Nissan Juke review

The Nissan Juke’s starting price looks very reasonable in Visia grade, but even the Acenta trim, which is reasonably equipped, undercuts SE trims of the Skoda Kamiq. However, as you move up the range the poshest trims push the price up by many thousands of pounds, launching the Juke into Volkswagen T-Roc territory.

Fuel economy and CO2 emissions are respectable if not class leading; the Ford Puma's mild-hybrid engines set the standard for efficiency among small SUVs. And, while the Juke is predicted to hold onto its value considerably better than a Citroen C3 Aircross, the Skoda Kamiq and T-Roc are expected to depreciate at a slower pace.

Check out our New Car Deals page not just for the best cash prices, but also hefty discounts on PCP finance. 

Even entry-level Visia trim gets you cruise control, air-conditioning and electric windows all round. However, Acenta trim is the lowest trim-level we'd suggest going for, because of the infotainment visibility upgrades we mentioned earlier in our review. It also gives you alloy wheels.

We reckon N-Connecta makes the most sense, though; this mid-range trim brings a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearlever, climate control and keyless start.

Tekna and Tekna+ models get 19in alloy wheels, heated front seats, adaptive cruise control and safety aids that we'll describe in more detail in the safety and security section, but these top two trims are rather pricey.

The latest Juke was too new to have featured in the 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey, but Nissan as a brand performed woefully. Indeed, the Japanese manufacturer came 27th in the overall league table (of 31 manufacturers).

The Juke comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty as standard, although this can be extended at extra cost. That's pretty average, and beaten by Renault and Hyundai with their five-year warranties, and Kia's cover, which stretches to seven years. 

The Nissan Juke gets an overall five-star (out of five) safety rating from Euro NCAP, but the devil is in the detail. We looked into the tests more deeply and discovered that, while good, in the adult occupancy test it was found to offer marginal protection in a sideways crash, which gave it a lower score than the Skoda Kamiq. It performed slightly better than the Kamiq in the child occupancy and pedestrian tests, though.

Even entry-level Visia models have automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition. Meanwhile, range-topping Tekna and Tekna+ versions add blindspot monitoring and rear cross- traffic alert (this warns you about cars that are about to cross your path when you’re backing out onto a road).

Emergency assist (a button that you can use to directly contact the emergency services) is standard on all versions, as are two Isofix mounting points.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here