Why not to Buy Nissan Juke!

MANILA: It's quite impossible to mistake a Nissan Juke for something else. It comes with a weird design and styling that makes it look completely different on the road. It is rare to find mainstream automakers who build cars that come with different styling but fails to match the driving experience. It seems to be a compromised car that offers slightly cheap-feeling interior and cramped rear seats. The five-door compact SUV has divisive styling which makes it a less practical car.

Despite the Juke's radical exteriors, it's least rewarding car to own and drive because of its ultra light steering and uncomfortable handling. Stiff suspension means the body doesn’t lean too much in fast corners, and precise, quick-acting steering encourages you to throw the Juke into corners at speed. Also the automatic CVT gearbox fails to boost performance and eventually makes the car noisier. From inside Juke is more cramped up as it doesn't offers enough space and result in uncomfortable journey. The boot space is the rear is packed and small too.

Inspite being a SUV, it gives a feel of sitting inside a normal hatchback. Juke interior isn’t much radical as its exterior but adds a bit of modernity by offering a 5.8-inch touchscreen. However, the quality of the materials used for the dashboard is not up to mark rather it resembles like a cheap plastic and least attractive. It isn’t even on a par with the VW Polo, that comes in similar price. Jukes controls are also not easy to use as not much headroom has been provided in the rear. It seems like only the front seat can accommodate tall people and in the rear seats even small children might feel uncomfortable.

Majority of Juke models are front-wheel drive inspite of four-wheel drive that gives it a running mill like a hatchback. Juke is equipped with economical engines available in gasoline and diesel variants. The 1.5-litre DCi diesel is the most economical engine, but lacks smoothness and response. It is also a bit noisy in comparison to the petrol mill. Meanwhile, the 1.2-litre DIG-T turbo gasoline engine offers smooth delivery and decent fuel economy.

However, the cheapest engine of all is the least powerful, 93hp 1.6-litre gasoline.It comes with short gear and takes the car from 0-62mph in 12 seconds, withot making it go much slow. The fuel economy comes around 47.1mpg while the next engine up is a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces 113 hp of peak power and goes 0-60mph in 10.8 seconds, offering improved fuel economy of upto 50.4mpg.

Additionally, Juke comes with standard safety kit ISOFIX, child-seat points, anti-lock brakes and tyre-pressure monitoring system. Somehow Juke managed to score good in child occupant protection but later on it was found that the rivals perform better and offer greater protection for adults and pedestrians.

In Driver Power 2015 customer satisfaction survey, Juke is listed at a disappointing 138th position out of the top 200 cars. Overall, Juke's owner satisfaction is pretty low.