Nissan Juke Nismo Car - Exterior and Interior Walkaround (Part 2)

Performance

If you thought this car would be something of a half measure in terms of sheer punch, think again. The Juke Nismo would comfortably hold its own in most traffic light grands prix, running nip and tuck with our new hot super mini class leader, the Fiesta ST, right up to 100mph. It’s a genuine sub-7sec prospect to 60mph, and out time makes a mockery of Nissan’s 7.8sec official 0-62mph claim. It’s also more than a second quicker into three figures than the previous Clio Cup.

Once you select Sport mode on the NDCS, the Juke’s turbocharged four-pot develops sharp throttle response – provided you’ve got the turbo spinning

No damp squib, then. Once you select Sport mode on the NDCS, the Juke’s turbocharged four-pot develops sharp throttle response – provided you’ve got the turbo spinning. That turbo takes a little bit of rousing at low revs, as our in-gear acceleration numbers show. But in all driving modes, it has a predictably large swell of mid-range torque. More than enough, often, to trouble the available grip levels at the front wheels.

There’s a real edge to the engine’s voice, which becomes harder and more metallic as the revs rise although never bothersome in its harshness. You’ll like listening to this motor, which can’t always be said of engines of its kind. And its willingness to pile on speed above 4000rpm is also impressive for a small-capacity turbo. The limiter doesn’t chime in until 6750rpm, and you can get quite close to that threshold before its lungs begin to run short of air.

The gearlever is quite short of throw and substantial in feel, and it engages ratios with good positivity. The Juke is short of wheelbase and rides high, but it is well controlled in an emergency stop. During our braking tests, it came to rest from 7-mph in 45m exactly – a result that would do any hot hatchback credit.

Ride and handling

Earlier, we mentioned that the Nismo variant of the Juke had been given no drop in ride height over the standard car, which itself has a fairly loping ride and easy body movements. That, presumably, gave Nissan two options when tuning this variant: nail the ride down hard to effect full control of the body’s lateral and longitudinal sway, or keep spring settings slightly easier and afford a bit of roll and pitch at the expense of some keenness, which can then be reined in with good damper tuning. Nismo has chosen the latter.

The Juke Nismo has plenty of pace and it rides competently

On the upside, this means that driving a Nismo Juke is, mostly, no more of a dynamic chore than driving a regular Juke. The ride is fairly complaint and the body feels quite deftly checked after an initial deflection. In fact, had they had no experience of a regular Juke, your passengers would be unlikely to realize that this was a sporting version of a more conventionally set-up car.

The thing is, though, that even the driver is unlikely to find the Nismo much more sporting than a regular Juke. Even though the steering is reasonably weighted and geared, you get precious little back from it. And on more challenging roads or, woe betide, a circuit, the disadvantages of allowing such body movements and compliance really come to the fore.

The Nismo pitches and rolls, easily spinning a slightly loaded inside wheel as it scrabbles for grip out of even low-speed corners. If Nismo was aiming for a dynamic demeanor that’s never challenging to its driver, then it has entirely succeeded. Similarly, though, this Juke is never engaging, which seems like a shame for a car wearing a Nismo badge.

Buying and owning

On-board technology is set to play a big part in the appeal of the Nismo brand, and the Juke Nismo is highly equipped as a result. Owners will eventually be able to connect their iPads via Bluetooth, mount them as auxiliary screens and call up extra instrument readouts and social media functionality via the impending Nismo app. Until then, though, there is still plenty to amuse, including standard Nissan Connect sat-nav, a reversing camera and heated front seats. For some reason, an alarm is a dealer-fit option. It shouldn’t be.

The car is fairly well priced compared with the rest of the Juke range, but not so much relative to some of its more conventional hot hatchback and crossover opposition. Some of the premium is forgivable, given the equipment you get, but not all. Residuals could be a sticking point, too; our sources suggest they won’t be as sound as many may hope.

The car is fairly well priced compared with the rest of the Juke range, but not so much relative to some of its more conventional hot hatchback and crossover opposition.

On CO₂-derived company car tax, you’ll pay about 30 per cent more than for an equivalent Fiesta ST-2. On fuel economy, our tests suggest you’ll get about three per cent fewer miles to the gallon than in the Ford, so just over 30mpg in day-to-day use.