compact crossover enters the South African market joining the other members of the pioneering Nissan crossover family, Murano and Qashqai.
Designed to offer a refreshing alternative for customers who are shopping in the small car segment of the market, but uninspired by the traditional offerings, Juke is a distinctive combination of SUV toughness and sporting style.
In developing Juke, Nissan has created a new market segment: the small crossover. And like the hugely popular QASHQAI before it, Juke has shown that Nissan's ability to combine innovation and excitement in its models has captured the car buying public's imagination by bringing something new and exciting to market.
The Juke displays Nissan's innovative ability in daring and fore-ward thinking design and technology, continuing the brand's trend of leading the burgeoning Crossover vehicle niche. Like the original Crossover, the Nissan Qashqai, the Juke stands alone in its class, boldly with an entirely unique, appealingly modern and exquisitely fashionable new urban demeanor.
The Nissan Juke epitomizes the generation of today by challenging the conventions of traditional car styling, and the result is a highly compelling package with muscular lines, the practicality of a family hatchback, and packed full of the latest in technological developments.
"It takes the best elements of an SUV and sports car and combines them," says Pierre Loing, Vice President, Product Planning and Zero Emission's business unit, Nissan International SA (Rolle, Switzerland). "It's roomy yet compact, robust yet dynamic and practical yet playful. These are qualities that seem to contradict each other, yet come together in Juke to create something that's genuinely unique."
Design
From a design standpoint, the lower portion of Juke is pure SUV. It combines chunky wheels, wide tyres, extended ground clearance and a robust stance with a top portion that is unadulterated sports car, with a high waistline, slim visor-like side glass graphics and a coupé-style falling roofline. The coupé effect is further underlined by the rear doors which have their handles hidden in the frame of the door.
Inside, the sports car theme continues with a driver-focused cabin dominated by a centre console design inspired by a motorcycle fuel tank. Finished in a distinctive high gloss colour, the 'bike' console adds a sense of fun to the car. Practicality is assured by the rear-opening hatch and versatile luggage area with hidden storage opportunities.
Juke is based on the Renault Nissan Alliance B platform and has a 2530mm wheelbase, is 4135mm long, 1765mm wide and 1570mm tall. On front-wheel drive versions, suspension is by MacPherson struts at the front with a torsion beam at the rear while four-wheel drive models have a multi-link rear suspension modelled on the system found on Qashqai.
The ALL-MODE 4x4-i, is a new development of Nissan's respected electronic all-wheel drive system and now features torque-vectoring technology to enhance agility and reduce understeer when cornering. As well splitting torque front to rear - up to a maximum of 50:50 - it can now be split from side-to-side across the rear axle, too.
Cornering ability is enhanced by sending increased torque to the outside rear wheel, reducing understeer. In total, up to 50% of the total available engine torque can be sent to either rear wheel. The inclusion of this innovation is a first in the small car segment - a technology that has, until now, only been found on top-of-the-range, premium vehicles.
Local Line Up
In South Africa, the Nissan Juke will be available in four specification grades. The naturally aspirated 1.6 litre engine is available on the entry level Acenta and mid range Acenta + models. The 1.6 litre DIG-T power plant will be available in the Tekna grade with a choice of sporty fabric upholstery or a full leather upholstered interior.
"Juke will inject some much needed masculinity and dynamism into the small car market. It may be an unconventional approach, but it celebrates the cutting edge nature of the Nissan brand and our expertise in producing innovative products. At Nissan we continue to break automotive traditions and in the Nissan Juke we can offer our customers a fun, exciting product which we are very pleased to have in our model line up. "Nancy Reddy, Nissan SA Product Manager for Juke
The new Nissan JUKE will be launched to the public early in November, this year.
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