Funky Juke goes hybrid and improves its star quality

Nissan Juke hybrid drive by Steve Rogers

Funky, quirky, trendy, call it what you will but no one can deny the Nissan Juke hasn’t captured the hearts of the nation.

It has sold in its hundreds of thousands since bursting on to the fledgling supermini crossover market in 2010. Twelve years on the Sunderland built Juke has hit another landmark...it has gone hybrid.

A natural progression given that all around are doing the same so we have a 1.6 litre petrol backed up by an electric motor giving a total output of 141bhp so it is no dead duck. Hybrid power costs £1,730 more than the standard automatic but Nissan say it is worth it for the extra performance, economy and lower emissions. Are they right?

With that amount of horse power Juke hybrid is quicker off the mark than the standard petrol and stays strong up to motorway speeds. The CVT gearbox makes it a bit noisy as the revs build but that is par for the course and unless you are always in a hurry it will barely be noticed.

Hybrid brings new technology and Juke gets e pedal. Once engaged e pedal brakes the car as the driver lifts off the throttle capturing energy for the batteries. It slows the car to 5mph and although it is not as effective as the Volvo system, which comes to a dead stop, it is a step forward and apart from harnessing battery power saves on brake wear.

We can tick the box on economy as well because after a long trip Juke returned 64mpg and over a week’s driving averaged just over 56mpg.

What about the rest of the car? I was spoilt with a top end Tekna+ so loads of kit and a lot of suede inserts along the dashboard and doors. It also has a stonking Bose sound system with speakers built into the head rest on the front seats.

Dashboard layout is more or less the same as the standard car with an 8-inch touchscreen for navigation, radio, phone apps etc, but thankfully Nissan has stuck with physical switches for the heating controls. It is ditto for the driver’s binnacle apart from energy flow graphics replacing the rev counter.

For a small car Juke is quite roomy although the boot has given up some of its capacity to the battery pack. Back seat legroom brought praise from passengers but they laid into the lack of light. Juke has a high waistline and slim back windows which, they said, made it claustrophobic which goes to show bold styling is not without its pitfalls.

That heavy battery pack has another negative side effect. My guess is the suspension has been beefed up to compensate for the extra weight resulting in an overly hard ride which becomes obvious the moment you hit anything but a smooth surface.

The upside, if you can call it that, is smart handling through the twisty bits, but surely companies have enough technology at their disposal to come up with a better compromise when it comes to tuning suspension.

Equipment level across the range is reasonable but if you can stretch to Tekna+ you will enjoy, amongst other things, navigation, Bluetooth, mobile phone connections, heated front seats, heated windscreen, front and rear parking sensors and camera, auto dipping headlights, and keyless entry with walkaway locking and unlocking on approach, along with a strong list of safety features.

In its early years Juke had a love it hate it reputation. Not everyone liked its futuristic styling but attitudes soften as has the styling. The bulging ‘frog eye’ sidelights on the top of the bonnet have been toned down and now blend nicely above the headlights but otherwise that brave bit of styling by Brit Mark Weaver is unchanged.

Now the burning question. Is it worth the extra money to switch to hybrid? For me it is a no brainer. I am not ready to go electric even though I love driving them, but hybrid has to be the sensible choice because they give more economy, more performance and lower emissions, and a lot more people will come to that conclusion as we close in on 2030.

Juke had star quality back in 2010 and that star is even brighter with hybrid power. Would I buy one? Yes, if I couldn’t get a Toyota Yaris Cross.....

Fast facts

Juke Tekna+

£30,150 (range starts £27,250)

1.6 litre petrol auto; 141bhp

0-62mph 10.1secs; 103mph

56.5mpg combined

114g/km 1st tax £190

Insurance group 15

Boot: 354-1114 litres