New Nissan Juke:

The 2014 Geneva Motor Show has been a fantastic showcase for Nissan this year and while the main highlight for Nissan this year was the eNV200, it was the new 2014 Juke that stole the show for me.

I’ll be honest, I am somewhat biased towards the Nissan Juke. I happen to think that it is the most beautiful vehicle out there at the moment and I know that there are a lot of people who will disagree with me and claim that it is in fact the ugliest car in Nissan’s range, that it looks like a fat frog or that they misspelled Puke when they named it. Water off a duck’s back. For me the Juke is a bold statement about being different. Much like a fedora – it takes a certain kind of attitude and proclivity to pull it off, but when you do, wow, it looks good. I don’t know if it is the fact that it looks like it is crouching, waiting to tear away, while at the same time looking like it is laughing at a joke that only Juke owners will ever understand, but there is just something about the Juke that just screams fun and excitement.

And I’m not the only one it seems! For all its naysayers, when the Juke was first released in 2010 it sold ten times more than Nissan expected and still continues to be a popular car with over 420 000 sold so far. So when Nissan announced that they would be revealing the 2014 Juke at the Geneva Motor show, you can imagine how excited people were… and Nissan did not disappoint!
The exterior has kept the Juke’s bold looks: Nissan has shaped the rear bumper into a more aggressive boomerang shape, complete with LED lights for a distinctive look, especially at night, and at the front, the unique upper lamps on the bonnet have been redesigned and upgraded with LED and Xenon bulbs that accentuate the more aggressive grille and front bumper trim. What has grabbed most people however is Nissan’s new and distinctive colourings for the Juke. Nissan has decided to go with ten shades, with Sunlight Yellow, Ink Blue Metallic and solid Red being added to ensure that the Juke stands out even at the most flamboyant event. Even in a parking lot full of Jukes, you can still ensure that your monster stands out thanks to Nissan’s new personalization options – you can accentuate your Juke with brightly coloured, inserts, mirror caps, side sills, roof spoiler and door handles. This personalization isn’t just for the exterior: rather than offering you the same old grey that you would get in most vehicles, Nissan is offering you the option to accent your interior through personalization packs for center console, door trims etc. (Check out the video below at 0:52 to see more!)

Aside from the expected technological upgrades, such as Nissan Connect, Nissan Dynamic control Safety Shield, Nissan has incorporated its Around View Monitors system into some models of the new Juke, which consist of multiple cameras mounted into the Juke’s body, allowing you a 360 degree top down view of your vehicle on its computer to assist in parking and increasing safety with its Lane Departure Warnings, Blind Spot Warning, and Moving Object Detection systems. Nissan has also redesigned some of the interior to increase the amount of boot space to an impressive 354-litres.

What might get some people is that Nissan has toned down the petrol engine of the Juke from the traditional 1.6 to a 1.2-litre DIG-T engine. Rather than giving up power, this new engine produces roughly the same power and a lot more torque thanks to its turbocharger, while turning out 5.5l/100kms. The old diesel engine is still around, but has also been given a thorough working over to improve its emission and economy even more.

All in all the new Nissan Juke is going to be a beauty, and a powerful one at that. Expect to see it in South Africa towards the end of the year. In the meantime you can still pick up the 2013 models at amazing prices at http://www.group1nissan.co.za/.

Source: as posted on http://wikivillage.co.za/