Topic: First Drive: 2011 Nissan Juke

[Autos_Editor]

The Nissan Juke's distinctive styling is a real eye-opener, but it's the Juke's spirited performance and handling ' not to mention its reasonable price ' that really makes this small crossover really stand out from the crowd, says Editor Greg Wilson.

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[rrocket]

You know.....I think it's kinda neat.  Don't mind the design at all.

[Dan]

This thing is hideous to go along side the Cube....What is Nissan thinking? And people complain about Honda and Acura saying they have bad designs ummm I dont think so I think Nissan takes the title for the ugliest vehicles on the market.

[bikenut]

i thought the ugly butt protrusion thing was a one time thing with the nissan leaf , obviously i was wrong

[tpl]

This thing is hideous to go along side the Cube....What is Nissan thinking? And people complain about Honda and Acura saying they have bad designs ummm I dont think so I think Nissan takes the title for the ugliest vehicles on the market.

I agree.  Nissan's ( not Infiniti) designer makes Chris Bangle appear like Monet.

[Frontier1]

I will be test driving it, if I like it then probably will buy it. As for looks, well the Echo was one of the ugliest car on the road fall 99 when it came out and I bought one.   Toyota sold tons of them and still do, now the Yaris is bit better looking.  You have to give Nissan credit for being gutsy.

[Winterpeg]

Maybe Nissan should of called it the "Jolt" as in whoaaa baby!
It's different for sure but it doesn't offend me like a certain old Pontiac cuv did (no names please).....and I happen to like Echos too (my next purchase). 

[tpl]

I will be test driving it, if I like it then probably will buy it. As for looks, well the Echo was one of the ugliest car on the road fall 99 when it came out and I bought one.   Toyota sold tons of them and still do, now the Yaris is bit better looking.  You have to give Nissan credit for being gutsy.

Quite right!   I was one of the few who gave Bangle and his management credit for Gutsy even though I though that some of his efforts were ugly.

[D70]

A dodgy vehicle?

Looks like a formula for success with a variety of ways to get the power down to the ground.

I'll stick to my similar engine sized RV which is even quicker and more rewarding to drive and has no turbo wine and better economy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/d70w7/4911484003/

[Ex-airbalancer]

A dodgy vehicle?

Looks like a formula for success with a variety of ways to get the power down to the ground.

I'll stick to my similar engine sized RV which is even quicker and more rewarding to drive and has no turbo wine and better economy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/d70w7/4911484003/

  enough with the Miata already

[John Meyer]

The points of interest here for me are the engine and the base price/standard equipment.

The direct injection engine is an indicator of what we can expect in large numbers over the next several years - a 30% to 40% bump in output per cc.  Apparently the new Hyundai Accent will have something similar.  I'd like to see this technology applied to the max in a small fuel efficient package like a Smart car.  They could name it the Gifted Car.

Also, the Juke appears to be very well equipped for its base price which makes the Fiesta and the Mazda 2 look very pricey once you add in comparable options.

The look of the Juke is "nifty" and it has a lot of really good design features built in - high rear lights - a big safety plus - and high rear door handles to minimize road dirt accumulation etc.

However, the front headlight wells look like real slush collectors.

Cheers,
John Meyer

[aknutson]

No Aztek comments yet? I'm impressed. Look, it's a shocking design, but isn't that a good thing? It shows creative ideas are actually making it to the showroom. Whether or not it is this exact model that has polarizing styling and draws love-it or hate-it comments (personally I love it!), it shows that manufacturers are able to bring what looks like a concept stage car onto the open road. So often we look at a new car reveal and say oooh, ahhh, but then it finally gets the green light for production but doesn't hold a candle to the show car everybody was drooling over. This may just set a precedent for other automakers to start taking design 'risks', and not everybody wants to drive a beige, rectangular Camry. I'd take a black, FWD 6-speed Juke with an upgraded stereo...looks like a lot of fun.

[wing]

Hey John, you really should join the forum instead of being a guest.

[Frontier1]

No Aztek comments yet? I'm impressed. Look, it's a shocking design, but isn't that a good thing? It shows creative ideas are actually making it to the showroom. Whether or not it is this exact model that has polarizing styling and draws love-it or hate-it comments (personally I love it!), it shows that manufacturers are able to bring what looks like a concept stage car onto the open road. So often we look at a new car reveal and say oooh, ahhh, but then it finally gets the green light for production but doesn't hold a candle to the show car everybody was drooling over. This may just set a precedent for other automakers to start taking design 'risks', and not everybody wants to drive a beige, rectangular Camry. I'd take a black, FWD 6-speed Juke with an upgraded stereo...looks like a lot of fun.

Well, for me since I will be travelling a greater distance as of next spring, Cornwall-Ottawa, it will be top of the line fully loaded. Metallic Bronze.

[Roy]

I actually don't mind the looks even though I think Acura and the Aztek are/were terrible lookers.  I also really like 2/3rds of the powertrain at this price.  Vectoring AWD for the mid-20k!?!  You have to nearly double that to get 2 of the other vehicles on the market with similar technology.  Nice engine specs too with the ability to control fuel management.  But the stupid CVT?!?  It would've been nice to have the manual as std and the CVT as an option, although I can see through the marketing lens how most of the target market (probably female/female influence) would prefer the CVT.  Still, carve off some weight, add a stick and you have a provocative design that *might* steal some GTI purchasers looking for something with more a statement than the conservative VW design.

The fact that they are offering torque vectoring at this price point though is telling me that there is a likelihood of the technology spreading to a lot of other AWD platforms.  Subaru - are you paying attention?

[TopGun]

A 6-speed...good on ya Nissan.

I wonder what it would have looked like if the round lights were more mean looking shape...it doesn't seem to match the rest of the car.  I'd still consider one though.

[Jaeger]

I dunno about the styling - it's definitley out there (and intentionally so) - I'll look forward to seeing it in person.  The dimensions don't seem to match what my eyes perceive the proportions to be.  This thing is shorter than a Versa hatch?

But a 6 speed manual, diminutive but torquey turbo 4 and good reports on the fun to drive factor are all strong positives.  I wonder what other applications Nissan has in store for this little motor?

Jaeger

[theroadhammer]

Nice legs, shame about 'er face!
(maybe they can use that song in their commercials!)

[CanuckS2K]

I haven't seen one in the flesh yet, but I kinda like it from the pics.  Great specs, features, etc at that price point too!  I am guessing this will do rather well for Nissan. 

[dutch]

I think it is great that we are getting some of the "quirky" designs that are out there. Will it be a top seller - nope. However the fact that we have an option that stands out from the crowd is a real plus in my books.