Nissan Juke Hybrid – hello yellow

LOYALTY to British-built cars certainly paid dividends for Nissan as it became the only UK brand to finish 2024 with two models in the top five of the best sellers list.

Both the Juke and larger Qashqai crossovers are built at Nissan’s Sunderland plant in the North East and between them notched up almost 77,000 sales in the home market.

The Juke, already one of the most popular cars in Britain, was afforded an extra boost with a mid-life revamp that included significant changes to the car’s interior as well as enhanced technology.

But perhaps the most eye-catching upgrade was the arrival of a new N-Sport trim grade and a striking Iconic Yellow with Solid Black roof colour option, the latter of which gives the Juke some serious road presence for an extra £120.

When paired with the N-Sport trim of our tested model the result looks really cool – shiny boomerang shaped inserts running across the top of the dash, yellow recycled Alcantara covering the upper front seat rims, the Juke name embossed on the seat uprights plus yellow stitching all round.

Nissan offers buyers the choice of a 1.0-litre DIG-T turbocharged petrol engine while the electrified option is the Juke Hybrid with a 94bhp petrol engine working with a 49bhp electric motor for a total system output of 143bhp.

The advantage is a powertrain providing 25 per cent more punch than the current petrol unit, with 20 per cent better fuel consumption.

Provided there’s power in the battery the Juke will always start off in EV electric mode and is perfect for city or suburban driving at up to 30mph, though a heavy touch from the right foot will fire up the engine.

And the hybrid also has an e-pedal function for increased regenerative braking, activated by the push of a button. Moderate braking is applied when you ease off the throttle, slowing the car to a crawl.

It may not be the most spirited vehicle on the road – as acceleration of 0-62 in fractionally north of 10 seconds would suggest – but the Juke Hybrid remains an engaging car to drive.

The dynamics are good on all types of road, the car feeling comfortable in its slower paces and well planted at speed with nicely weighted steering.

Three drive modes of Eco, Standard and Sport are set via a rocker switch and while most of our 220 miles of mixed motoring were covered in Eco we were still able to top the 50 miles per gallon mark.

Step inside and the Juke revamp has given the cabin a more upmarket feel courtesy of a redesigned centre console and instrument panel, fresh materials, trim and upgraded fit and finish.

The central infotainment screen is now 12.3 inches from corner to corner and it has been inclined towards the driver to bring the touch controls at the far edge of the screen to within comfortable reach – and also enhance that cockpit feeling.

It also works well and naturally, the driver’s display giving info on the electrified powertrain status like battery charge and a power gauge.

And in a classy move for music fans there’s a 10-speaker BOSE sound system with pin-sharp speakers in each of the front headrests.

Otherwise standard equipment is comprehensive, with sat nav, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, push-button Start/Stop and reversing camera included along with keyless entry incorporating a walk away lock / approach unlock function.

For a compact crossover there’s ample space up front with well supported seats, while a pair of adults can travel comfortably in the back, though the centre rear position is tight.

The boot, meanwhile is just about adequate, measuring 354 litres as opposed to the petrol Juke’s 422 litres, due to placement of the battery.