This is the new Nissan Juke, and you can still have it with a manual gearbox

We’re always banging on about saving the manuals here at TG, so we should really be showering the facelifted Nissan Juke with praise. Because yes, despite just receiving its mid-life refresh, you can still have the combustion-engined crossover with three pedals and a six-speed manual gearbox. Hurrah!

Perhaps we should focus on the bits that have changed, though. Nissan has been shouting about the return of the "iconic" yellow paintjob. Apparently it harks back to the yellow of the first-gen Juke (remember how much of a shock that car was?) but is now slightly paler in shade and “delivers a modern and impactful look”. In case you’re wondering, there’s also new Pearl White and Pearl Black shades for the more unadventurous among you. A full 24 colour combo options in total though.

Anyway, the facelift also brings with it a new ‘dynamic’ N-Sport trim level and we’re promised significant changes to the Juke’s interior. The exterior on all other trim levels remains as before, because Nissan’s customers apparently told the design team to leave it well alone. Those interior changes include a redesigned centre console, new seats with fresh materials (including actual Alcantara on the N-Sport trim you see above), a 12.3-inch dial display and a similarly large 12.3-inch infotainment screen, which has been tilted towards the driver by eight degrees. Still plenty of proper buttons though.

There are extra USB-C ports, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a customisable home screen for the infotainment. Oh, and Nissan is at pains to mention that the glovebox is 29 per cent bigger than before on right-hand drive cars, the standard rear-view camera is now 1.3 megapixels rather than 0.3, and the armrest has been redesigned to be more supportive with 25mm more reach. At this point, we’d have to argue these changes probably can’t be described as ‘significant’.

Anyway, all good things for those who were already considering a Juke. Plus, as alluded to earlier the powertrains remain the same. That means you can either have the 143bhp hybrid setup, or a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol that makes 112bhp and sends its power through either a seven-speed DCT or a six-speed manual.

There are more safety systems as standard across the range too thanks to a new front camera, but Nissan has helpfully provided a custom setting so that you can switch all of those off with two presses of a steering wheel mounted button. Blimey, this and the manual gearbox? Is the Juke about to become a TG hero car?

We’re told facelifted cars are already in production at Nissan’s Sunderland factory, and prices will kick off at £23,485, rising to £28,3854 for top spec versions.