Nissan Juke Review 2023

The Nissan Juke has grown up. It's now more spacious than before, has a much smarter interior and comes fully loaded with technology to keep you safe on the road. It's now quite a convincing small SUV – but does it have what it takes to tempt buyers away from the Ford Puma, Renault Captur and Skoda Kamiq? Read our full Nissan Juke review to find out.

It's fair to say the original Nissan Juke was a triumph of style over substance. It didn't even look that good in our eyes – but it still sold by the proverbial bucketload.

Fortunately, when the second-generation Nissan Juke went on sale in 2020, the brand had clearly listened to existing owners and addressed their key concerns. Based on the same platform as the Renault Captur, the Juke is now fractionally bigger than before. It's the length between the front and rear wheels that has changed the most significantly, meaning there's now a very useable amount of room inside – including a big boot and space for rear passengers.

Standard equipment is also impressive, provided you avoid the entry-level Nissan Juke Visia. Acenta models and above get an eight-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is positioned high on the dash and is easy to use without relying too heavily on touchscreen operation (the graphics do look a bit dated, though).

Buyers get the choice of two engines – a little 1.0-litre DIG-T petrol (a three-cylinder unit with 117PS) or a new hybrid model which pairs a 1.6-litre petrol with an electric motor.

Although it's not particularly sprightly, the smaller unit should be fairly efficient and is a match for similar entry-level engines found in alternative small SUVs. It's available with a six-speed manual gearbox or an impressive seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which ought to be a lot more reliable than the CVT used in the previous Nissan Juke.

If you're in the market for a new Nissan Juke, though, we'd recommend looking for a hybrid model. It's more refined around town than the petrol as it can run under electric power alone at speeds of up to 34mph – not for any great distance, mind (for that, you'd be better looking at a plug-in hybrid alternative like the Renault Captur).

No matter which engine you choose, the Juke's been designed to be stiffer than the Captur, although it's not as fun to drive as a Ford Puma. It does feel a bit firm over uneven road surfaces but it's a lot less floaty than, say, a Citroen C3 Aircross.

With prices starting at less than £20,000, we reckon the Nissan Juke represents impressive value for money. Even the highest-spec models won't break the bank, with top-of-the-range Nissan Juke Hybrids only just nudging £30,000. Having said that, we're struggling to find an area in which the Juke really excels. It's a very competent all-rounder, but is that enough in a class that also includes the Volkswagen T-Cross, Toyota Yaris Cross and Ford Puma? We're not so sure.

Thanks to a longer wheelbase, the Juke has more cabin space than the old model. This is most noticeable in the back, where despite still being quite gloomy, there's much better leg room.

Not only is this good for taller teens, but crucially means more space for a rear-facing car seat. Headroom is better and it means a six-footer can just about sit in the back - behind another adult - without feeling hemmed in.

The Nissan Juke's boot is far bigger and more useable than the old model too. There's now 422 litres of space (up from 354 litres) which is not far short of a Qashqai while the opening is considerably wider, making it much easier to get things like pushchairs in. There's also an adjustable boot floor, so you can hide odds and ends below, although the batteries do eat into this space in the hybrid model (which has an official boot capacity of 354 litres).

Storage is about average with decent door pockets and a (rather small) cubby under the central armrest.

The other small but significant change is the addition of reach adjustment in the steering. It makes it much easier (especially for taller drivers) to get comfortable behind the wheel. The driving position has that nice lofty crossover feel and there's good forward visibility. The same can't be said for the view out of the back, the thick rear pillars hamper that, but all models bar the Visia come with a rear camera. 

If you're upgrading from the old Nissan Juke, you're going to be surprised by the quality of the interior. There are still a few hard plastics here and there (high up on the door cards, for example), but generally the interior feels much better finished.

Some of it is spec-dependent, of course. Our mid-spec Nissan Juke N-Connecta test car featured a pleasant leather finish around the centre console which you won't get on the cheapest models, as well as on the inside of the doors.

The old Nissan infotainment has also been replaced with a much improved system. Entry level Visia models get a basic layout with a monochrome screen, but it does at least have Bluetooth, DAB and a USB port. 

All other models get an eight-inch touchscreen display. Its graphics look a bit dated, but it responds quickly to inputs and its position high up on the dashboard reduces the amount of time your eyes are off the road. Physical buttons date the system, too, but help with user-friendliness – there's even an old-fashioned volume knob.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, too, so you can access apps on your phone, meaning you don't have to rely on the in-built navigation system.

With a start price of less than £20,000, the Nissan Juke is one of the cheapest small SUVs you can buy. That's for the entry-level Nissan Juke Visia, though, which has a rather sparse kit list. You'd be much better shelling out the extra £1500 or so for a Juke Acenta, or nearly £23,500 for the Nissan Juke N-Connecta.

You can't really spend a lot of money on the Nissan Juke. The Tekna starts from a smidgen under £25,000, while the range-topping Nissan Juke Tekna+ is a little over £26,000. Opting for the dual-clutch automatic gearbox adds around £1500 to the list price.

Looking for a Nissan Juke Hybrid? That starts from around £27,000 in N-Connecta trim, going up to a smidgen over £30,000 in Tekna+ flavour.

The Nissan Juke stacks up well against the competition in value for money terms, while Nissan dealers often have some tempting pre-reg deals available.

Although you can no longer buy a diesel Nissan Juke, and the standard car makes do without any mild-hybrid electrical assistance, it should still be pretty cheap to run. The little 1.0-litre engine officially returns 47.9mpg in WLTP fuel economy tests, while Nissan tends to perform pretty well in our Real MPG figures. This figure drops to 46.3mpg with the automatic gearbox.

The new Nissan Juke Hybrid is more efficient, returning up to 56.5mpg in official tests. We easily saw late-40s MPG with minimal effort on our test drive – not a bad figure, but somewhat short of the 64.2mpg you'll see from the Toyota Yaris Cross.

Although it's not quite as firm as the Ford Puma, the Nissan Juke does thump over broken road surfaces quite dramatically. Even with the 17-inch alloy wheels fitted to lower-grade models, its suspension just isn't as compliant as you get in the Skoda Kamiq.

It's not particularly sporty, either, although it's easy to drive and never anything less than predictable in the way it goes around corners. It doesn't lean too much in bends, either, which means your kids shouldn't get queasy on a twisty rural road.

A plethora of tech will make your life easier whether you're driving around town or on the motorway. We particularly like the 360-degree camera fitted to high-spec models, although its graphics are a bit low rent. Still, it's not a feature that's offered in many small SUVs.

The Nissan Juke's engine line-up was pretty limited to begin with. You could buy a Juke with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine producing 117PS... and that was about it. Still, it's a similar unit to what you'll find in competitors (see: the Ford Puma, Skoda Kamiq, Renault Captur... you get the idea).

It's not quick, lacking a bit of the punch you might expect in a small turbocharged engine. Officially it'll accelerate to 62mph in 10.4 seconds, which is pretty pedestrian really. It's not very characterful, either – the 1.2-litre petrol engine used in cars like the Peugeot 2008 and Citroen C3 Aircross is a much burblier unit.

The manual gearbox is fine, if a little notchy, while the clutch action is light enough. There is an automatic gearbox available in the form of a dual-clutch unit, but it does hamper performance slightly. Still, it should be more reliable than the CVT auto gearbox used in the old Nissan Juke.

A hybrid Nissan Juke has also joined the party, pairing a 1.6-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and some extra electrical gubbins borrowed from the Renault Clio. It's quite a likeable combination around town, where you can set off under electric power and, if you're gentle with the throttle, reach the dizzying heights of 34mph before the petrol engine kicks in. When it does so, though, it makes quite a noticeable roar – especially if you try to build speed quickly.

The Nissan Juke is one of the safest small SUVs you can buy, with a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. There's a host of safety equipment as standard even on the entry-level Juke Visia, including an intelligent emergency braking system that can detect pedestrians and cyclists. You also get a lane departure warning system and Isofix child seat mounting points on the outer rear seats.

Nissan Juke Tekna models and above come with some desirable extra tech as part of the Advanced Safety Shield Pack. This includes a 360-degree camera (Intelligent Around View Monitor in Nissan terminology), an intelligent driver alertness system which'll give you a nudge when it thinks you're close to nodding off and blind spot intervention, which could prevent an awkward lane-change collision.

With the 1.0-litre petrol engine, the Nissan Juke can officially tow a braked trailer weighing up to 1250kg. This'll be enough for a lightweight caravan (like the Swift Basecamp) but you might want to look at bigger SUVs if you're planning to do any serious towing.

The range kicks off with the fairly basic Nissan Juke Visia. Standard equipment includes 16-inch steel wheels, black cloth seats, a height adjustable driver seat, a basic DAB radio, cruise control, a range of driver assistance and safety tech (including high beam assist, lane departure warning and intelligent emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist recognition). LED headlights are also standard, as well as manual air conditioning.

The Nissan Juke Acenta adds some desirable features, including 17-inch alloy wheels, an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) and a rear-view camera.

For a few more luxuries, take a look at the Nissan Juke N-Connecta. This includes NissanConnect navigation, a seven-inch TFT screen, keyless entry and start, an electronic parking brake with auto hold function, automatic cliamte control and a leather steering wheel.

The Nissan Juke Tekna comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, a Bose premium sound system, interior ambient lighting and the Heat Pack (including heated front seats and a heated windscreen). The Tekna also adds the Advanced Safety Shield Pack with a 360-degree camera, intelligent driver alertness, blind spot intervention and rear cross-traffic alert.

Topping the range, the Nissan Juke Tekna+ builds on the Tekna with its unique Akari 19-inch aloy wheels, two-tone metallic paint, interior and exterior personalisation packs and a satin silver front bumper finisher.