The funky and unique design of the 2015 Nissan Juke will make onlookers do a double take as you pass. The quirky appearance of the Juke sets it apart from any other vehicle on the road and when you add the new for 2015 Solar Yellow colour, you are sure to stand out from the crowd!
Also, new for 2015 is a slight, bolder update to the exterior design with a new hood mounted LED light design, a few other small design tweaks and three new exterior colours to choose from.
ENGINE & DRIVE
The 2015 Nissan Juke’s noisy but peppy 1.6L turbo charged engine outputs 188 horsepower and can be upgraded to the sport-tuned NISMO version with 215 horsepower for drivers looking for the extra performance. I found the base engine to have plenty of power for the small size of the 2015 Juke. There was a bit of a trade off with the amount of noise that transferred into the cabin.
The 2015 Nissan Juke has a great driving feel with balanced yet lively acceleration, smooth cornering and handling and great road feedback for the driver, leading to an overall nimble yet confident drive.
The lightweight build combined with a four cylinder engine provided for 8.2 L/100km of fuel consumption averaged over our 350km city and highway test drive. One negative attributed to the lightweight build are the tinny doors that feel quite weak.
The 2015 Juke also comes with 2 drive selectors, one to adjust the engine response between Sport, Normal and Eco mode and one to select between 2WD and 4WD. I did like the ability to put the Juke into Eco mode when desired, but it doesn’t save which mode was last selected when car is turned off, which can get annoying if you have many stops to make and want to keep it in one driving mode.
INTERIOR & EXTERIOR
The unique looking front end of the 2015 Nissan Juke sees a slight redesign making it even bolder. Completing the distinctive exterior of the Juke are the headlights built into the bumper with bold, aerodynamically shaped LED lights mounted on the hood, a bumper that seamlessly flows into the body and a thin grille to emphasize the large and wide, one of a kind front end design.
Following the sloping roofline past the curves and accent lines of the side, the rear end is equally as unique as the front! Once again the bumper seamlessly flows into the body and the wide haunches of the rear end are emphasized by the taillights that flatten out to the sides. The only thing missing from making the 2015 Nissan Juke a distinctively aggressive design is a dual exhaust!
Matching the distinguishing exterior is a modern and well laid out interior with both its ups and downs. First, the trade off for the sloped roofline is the low headroom for rear passengers. Add to this, an already cramped interior space with little leg room and you have a vehicle that is better suited for 2 passengers rather than four. Also affected is the reduced trunk space, which barely fit one set of golf clubs without having to fold down the rear seats.
I liked the red stitching of the leather seats and found it brought a bit of sportiness to the interior. It also matched quite well with the bright yellow exterior. Equipped with 2 separate digital screens, the interior is able to present a more minimalistic design with fewer buttons and dials. The top screen controls the vehicle options, media and navigation, while the bottom screen controls climate settings and displays drive data. I found the controls for the climate a bit annoying as it could only be accessed from the climate control screen and not while you are reviewing the drive data.
FINAL THOUGHTS
With only a few exceptions, there are not many vehicles that push the boundaries of conservative design. The 2015 Nissan Juke is one of the biggest exceptions and wears this distinction proudly. Once you get used to the uniqueness of the exterior and the extra attention from onlookers, you will see that the 2015 Juke also performs well and is priced competitively. With the base SV Juke starting at $20,498 and the top of the line performance NISMO RS AWD starting at $31,998 there are plenty of options in between.
