Nissan Juke - long-term review

Our long-term Juke recently had a starring role in a Top Gear group test. It was up against the Ford Puma and the Renault Captur, and (presumably you know this already if you’ve read the story, but if not, sorry for the spoiler...) the Juke did not win. Sad face.

I kind of understand why – tests of these cars ultimately come down to personal preference or a very rigid adherence to the concept... in this instance, the best small family crossover. The Juke, with its comparatively small boot, high loading lip and relatively confined-feeling rear seating area does not immediately shine as a family car.

But who buys one as such anyway? I doubt Nissan itself really believes it’s a family car more than an urban runabout.

Even as an urban runabout though, the Juke does throw up a couple of issues. Primarily that the in-town ride quality is somewhat crunchy; speed bumps are a world of pain if you take them any faster than crawling pace. Conversely, on the motorway, ride quality improves drastically meaning longer journeys are much more comfortable than city rat runs. Sadly, as Paul points out in the group test, for a small, fun car, it’s just not quick enough to be properly fun to drive.

However, there are other positives we can take from this test.

That stereo is epically good – certainly the best on test. Also, whether you like it or not, it’s refreshing to see a car with distinctive styling. The first-generation Juke was wilfully wacky, too wacky for many, but with this second-generation car the craziness has been dialled back a bit and the design feels more finished, less adolescently awkward.

So, it may not have won the test, but it’s no loser.