New Nissan Juke facelift goes upmarket to take on the best-selling Ford Puma
The funky Nissan Juke SUV gets a bigger touchscreen and quality improvements as part of upgraded interior
The Nissan Juke is one of the UK’s best selling cars, finishing well within the top 10 overall in 2023. But the brand thinks it’s time to give its small SUV a mid-life refresh, to keep it competitive with the all-conquering Ford Puma.
Nissan is also using the model refresh to update the Juke’s trim-level structure – although this does result in a price increase. The old entry point to the line-up, Visia, accounted for only tiny percentage of sales and it has been dropped. Nissan is also renaming the next version up, Acenta, as Acenta Premium. So while there’s a £900 increase overall across the line-up, the starting point for the Juke rises from just under £21,000 to £23,485 for a 1.0-litre manual Acenta Premium.
The other versions are N-Connecta, which costs from £24,485 and Tekna, priced from £26,985. The new addition to the trim levels, N-Sport, is being positioned as an alternative to range-topping Tekna+, since these two versions are priced identically, at £28,385.
What's changed on the facelifted Nissan Juke?
Improving the second-generation Juke’s interior is Nissan’s number one priority – both in terms of quality and connectivity. Nissan says it has refined the fit-and-finish and added new materials for the Peugeot 2008 and Kia Niro rival.
But the most noticeable change is the redesigned dashboard, with its new 12.3-inch central touchscreen – a significant increase over the current eight-inch display. It’s been angled towards the driver to make it easier to reach, and the infotainment system itself has been upgraded by way of a more intuitive home screen that drivers can customise using widgets for key functions.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard now too, while the voice recognition apparently boasts more ‘natural language understanding’ capability. Nissan says you can also play video content on the central display via USB connected devices when the car is stationary.
Behind the steering wheel, which is wrapped in a new, smoother faux-leather material, select models feature another 12.3-inch screen. Drivers get a choice of two layouts: Classic, with two dials on either side, and ‘Enhanced’ that devotes more screen space to other information like mapping, fuel economy or music.
The previous 0.3 megapixel rear-view camera has gone too, replaced by a higher-resolution 1.3 megapixel unit, which is now standard-fit on every Juke. A birds-eye view system is fitted to higher-spec models. The Juke also comes as standard with ‘Intelligent Driver Alertness’ now, and lane keep assist is available as an option, and included on top-spec cars.
Other upgrades include both USB-A and newer USB-C charge ports for both front and rear occupants, and the Juke’s wireless charging pad can accommodate the largest of today’s smartphones, says Nissan. The glovebox is now bigger, the central armrest has been redesigned to be more supportive, and new seats offer improved comfort.
The outgoing car’s bold exterior styling hasn’t changed with this facelift. But Nissan has reintroduced yellow paint as an option on the Juke, and added a new N-Sport trim to the line-up that comes with contrasting black roof, wheels, door mirrors and various other trim.
The bright colour scheme continues inside N-Sport models, which feature yellow recycled Alcantara inserts for the seats, as well as yellow contrast stitching.
The Juke’s engine options are unchanged, too. The basic car gets a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol that produces 112bhp and 200Nm of torque, offered with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The Juke Hybrid uses a 1.6-litre petrol engine with 93bhp, plus an electric motor producing 48bhp and a starter-generator that are both powered by a small 1.2kWh battery. The result is a combined 141bhp, plus fuel economy of up to 58.9mpg. The Juke Hybrid also boasts a pure-electric driving mode and ‘e-Pedal’ for increased regenerative braking.
This new Nissan Juke will see the current generation car through until the new all-electric model arrives, probably sometime in 2027. Its radical new look we’ve previewed in our exclusive image will be inspired by the Nissan Hyper Punk concept from the 2023 Tokyo Motor Show.
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