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Press Centre > CAPtivate > CAP Blog
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Feb
17
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Nissan chose Paris to unveil the new Juke for the first time to the world’s press. The venue was ONERA, the French National Aerospace Research Centre, and we all had to have approval from the French authorities beforehand to enable us to get in. We all had our passports taken from us before going in and then had them given back on the way out. It was all very bizarre; it was not as though we saw or were likely to see any secrets planes, missiles or any highly confidential material. We asked why the launch was held here and not at their HQ, or better still in Sunderland where it is going to be built. We were told that ONERA provided a suitably dramatic backdrop for the presentation of the Juke. When the curtains went back, the Juke was in a very large wind-tunnel and that was it. No national secrets anywhere to be seen, just a wind-tunnel, so we gave in our passports and had to get defence clearance just to see a large round bit of concrete and five large fans. Very odd.
 Nissan describe the Juke as a cross-over, part SUV, part sports car but in reality it is a very good B sector car that will compete admirably with Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Mazda2, Seat Ibiza and Peugeot 207, to mention a few.
I asked Alfonso Albaisa, who is Vice President of Nissan Design, about the design of the Juke and he told me that it has more ground clearance than most of its competitors, giving it the SUV look whilst the lines make it look sporty. He said that the Juke had Nissan family DNA throughout the car and he described it as being ‘cool’. The heavily raked windscreen, Nissan’s signature cross-over upswept flick to the rear most side window and the sloped roofline provide a profile reminiscent of an aircraft’s canopy, he told me. He said that the interior is very modern and the centre console design is taken directly from a motor cycle’s petrol tank. He said that the Juke’s ultra modern design, both exterior and interior, will grab a younger audience. Nissan say that customers will be attracted to it as they are so uninspired by the lack of design originality currently available on the market. This is a statement I don’t necessarily agree with.
 The Juke goes on sale in the UK in October and will be available with a normally aspirated 1.6 litre petrol engine, a 1.6 litre turbo petrol engine (available with front wheel drive and Nissan’s ALL-MODE 4x4) and a 1.6 litre diesel engine. Prices and specification will be announced nearer the on sale date.
The Juke is a five door car with the rear handles hidden from sight, giving it more of a three door look. It is a good looking small hatch and I’m sure it will appeal to a wider audience than Nissan have been used to. Even some of Nissan’s senior people told me that their kids are not at all inspired or would want to drive a Nissan, but the Juke does fill a huge gap that will get younger people behind the wheel of a Nissan.
 The interior is typical B sector size and can easily accommodate four adults in relative comfort, but three people on the back seat could be a squeeze. There is plenty of headroom and the boot is average for this type of car. I was surprised to see that the rear seats did not slide back and forth, but were 60:40 split. The car we saw was a very early pre-production hand-built car but the quality looked to be of a fairly high standard, with fit and finish looking good. If the full production cars are up to this standard or better, then it will be good result for Nissan.
The all new Juke will create many more jobs in the UK at the plant in Sunderland, its suppliers and associated companies. The cars built there will be sold throughout Europe. The plant in Japan will supply Asia, North America and Australia, so Nissan are hoping that this will be a worldwide success.
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