Test drive Nissan Juke
In short, Juke is more of a "joke", a highly insane one, as one of my Slovenian journalist colleagues put it.
If you ask yourself, what is the reason for such a bug? formbut the answer is best heard from the competent lips of Nissan designers, their chief designer Shira Nakamura: “Juke is unconventional, attractive, positive, full of energy and hope, which sums up the 'beach buggies' of the XNUMXs. Because Nissan is recognizable, it displays a completely individual personality and attracts customers with a particularly pronounced individualism.”
Now you understand? Not really? Let's face it, Nissan has found that the worst thing for them is to make cars that look like other brands. So they decided to be brave.
The first such daredevil was Qashqai. And he succeeded. As such a daredevil (in Nissan's home market), the Cube did well. Along with that, the Juke shares a common wheelbase and more as they used the right platform for Nissan's small cars to build it.
How to actually describe the Juke's appearance without falling back into the value judgments that will be the eternal core of the debate between those who loved the Juke at first sight and those who were so scared that they "organically" disliked it
Let's take another quote from Nissan's introductory press article: "It summarizes the best features of SUVs and sports cars and brings them together in a compelling way." says Vincent Wiinen, vice president of marketing for Nissan Europe.
“It's spacious yet compact, durable and dynamic, useful and playful. While all of these features seem exclusive, the Juke brings them together. Its design is really encouraging. By combining elements from two different concepts, a small but very attractive crossover has been created that inspires confidence with its innovative styling. ” Vincent added.
But no more than that, because in reality the Juke is a refreshment for our roads, a completely different and really crazy look at the automotive world. Juke is a happy message about how cars should be owned not only to be able to drive, but also to make the world more fun, diverse and non-committal.
It looks like inside. It offers interesting innovations such as a center backrest between the two front seats, the shape of which was inspired by the fuel tank of a motorcycle.
It seems completely irrelevant (at least for the Juk designers) that many would-be seat drivers will not be able to properly adjust their posture (because, for example, there is no longitudinal adjustment of the steering wheel, and the design of the seats does not live up to all expectations).
The flexible interior also conceals somewhat the problem that arises if the driver's seat is pushed too far back and there is little room for the rear passenger's knees.
There is also a surprisingly small trunk (only 270 liters), which in the all-wheel drive version shrinks to 210 liters. But in the end, this is less important, as the Juke, despite the four side doors, feels more like a coupe (the rear door handles are hidden in a section with a black edge next to the side windows).
Po technical payment The Juke is a real Nissan, which, as already mentioned, is installed on a smaller platform. The front suspension is classic, i.e. spring legs, and the auxiliary frame provides greater stability, body strength and quieter handling.
A similar frame is used for the rear suspension, but two designs are available. All front-wheel drive versions have a semi-rigid axle at the rear, while the all-wheel drive version is precisely controlled by a multi-link axle.
Most buyers will opt for front-wheel drive from the Juk, but both from a technical point of view and due to the slight difference in price, the all-wheel drive version is also interesting. The All Mode 4x4i transmission, already known from other Nissans, has been redesigned with the addition of a Torque Vectoring System (TVC).
It all sounds pretty complicated, but it's not: the all-wheel drive kicks in when - due to the slippery base under the front wheelset - it's necessary, until the torque is distributed 50:50 to both wheelsets. TVC takes care of the extra torque distribution at the rear, even here everything can only be transferred to a wheel with a less slippery base.
Electronic TVC support ensures that when cornering, external rear-wheel drive can help the car better follow the direction indicated by the front wheelset, i.e. improve dynamics, agility and ease and faster cornering, of course with less driver involvement. ...
The Juke is complemented by another electronic system called the Nissan Dynamic Control System. This is similar to what we have already seen with Ferrari and Alfa Romeo in the form of a DNA system. With its help, we can choose the dynamic settings of some of the car's functions in accordance with our wishes.
There are quite a few different settings, from the ability to control the operating mode of the air conditioner (temperature, direction and strength of air flows) to choosing one of the built-in operating settings in "D-mode" (levels Normal, Sport and Eco), as well as individual engine settings. transmission (if it is automatic or variator) or power steering.
With engines, at least for now, you can only choose between three, but we are confident that with them Nissans will fulfill most of the customer's wishes. Base gasoline and only turbodiesel are very similar in maximum power, but completely different in nature.
The gasoline engine will satisfy you with its affordability, while the turbodiesel is slightly more expensive for the same power, but therefore more economical. In the upper class, there is a 1-liter turbocharged petrol engine designed for both front-wheel and all-wheel drive versions.
The performance is astonishing, especially for a small car like the Juke, and could anger many owners of the larger, more respectable steel horse. This is eloquently evidenced by the maximum speed and the ability to accelerate.
A little more about driving and first impressions: even influenced by the good looks, large wheels and low profile tires on the road, the Nissan Juke is also sporty, less comfortable, but therefore agile and quick to corner, even if the center is higher. the severity of this crossover on the road, and the serial ESP also prevents the biggest overspeeding problems.
The Juke will hit the Slovenian market at the end of October. Until then, waiting with great patience for those who have already decided, and for those who still have doubts, it is already too late. Juke is something completely different, maybe they won't realize it until a few years from now!
Juke's ability to answer you in nine languages - English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Dutch - won't help either.
Tomaž Porekar, photo: institute
