8 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 2 1 AUGUST 2019
N
issan is reinventing
its trendsetting Juke
crossover for 2020
with an all-new
generation. Ahead of thatcar’s official unveiling in
early September, Autocar
joined Nissan for a preview of
a disguised pre-production
model, including a brief stint
behind the wheel.
The outgoing Juke arrived in
2010 with a design that can be
best described as polarising.
But that didn’t stop Nissan
selling a total of one millionJukes in Europe, with 60,
sales last year. But it knew the
writing was on the wall: the
crossover market, which the
Juke arguably conceived, is full
to bursting. With an abundance
of more modern rivals on the
scene, Nissan couldn’t afford
to rest on its laurels for the
second-generation Juke.So it hasn’t. The aim was
simple: keep the sense of fun
and sportiness that drew in
existing buyers, but smooth
off the sharper edges and
annoyances, such as limited
rear seat and boot space.
The new Juke uses the
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi
Alliance’s Common Module
Family B (CMF-B) platform.
This platform also underpins
the new Renault Captur and
Clio and brings several benefits.
For a start, the Juke’s footprint
is still a reasonable 4210mm
(up 75mm) but the wheelbase
has grown by 106mm to
2636mm. That’s 85mm up
on a Volkswagen T-Cross,
allowing for one of the roomier
cabins in its class.
At the same time, the use of
high-strength steel has made
the body-in-white 13% stiffer
and 6% lighter.
That’s helpful, because for
now the only engine will be
a Micra-sourced 1.0-litre
three-cylinder petrol unit,
with the same 115bhp and
133lb ft of torque (reaching
148lb ft on overboost). CO 2
figures for it have been
Nissan reinvents the Juke
DUSTER NOW CLEANER BUT £ 1000 MORE
Dacia has raised the entry price of the Duster
by £1000 to £10,995 with the arrival of a new
turbo three-cylinder petrol engine. Replacing the
naturally aspirated 1.6, the TCe 100 has less power
but 66% more torque and it emits 18% less CO 2.
INSIGNIA COUNTRY TOURER GETS BULLET
Vauxhall has axed the rugged Insignia Country
Tourer from its line-up, citing lack of profitability
due to slow sales. Data seen by Autocar shows
just 24 Country Tourers were sold in 2018,
significantly less than 1% of total Insignia sales.
Junior crossover has been rethought for a second generation – and we’ve driven it
New Juke will be
powered initially by
a 115bhp 1.0 petrolOFFICIAL PICTURES