Written by Alan Taylor-Jones Updated: 29 April 2025

• One petrol and one hybrid option
• Available with automatic or manual gearboxes
• 1.0-litre petrol model feels sluggish

What engines are there?

Nice simple choice here. There’s a 114hp 1.0-litre petrol with a manual or automatic gearbox or a 1.6-litre hybrid that’s auto only. Diesels died with the Mk1 Juke, and there’s no punchier four-cylinder like many rivals.

Petrol engine

Performance for the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol model is slightly behind our preferred engines in most rivals, such as the 115hp units in the SEAT Arona or Skoda Kamiq.

The Juke’s engine doesn’t feel quite as willing as some of those rivals, with a slightly slow response and turbine-like whirr rather than the characterful thrum we’ve come to expect from three-cylinder engines. The whistling from the turbo is also quite prominent in the cabin.

116

It’s far from fast, but offers enough performance round town, and the power arrives quite low down in the rev range making for relaxed progress as you row through the gears.

Of course, you won’t need to perform any rowing if you opt for the dual-clutch automatic. It changes smoothly when you’re already on the move, but it can be unresponsive from rest, so much so it can be very jerky and hard to manoeuvre at low speeds. Unless you really want/need an auto, we’d opt for the six-speed manual every time.

Hybrid engine

The 1.6-litre four-cylinder hybrid model was introduced in the summer of 2022 to compete with the likes of the hybrid-only Toyota Yaris Cross and Honda HR-V. It, like the petrol, remains unchanged post 2024 facelift.

116

The petrol engine produces 94hp and 148Nm of torque, while the electric motor generates 49hp and 205Nm of torque all by itself. That’s about 20% more power than the petrol, and you can feel it. The 0-62mph sprint (10.1 seconds) is 1.7 seconds faster than the petrol and it’s especially prevalent below 30mph.

It’ll run in three settings depending on what’s being asked from it by your right foot. At low speeds without much acceleration it’ll attempt to crawl around using just electricity. This is quiet and relaxing.

116

During mixed driving it’ll use the engine to charge the battery and drive on electric. This is pretty good, fairly quiet and economical. When you accelerate harshly the engine and the battery will be deployed at the same time. This is where it begins to fall down. The huge noise coming from the engine doesn’t quite correlate to how fast you’re travelling.

It’s not a particularly refined engine, and the hybrid system can be quite clunky in operation. It’s also not as frugal as the Yaris Cross, making it hard to recommend over the regular petrol model.

What’s it like to drive?

• Surprisingly good control for a tall car 
• A Ford Puma is far more fun
• Better options for comfort

The Juke is a car that sells on its looks – and that means Nissan can get away with giving it rather average driving dynamics. It doesn’t really excel in any area, simply because it doesn’t need to. Those who buy the Juke aren’t generally interested in driving.

However, Nissan has done a decent job of controlling the car’s lofty ride height. Tall cars tend roll around in fast corners, but the Juke remains fairly level. The trouble is, whenever we drove the Juke enthusiastically down a good B-road, we got the distinct impression we were asking it to do something against its will.

None of the controls are especially talkative, which doesn’t exactly instil confidence. The steering is reasonably accurate, but it’s completely devoid of feedback – and that meant we were constantly second-guessing how much lock to apply.

116

The hybrid system also interferes with the way the brakes work. The pedal is tied into the electric motor’s regenerative braking system, which makes it feel a little unpredictable. You need to push a long way into the pedal’s travel to find the friction brakes.

The ride is a bit hit and miss, too. A standard petrol model on the smallest alloy wheels is reasonably compliant, but a hybrid model on Nissan’s largest 19-inch alloy wheels is downright uncomfortable. The extra weight of the battery pack and the firmer damping means it crashes into potholes, especially at low speeds – and it’s a little unsettled at speed. The Skoda Kamiq is more comfortable more of the time.

The Juke has adjustable driving modes, selected by a switch marked ‘D-mode’ behind the gear lever. It cycles through Eco, Standard and Sport modes, altering the response of the accelerator, the weight of the steering and, in automatic models, the ferocity of the gear changes.

If we’re honest, there isn’t much difference between the modes. Normal is fine, although we did appreciate the slightly heavier steering weight and sharper throttle response offered by Sport mode. In all, the game has moved on and we reckon the Juke has fallen off the pace.