Nissan Juke 1.0 DiG-T 114 DCT 2021 UK first drive

The second-generation Nissan Juke has provided a much-needed boost for Nissan in Europe, selling significantly better across even the pandemic-ravaged year of 2020 than its predecessor had in 2019.

The Mk1 Juke was the seminal car for the compact crossover scene, but after almost nine years on sale it was feeling – and, might I say, looking – very outdated.

This car couldn’t be more different, with a much better-resolved – you might even concede sharp – exterior and a considerably more upmarket interior.

The Mk1 was also never great to drive, most notably with a ride that felt completely out of character for a family car, even if the handling was dynamic (for a crossover) and the powertrain enjoyably zippy.

However, as we’ve already established in our full road test, the engineering department have matched their colleagues over in the design studios, making the Juke “ready to make the grade in most objective ways”.

Also unlike its predecessor but not in a good way, the Juke still offers but one engine: a 112bhp turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol. There won’t be any diesels this time and certainly no revival of the Juke Nismo. 

You won’t catch us complaining on either front there, but a more powerful petrol wouldn’t go amiss, and the planned hybrid would surely gobble up sales in this world of CO2 targets for manufacturers and the weight of the world resting ever heavier on the public’s shoulders.

Indeed, the only choices you get are for the gearbox and the trim level.

We’ve experienced the standard six-speed manual extensively, our road testers finding it to have a “fairly light, slick and well-defined” shift quality, so here we’re focusing on the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

This comes at a typical extra cost of £1500 and only a few official CO2g/km and should in theory be smoother than an old-school torque converter, as evidenced by rivals such as the Ford Puma, Hyundai Kona, Seat Arona and Volkswagen T-Cross all also going DCT.

As for trim, our car was in Tekna. Fourth of five, it starts at £24,300, £5100 above entry-level Visia.

Most of that extra money you’re spending on big alloy wheels (very cool-looking 19in items), a Bose eight-speaker surround-sound system, interior ambient lighting, heated front seats, a heated windscreen and the impressive-sounding Advanced Safety Shield.