ON THE ROAD- IAN LYNAS DRIVES THE NEW NISSAN JUKE

I have to begin my report with a confession; I was never a fan of the first generation Nissan Juke. In its ten year history, however, a million were sold throughout Europe.
However with the second generation model, it is a very different story for me- I am a huge fan after having spent a week behind the wheel of the extremely well appointed TEKNA version, the equivalent in the Republic of Ireland being the N-DESIGN. There is no escape, the new Nissan Juke is a very trendy vehicle, drive one and you will certainly attract attention.
Fitting into the coupe crossover category, the new version is so very different in many ways than the original which took to our streets, then its unique styling was a talking point.
The new model is fresher in every sense of the word and clearly Nissan are targeting a young buyer or dare I say for those young at heart. Most like to enjoy their motoring and after having spent a week behind the wheel of a Juke, the word fun comes out very strong indeed.
This new member to the Nissan family will certainly please those in our midst who like to be connected as the new Juke bristles with technology; every item that you would expect is there to stay in touch or to simply enjoy entertainment on he move.

One touch which I really enjoyed was the speakers of the BOSE sound system built into the head rests of the rally style seats. The version I had on test really stood out with its distinctive Gun Metallic paint finish with the roof finished in Fuji Sunset Red (extra cost). Further visual appeal came courtesy of black nineteen inch alloy wheels, which did transmit the bumps over poor road surfaces, however on a smooth surface there was no such problem. Proving the power, a one litre engine allied to a DCT transmission delivered adequate performance, enough for most I suspect. Rest to 100kph (62mph) in 11.1 seconds and on to a top speed of 180kph (112mph). I have no doubt if I had driven in a less sporty fashion and used the economy mode more often my economy figure would have been much better, I tended to drive in the other two drive modes – standard and sport. I found when in economy mode, performance was decidedly lacklustre, the same could not be stated when using sport mode.

The already noted striking exterior is matched by an extremely well appointed interior which I would best describe as sports-like. The bucket rally style seats provide plenty of grip and the sports theme is carried through with items as the flat bottomed steering wheel which is now becoming more and more common. The NissanConnect system delivers in no small way, you can enjoy Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to indulge in your favourite music and there is an eight inch touch screen, you can access Tom Tom maps, Live Traffic reports or use the incar wi-fi which many will find of great use. I already noted the speakers in the seat head rests, well there are six more linked to the superb Bose system. The technology story goes further with Nissan ProPILOT, this offers electronically assisted steering, acceleration and braking. This gives the clue that the new Juke delivers a sporty drive and road handling is good with lots of grip.

On the odd occasion, I make excuses to get behind the wheel of the car I have on test, so I enjoyed my week so much that I made those excuses to go places just to get another taste of Juke motoring. With all its technology and driving aids the end result is a thoroughly satisfying small crossover, one which rewrites the Juke story.

Ian Lynas