Nissan's Cute New Juke

[ALS]

The $22,260 Nissan Juke is the unlikely union of a sports hatchback and a compact SUV

Jason H. Harper - BUSINESSWEEK - Febuary 17, 2011

Yep, the couple in the VW next to us are definitely checking out my Nissan. But I'm not sure if I'm getting smiles of admiration or patronizing snickers.

The $22,260 Nissan Juke is the unlikely union of a sports hatchback and a compact SUV. The result, to say the least, is quirky. My co-rider, a woman in her late 20s, proclaimed it "super cute" and, seeing my hesitation, said, "It's designed for me, not you."

The Juke's dimensions are nearly as confounding as Nissan's description of it as a "bold urban sport cross." It's over five feet tall, yet is a foot-and-a-half shorter than a Toyota Rav4. I can't quite imagine its claim to seat up to five, and the stowage in the rear is underwhelming.

Perhaps I'm just less willing to follow Nissan on its design perambulations. The last designs I truly loved were the 350Z sports car and first-generation FX SUV, both 2003 model years. They had taut skins over a lean musculature. ... [Read More]

[WriConsult]

I had high hopes for the Juke -- and its mileage is very good for its weight -- but WOW. With only 86+10 cf of cargo space that thing is TINY. Its trunk is no bigger than that of the CR-Z (seriously). Not much utility in this sport "utility" vehicle. And remember, that 10cf rating assumes you're packing stuff to the ceiling, blocking the rear window; for most purposes, usable cargo space is going to be considerably less.

If you've gotta have an SUV, it sure is a cute one. If style is more important than substance and form is more important than function, get it. But even if its meager capacity is adequate for your needs there are far better choices: a Honda Civic has more space, gets much better mileage and costs less; for that matter, in the hatchback world so does Nissan's own Versa, or Scion's xD, or ....

[PaleMelanesian]

It's cute. Other benefits are... umm... it's cute?

[robj80]

The issue is people thinking of this as an SUV. It's more closely related to a golf gti then honda CRV. It's a very small vehicle. It's smaller then my Versa.

Also the real world mileage seems to be very poor from what I have seen on the juke forums.

[WriConsult]

Just to mention the Versa one more time, because it seems to me such a superior choice from the same company: I just rented a Versa hatch for 11 days in Minnesota last month, and it's a great little car. One of the quieter small cars I've been in, quite comfortable, and very nimble and enjoyable to drive. I like it a LOT more than the (previous-gen) Focus that is my usual rental car. If it were 6-12" longer in back I'd be sorely tempted to buy one.

Not to mention cheaper. A few weeks ago, several of the local Nissan dealerships were advertising Versa 1.8S hatchbacks for $10,900. And not just "1 at this price either": most of the ads were "8 at this price" -- basically every non-optioned Versa hatch on the lot. Admittedly the base Versa (even the 1.8S hatchback) lacks power windows and locks, but I think the prices were driven in part by heavy rebates, so Versas with the power package would have been heavily discounted too. Even at MSRP it's many thousands cheaper than the smaller, thirstier Juke.

[moneysaver]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

It's cute. Other benefits are... umm... it's cute?

I know looks are subjective ... but cute is not even remotely close for the description of this hideous monstrosity.

I can't believe that this ugly duckling came out of the same company that produced.....


and



This is worse than ...

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

It's cute. Other benefits are... umm... it's cute?

You will quickly be able to judge a person's character by the car so you know you can avoid them.

It's enjoyable to drive. (Maybe).

If you get AWD it's a truck and helps Nissan meet CAFE.

Crossovers are popular in some places because as everybody knows, you need AWD to drive in snow.*

* I've only managed to drive my Prius in snow on the stock Yokohamas because I am a genius at the wheel.**
** It can't be any of the obvious stuff like taking the Interstate instead of the highway, obeying flashing speed limits, driving below regular speed limits, keeping distance to cars ahead, avoiding rapid acceleration, coasting and braking slowly to stops, anticipating acceleration and braking problems, taking turns carefully and expecting understeer. I mean, people with AWD do that too, right?

[robj80]

Originally Posted by WriConsult

Just to mention the Versa one more time, because it seems to me such a superior choice from the same company: I just rented a Versa hatch for 11 days in Minnesota last month, and it's a great little car. One of the quieter small cars I've been in, quite comfortable, and very nimble and enjoyable to drive. I like it a LOT more than the (previous-gen) Focus that is my usual rental car. If it were 6-12" longer in back I'd be sorely tempted to buy one.

Not to mention cheaper. A few weeks ago, several of the local Nissan dealerships were advertising Versa 1.8S hatchbacks for $10,900. And not just "1 at this price either": most of the ads were "8 at this price" -- basically every non-optioned Versa hatch on the lot. Admittedly the base Versa (even the 1.8S hatchback) lacks power windows and locks, but I think the prices were driven in part by heavy rebates, so Versas with the power package would have been heavily discounted too. Even at MSRP it's many thousands cheaper than the smaller, thirstier Juke.

To add a correction here all Versa's with a production date of 12/10 and later have power locks and power windows. That includes even the 1.6l Versa's. That info came straight from nissan on www.nissannews.com.

I like small cars. If I wanted some pep I would get a juke, if I want roominess and great mpgs I would get the versa 1.6 like I did. The 1.8 versa gets poor real world mpgs according to driver's reports.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by moneysaver

I know looks are subjective ... but cute is not even remotely close for the description of this hideous monstrosity.

I don't disagree. I'm sure the designers were going for "cute" and the target market values "cute" and considers this to fit that definition.

[Blackbelt]

My wife loves weird little cars. Always has. A lot of people hated the styling of the PT Cruiser
She loved it
A lot of people hated the styling of the Scion xB
She loved it
A lot of people hated the styling of the smart
She loved it
A lot of people hated the styling of the Fiat Multipla.
She loved it.
I asked her what she thought of the Juke.

She said it's hideous.