Nissan Juke

Nissan Juke

The Geneva Motor Show has produced a lot of chatter about a range of cars from the diminutive MINI Crossover to hybrid technology from Audi and Lotus. For sure, Geneva has been quite the automotive Mecca this year. If you didn’t see the MINIWOOD publicity stunt be sure to check out our article earlier this month (more here). That said Nissan also had something in Geneva that blew the doors of conventional—the 2011 Nissan Juke. 

Nissan Juke

Nissan Juke

Nissan Juke

Nissan Juke

If you haven’t seen the Juke before then it probably comes across as a little bulbous at first, but in my opinion the look grows on you after you look at it a while. To some degree the Juke looks like a Kia Soul that has bulked up. Think of the Soul as the swimmer and the Juke as the bodybuilder. The Juke has been described by other automotive reporters as having a high waistline and a tight green house; it has an organic bug-like front end that is accentuated by large lights attached to the edge of the grill.

The Juke is expected to make its U.S. debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show, which is also where more details about the U.S. platform should be revealed. For Europe, the Juke is available with a pair of 1.6-liter gasoline engines—one naturally aspirated, one turbocharged with direct injection. There will also be a diesel 1.5-liter diesel variant. Speculation says that the diesel will not make stateside. A feature that is expected to make it is the ALL-Mode 4x4-i torque-vectoring system that is said to be capable of splitting power 50:50 from front-to-rear as well as side-to-side.

Bottom line—the 2011 Nissan Juke will stand out in a crowd and still give functionality for the average urban traveler.

 

Be sure to check out our partner site's take from prior to the Geneva Motor Show over at MotorAuthority.com.