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Thanks: Nissan Görkem The amendments Nissan has made to the Juke’s interior, in particular the technological upgrades and overall fit and finish, are most welcome. Efficiency remains a strong point too, especially with this hybrid powertrain, and the Juke continues to stand out visually in a tight segment. If you’re not interested in an exciting drive, the Nissan Juke is still a strong contender. If the Qashqai helped cement Nissan’s status in the booming C-segment SUV genre, the Juke undoubtedly did the same for the firm in the B-segment SUV class. The current, second-generation Juke model arrived in 2017, but still remains an incredibly popular offering, taking eighth spot in the top 10 best-selling cars in the UK in 2023. Hoping to build on this success, Nissan has updated its small SUV for 2024. Aside from a new selection of alloy wheels and the bold yellow paint, which Nissan says is making a return due to strong demand from “both customers and dealerships”, there’s no difference to be found on the exterior. Nissan says this was a conscious decision, given that the Juke’s style is already “the number one purchase reason for customers”. The bulk of the changes for 2024 have arrived in the cabin – which is a good thing, because the interior and its quality were far from the best in class. The first things you notice are the new screens - the same size you get in the much larger Qashqai and Ariya SUVs. The central touchscreen is angled eight degrees towards the driver and this, along with the ‘boomerang’ sweep of Alcantara and the new asymmetric armest, creates a more cocooning environment for the driver. The infotainment on the touchscreen is new too, and it benefits from a much higher resolution than the old eight-inch unit. It’s a clear and intuitive layout, and we found it to be pretty responsive as well. A few helpful features have been added, such as fuel prices within the integrated sat-nav, improved voice recognition, video playback while stationary and for the driver, a choice of ‘Classic’ or ‘Enhanced’ instrument clusters (although there’s very little difference between the two). The air vents have also been repositioned and there’s a new wireless charging pad for smartphones. Overall the general quality seems to now be at an acceptable level in the Juke, although our range-topping N-Sport version had flashes of faux carbon fibre around the dash, engine start button and centre-console cupholders, which brought the tone down slightly. That Alcantara trim situated around the cabin can only be swapped with grey, black or silver, so don’t go thinking you can match all of the Juke’s exterior paints. On the move the Juke Hybrid is pretty much unchanged from before. A , four-cylinder petrol engine is mated to an electric motor for power outputs of 93bhp and 48bhp respectively, delivering a total system output of 141bhp. That might sound like a decent number, but the multi-modal gearbox lets the side down, often feeling like it's in the wrong gear or not quick enough to match the engine’s speed. In a few circumstances we felt like we were driving a CVT, such was the disconnect from the gearbox – and it happens in Eco, Standard or Sport driving modes. The steering is a plus point, however, with a well-judged weight to it. Read More
