Skip advert
Advertisement

Nissan Juke review - still fun and funky, but no longer the best - Nissan Juke interior and tech

Divisive styling, but still an interesting supermini alternative

Evo rating
Price
from £14,590
  • Interesting, low running costs, fun Nismo RS
  • Some despise the looks, low on space

Buyers considering the Juke need to align their interior space expectations with those of a supermini, as that's the size of the junior Nissan crossover in reality. Hence it should be no surprise that the rear seats offer acceptable accommodation for two adults rather than generous space. In fairness, the Juke is quite wide so there's distinctly more elbow room than in some of its rivals. Thankfully, the sloping rear hatch doesn't impact on passenger headroom as you might expect either. 

Advertisement - Article continues below

Up front, thanks to revisions in 2014, the Juke's cabin is of higher quality and comes with a decently tactile leather steering wheel (Acenta and up), plus little tweaks here and there to the storage compartments make it more useful. There are, however, more personalisation options for the interior now than ever before and we don't necessarily see that as a good thing. Yellow air vent surrounds anyone? No thanks, not in this car. Mercifully, other hues are available.

The biggest improvement to come with those mid-life updates was an increased boot capacity. At 251 litres, the original Juke had less boot space than the MINI 5 door, but Nissan's engineers went to work on the car (presumably with some big chisels and hammers) and now all front-wheel drive Jukes carry up to 354 litre.

And the Nismo RS? The cabin has to be one of its better features. The standard seats are perhaps a bit squashy and perched for a performance car (albeit surprisingly comfortable) but there's always the option of a pair of pukka Recaros like you'll find in numerous other hot hatchbacks. The steering wheel gets an Alcantara rim as it does in the Nismo 370Z and GT-R, there's a red-ringed rev counter and a stubby gearlever that's quite satisfying to use.

Perhaps the best aspect of the Juke's cabin is the driving position. While you sit high in relation to other traffic and have a fairly lofty view over the bonnet, you don't feel like you're in an SUV - the centre console places the gearlever higher up than many normal hatchbacks and while it's hardly low-slung, you don't feel like you're sitting above the pedals either.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Ferrari California – the car world's greatest misses
Ferrari California
Features

Ferrari California – the car world's greatest misses

A Ferrari by name, but not sufficiently Ferrari-like in its behaviour, the noughties Cali was a hard car to love
7 Nov 2024
Audi RS5 Sportback Performance Edition 2024 review – worth £14k more than a BMW M4?
Audi RS5 Sportback Performance Edition – front
Reviews

Audi RS5 Sportback Performance Edition 2024 review – worth £14k more than a BMW M4?

Audi Sport has given the RS5 upgraded coilovers, extra power and a £101,645 price tag. Is it now a true M4 rival?
6 Nov 2024
Alpine A290 GTS 2025 review – is the Renault 5 relative a true hot hatch?
Alpine A290 review
Reviews

Alpine A290 GTS 2025 review – is the Renault 5 relative a true hot hatch?

Alpine’s all-electric future starts here, with the Renault 5-based A290. We put it through its paces to find out if it's retained the Alpine edge
6 Nov 2024