Nissan has toned down some of the design quirks of its Juke for the latest generation. The automaker is also taking the small SUV upscale to better compete with its rivals.
Nissan unveiled the details and photos of the Juke on Tuesday. It will go on sale in Europe starting in November.
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When the Juke was launched in 2010, it redefined sales of small SUVs and crossovers in Europe, transforming what had been a niche market into an extremely popular segment characterized by small, high-riding cars with highly personalized designs.
Nissan lost the segment lead after 2014, as other automakers developed rivals with larger interiors, more features, and better driving characteristics.
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The Juke was the 14th best-selling small SUV/crossover in Europe in the first half of the year, with sales down 14% to 33,533, according to market research data from JATO Dynamics. The Renault Captur leads this segment with a volume increase of 1% to 120,638 units.
With the new model, Nissan aims to boost its sales to just under 100,000 per year, a figure similar to that of 2017 for the current car, said Adrien Chaintreau, the marketing manager for the Juke in Europe.
Addressed Weaknesses
The new Juke has gained 75mm in length to 4210mm. It is 18mm shorter than the latest Captur, with which it shares the Renault-Nissan CMF-B platform.
The Juke’s wheelbase is 105mm longer.
This change addresses two weaknesses of the current model: the lack of rear space and the low cargo capacity, said Matthew Ewing, development manager at Nissan’s European technical center based in the UK.
The rear knee space in the Juke has increased by 58mm (read the details at www.auto-actu.org), while the trunk space has increased by 20% to reach 422 liters.
The Juke features a sportier design than the current model. The signature daytime running lights of the SUV that extended over the hood of the current car are now slimmed down and curved to the side, but the car retains the separate round headlights.
A black band separates the cabin and the roof from the rear pillar to give a “floating roof” appearance. Nissan says it helps give the car a coupe-style design.
Softer Design
Matt Weaver, design director at Nissan Europe, stated that the Juke looks robust yet very agile. He referred to it as “a small ball of muscle.”
The outgoing Juke’s former interior design elements, such as the motorcycle fuel tank-shaped center console and door armrests inspired by diver fins, have been toned down in this replacement.
“Smoothing out these things has allowed us to play with the interior stitching and the use of materials,” said Ms. Weaver. The quality of the cabin has made “two leaps forward,” he said.
The dashboard emphasizes an 8-inch infotainment screen that can be equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to allow customers to mirror their smartphone screens. Nissan’s ConnectServices app is available to allow customers to check the car’s status, such as tire pressure, and to unlock the doors remotely.
Possible Hybrid, No Diesel
The Juke is available with a range of active safety and semi-autonomous technology, including adaptive cruise control that can stop the car in traffic, and a blind-spot warning system that will steer the car back into the lane if it detects that a lane change would bring it into the path of another vehicle.
The Juke will initially be sold with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine developing 115 horsepower. Other engines, including the possibility of a plug-in hybrid powertrain that Renault plans for the Captur, are under consideration, Ewing said.
Nissan does not intend to replace the outgoing diesel model.
Customers will have the choice of a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The body-in-white uses about 50% high-strength steel (also known as hot-stamped steel) to increase rigidity while helping to reduce the average weight by 23 kg compared to the current model, Nissan said.
Nissan will continue to build the Juke at its Sunderland plant in northeast England.
Production starts in October and will focus primarily on European markets. Outside of Europe, Nissan has shifted its small SUV strategy towards the Kicks model, which is now on sale in the U.S. instead of the Juke.
The Juke will start at £17,395 (€19,000, $20,850) in the UK, and reach £25,395 for better-equipped models.