Nissan Juke News

The personalisation packs in this week's midlife makeover now provide contrasting colours for everything from the wheel trims to the speaker surrounds.It is a Mini-esque approach to tailoring the look of the already outrageous vehicle and one that should be a popular — and profitable — addition to the accessories list.The nose gets Nissan's "V-motion" grille and a stronger, reshaped lower bumper/air intake. The side mirrors carry the indicator repeaters. Front-drive versions get 40 per cent more boot space, at 354L.Prices start at $23,490 for the ST with a new 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo (85kW/190Nm) hooked to a six-speed manual.So there's more bling but no more balanceAdd $1000 for the CVT version, which uses a 1.6-litre rather than the smaller turbo — obviously a pricing strategy given the bigger engine has 32Nm less torque arriving higher up the rev range. Still, you can't have everything.Ti-S models have a 1.6-litre turbo (140kW/240Nm) from $29,790 for the manual. The CVT-equipped variant adds torque-vectoring and all-wheel drive for $33,490.The top-spec duo also gain a 5.8-inch infotainment screen with satnav, digital radio, reversing camera and 360-degree view monitor.So there's more bling but no more balance. The Juke's biggest criticism — a bobbling ride over decent bitumen — is still evident even at low speeds.The Juke remains a carnival ride: garish and fun but not practical enough as a daily driver. Plenty of buyers will pick unconventional looks over ride quality — we'd steer for the likes of a Renault Captur or Skoda Yeti without having to make the compromise.

Nissan is looking to shake its dowdy small car image with a bolder look with elements of its funky small SUVs.

Are you tired of being stuck behind an SUV? If can’t beat em, join em. Paris motor show previews the next big thing on four wheels: pint-sized SUVs for the city.The world’s car makers are rushing to release high-riding hatchbacks that have the commanding view of a family-sized SUV -- but fit in the same size parking space as a Toyota Corolla.SUVs are second only to small cars when it comes to new vehicle sales, and the big brands are finding new ways to fill every possible niche.That means we can expect to see a bunch of tiny-tot SUVs designed for the city, even though they will be dressed up with rugged, go-anywhere looks.Indeed, most city SUVs won’t even have a four-wheel-drive system because they’ll never leave the tarmac.So why are car makers so desperate to get their small SUVs into showrooms? Because buyers are happy to pay a premium for them even though they cost only a fraction more to build than a regular hatchback.Japanese car giant Toyota, the world’s biggest automotive brand, will unveil a city-centric SUV inside enemy territory at this week’s Paris motor show.Even though Toyota is one of the biggest sellers of SUVs on the planet, it has completely missed the march to city-sized softroaders, or “faux-wheel-drives”.Toyota’s swoopy looking “C-HR” concept car is a rather large clue as to what the showroom version will look like when it arrives next year, although no-one knows what ‘C-HR” stands for. “Compact High Rider” perhaps?Even the French, which once revolved against the SUV and vandalized them in the street less than a decade ago, has joined the party.Citroen is poised to unveil the oddly but honestly named “C1 Urban Ride”. It’s a version of its smallest car but with bulging bumpers and slightly taller suspension to give it a macho appearance.Maybe that’s why they’re becoming so popular: blokes need peer approval to buy small cars. Is a Bear Grylls bumper bar enough to get them over the line?Then again, Citroen also released a compact SUV called the Cactus, complete with plastic side mouldings so you don’t get door dings in the shopping centre car park.The Cactus might be made for the urban jungle but it’s not exactly the type of name that would make you want to boast about it.Australians have been at the forefront of the swing to super-small softroaders.Already on sale locally are the Suzuki S-Cross, Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport and Nissan Juke, all priced between $20,000 and $30,000 (when the cars on which they are all based start at less than $20,000).Around the corner are the Honda HR-V and Fiat Panda Cross. Next month Mazda is due to unveil a SUV to slot under the top-selling CX-5.South Korean car maker Hyundai is also working on a super-small SUV, which should be in showrooms in 2016.Meanwhile, for those who think motor shows should always be about high performance exotic supercars, fear not, although the definition of supercar has changed slightly.Lamborghini is preparing to unveil its first ever hybrid sports-car, while Porsche is about to unveil its first ever plug-in hybrid SUV.Porsche’s two-tonne luxury SUV sips less fuel than a Prius -- providing it has enough charge to travel the first 50km on electric power alone before the petrol engine takes over.More affordable eye candy, however, will come in the form of the first ever motor show outing for the new Mazda MX-5 (the world’s top-selling two-seater roadster), and Jaguar XE sedan (no relation to the Ford Falcon from the 1980s of the same name).

Toyota-owned badge Daihatsu retired from our market in 2005, but a void in Toyota’s line-up could see some of the Daihatsu product return in the form of the small Terios SUV rebadged as a Toyota Rush.Toyota is keen to capitalise on a growing sub $25,000 compact SUV market segment. Sales are thriving, with a new Nissan Juke, Suzuki SX4, Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport and Fiat Panda all joining the Mitsubishi ASX in the search for a slice of the market. Toyota doesn’t currently have a competitor in this segment, with the bigger RAV4 starting at $28,490.But Toyota has an advantage in this rivalry: It owns Daihatsu – Japan’s oldest car manufacturer and small car specialist. The first generation Daihatsu Terios sold in Australia between 1997 and 2005, creating the same compact 5-door SUV segment that is now thriving. But the current model never made it to our shores due to Daihatsu’s local retirement.Toyota has successfully sold the Rush in overseas markets for over a decade, and the current model since its introduction in 2006. It is powered by an 80kW, 141Nm 1.5-litre VVT-I engine, featuring a five speed manual and four speed automatic. But unlike other cars in this segment, it has permanent four-wheel drive and a central differential lock, which combined with short overhangs, gives the Rush more offroad credibility than most of its competitors.However, a two wheel drive version is also on offer, for buyers who prefer the extra height and space but not the extra capability of a small SUV. With a kerb weight of just 1180kg for the four wheel drive model, the Rush is a relative lightweight, which should help keep running costs low.If Toyota Australia decides to tackle the compact SUV market with the Rush, it will be the first time a car manufactured by Daihatsu is sold in Australia since 2005. However, a new Rush is expected sometime next year, featuring improvements to power, safety and refinement. This means it’s likely Toyota Australia will wait until then to introduce the Rush into Australian showrooms. 

Nissan is stoking up its sports car mojo. It's developing the next-generation GT-R, looking at developing the IDx Concept, and has unveiled a slew of hot variations of the GT-R, Juke and Pulsar from its Nismo tuning arm.So what's happening with the Z car, with the 370Z having been around for six years and starting to now look a little long in the tooth against new rivals like the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ?Expect to see a departure from the current car, with a smaller vehicle powered by a similarly downsized engine -- a turbo-charged four-cylinder, according to Autocar -- rather than the 3.7-litre V6 carried by the 370Z. Power is likely to slightly rise over the six's 245kW, while torque will likely at the least match its 363Nm, depending on the expected lighter weight of the new Z (the 370Z rings the bell at 1468kg).The design is yet to be signed off but Nissan design boss Shiro Nakamura confirmed to the Britsh site that a plan was already in place and that the coming Z "could be smaller" while product chief Andy Palmer pointed to the turbo four engine, adding that we'll see both a standard version and a Nismo one.With Nissan Australia still working on a business case for the Nismo offerings, there's no certainty we'll see that model here, but we're sure to get the cooking Z, following in the footsteps of the 370Z that arrived first in 2009, and a lineage of 44 years that stretches all the way back to the Datsun 240Z in 1970.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Nissan revealed the hottest version yet of its Juke baby crossover in  LA this week, in the form of the Juke Nismo RS. Outputs for the 1.6-litre turbo have been boosted to 160kW/285Nm, representing a 13kW/35Nm over the existing Juke Nismo available overseas.   The gains are a result of ECU adnd exhaust tweaks, and and LSD has been added along with tighter ratios for the the six-speed manual version.  The ride height has been reduced, with stiffer components and extra bracing, plus revised steering and bigger brakes. With the regular Juke Nismo still under consideration for Australia, it's not likley to arrive on our shores any time soon.    Watch the desktop version of the Nissan Juke Nismo RS official video here.   _______________________________________  

Nissan has given the Juke baby crossover a serious performance boost with the Nismo RS version revealed at Los Angeles motor show. It follows the styling cues of the Nismo sold overseas, but gets a slightly more aggressive body kit with red and black accents, with those colours continuing into the leather and Alcantara interior set off by carbon-look trims. But the more welcome news is that the Juke's 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine has been poked to now put out 160kW of power and 285Nm of torque -- a respectable lift from the current standard Juke top-spec Ti-S's 140kW/240Nm (and the 147kW/250Nm of the slightly warmer Nismo in overseas markets). The poking largely took the form of a reprogrammed CPU and larger-breather exhaust, but the transmissions weren't left out. The six-speed manual gearbox also gets shorter lower ratios and a limited-slip differential to better deliver the outputs to the front wheels. Paddle-shifters have been added to the all-wheel drive version's continuously variable transmission, but the downside to the auto is reduced outputs of 158kW and 250Nm. The good news is that handling is sharpened by reprogramming for the torque-vectoring system. The RS sits lower than the standard Juke and gets a stiffer chassis with extra bracing, with other underpinning tweaks including more responsive electric power steering, and larger front and vented rear brakes -- all wearing red calipers. Nissan hasn't announced which markets it will roll out to -- or when -- but with the standard Juke having only recently arrived here, and the current Nismo still a 'business case in progress' for Nissan Australia, it could be a while before we can get our hopes up of seeing the Nismo RS here.   Watch the desktop version of the Nissan Juke Nismo RS official video here.   This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott   _______________________________________  

Nissan’s uniquely-styled Juke crossover SUV will arrive in Australia in October, staking Nissan's claim on the growing baby SUV segment. The Juke’s Australian arrival will trail its Japanese, US, and European launches by three years, but its innovative styling should easily bridge the age gap to newer rivals such as the Holden Trax (which starts at $23,490), plus the upcoming Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008, plus production versions of the recent Honda Urban SUV and Suzuki iV-4 concepts. Priced from $21,990 for the entry manual Juke ST, the Juke will sit beneath the five-seat Dualis in Nissan’s Australian lineup, with ST-S and Ti-S grades filling out a three-tier model lineup.  The Juke will be available with two engine options, with the 2WD-only ST fitted with a 1.6 litre petrol engine and available in either five-speed manual or ($24,390) CVT auto, while the ST-S and Ti-S will be equipped with a turbocharged version of the same engine as seen in the Pulsar ST-S and SSS hatches. Nissan is yet to specify outputs or efficiency figures for either Juke 1.6, but the non-turbo is rated at 86kW/158Nm for the UK market, and the turbo should match the 140kW/240Nm of the Pulsar models. The $28,390 ST-S is also 2WD-only, and comes exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. The $32,190 range-topping Ti-S is the sole all-wheel drive variant, and paired with a CVT auto only. Further spec details will be announced closer to the Juke’s October launch, but Nissan Australia’s marketing boss Peter Clissold claims that the Juke’s spec levels will offer buyers good value. “Each grade in the JUKE model range has a compelling mix of standard equipment in a vehicle rich in stand-out styling and dynamic performance,” Clissold says. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn   PRICING Nissan Juke ST 2WD (manual) - $21,990 Nissan Juke ST 2WD (auto) - $24,390 Nissan Juke ST-S 2WD (manual) - $28,390 Nissan Juke Ti-S AWD (auto) – $32,190

Williams is providing lightweight parts including a new exhaust and carbon-fibre panels, while Nismo is tweaking the twin-turbo V6.The Nismo GT-R is expected in showrooms next year, including Australia, as the flagship of a range that already includes the Micra, Juke and 370Z in Europe.

A fiery division of Nissan is back on the track and expanding its global sales to Australia. A 147kW/249Nm Nissan Juke Nismo, shown this week at the Chicago motor show, could make it here to complement this year's release of the more subdued 140kW/240Nm of the standard Nissan Juke. Australia is said to be interested in the Nismo (it stands for Nissan Motorsport International) lineup that includes the Juke and a hot 370Z. Nissan Australia boss Bill Peffer says he'll wait until the market reacts to the standard Juke before making a decision on the Nismo version which is expected to cost about $36,000. The move pre-empts Nissan's push to overhaul its compact SUV models - Dualis and X-Trail - within 18 months while including the front-wheel drive Juke into the Australian market. But in Chicago, Nissan's global communications manager Simon Sproule indicates the Nismo sales in Australia are a done deal. He says that while the latest Nismo makes up only about 5-10 per cent of Juke sales, it had potential and was considered vital to showcase Nissan's sports-oriented aspirations. "This is really the re-launch of Nismo,'' he says of the release of the Juke edition. "The Juke and the 370Z show Nismo's abilities.'' The Juke Nismo was shown at Chicago with a full body kit that creates 37 per cent more downforce than the standard car. It also has bigger 18-inch wheels and a lowered suspension. Sproule says Nissan is also planning to go one step further with a planned 162kW RC version of the Juke Nismo, with a lowered body, choice of front or all-wheel drive and a more aggressive body styling. "The Juke Nismo was developed and priced to be accessible,'' Sproule says. "We focus on value. "But the RC is coming in about 18 months and it's less compromised car for the more performance-oriented owner.'' Sproule says Nissan has been approached by rally teams that wanted to use the Juke Nismo in competition. "We are very keen to see the Juke enter rallying - it's a sport that has a lot of heritage at Nissan. "But it's not a priority for us to have a factory presence. "We have our hands full with V8 Supercars, Le Mans, Super GT in Japan and through Infiniti, Formula One. "Now is our biggest presence in motorsport ever. "Rallying is undergoing a transition and there are a lot of factory teams competing in WRC. But for now, we can supply the Juke Nismo for independent teams but not for our factory - not yet.'' The 370Z Nismo was launched at Chicago with minor updates over the previous year's car. Compared with a standard 370Z, it has a firmer ride thanks to spring rates that have been increased by 15 per cent, rear spring rates up by 10 per cent, the front stabilizer bar rate is firmer by 15 per cent and the rear stabilizer bar is 50 per cent stiffer. Nissan says the roll stiffness rate has been increased by 15 per cent and front and rear dam ping factors have been increased by 40 per cent and 140 per cent, respectively. It was shown at Chicago with five-spoke Nissan-branded 19-inch RAYS forged aluminium-alloy wheels (19x9.5-inch front, 19x10.5-inch rear) mounted with Yokohama ADVAN Sport Y-rated high-performance tires (P245/40ZR19 front, P285/35ZR19 rear). Brakes are standard Nismo Sport Brakes with larger diameter (than standard) 350mm front and 345mm rear vented rotors with four-piston front and two-piston rear aluminium calipers. The calipers are painted red. No confirmation of sale or price has yet been announced for the 370Z Nismo but in Australia, it's expected to be about $90,000, a $15,000 premium on the standard coupe.