
Nismo vs Wingsuit – the Jukeride view (w/Sponsored Video)
Last week we all gawped at the incredible feat of bravery shown by pioneer wingsuit athlete Dave Barlia, as he flew down Susten Pass…
Last week we all gawped at the incredible feat of bravery shown by pioneer wingsuit athlete Dave Barlia, as he flew down Susten Pass…
Kia is taking the fight to Nissan’s Juke with this new Niro Concept. It will debut at next month’s Frankfurt IAA and be used…
I’ve owned just one urban-SUV, the first generation Land Rover Freelander, and while we enjoyed the experience, it wasn’t nearly useful enough to justify some of its more obvious limitations. However the market for urban-SUVs is booming, most notably for Nissan who produced more than 480,000 Qashqai, Qashqai +2, Juke in 2011.
It seemed inevitable, given the upgrades made to Nissan’s MY2012 GT-R, that the Juke-R would inherit the same performance (up from the concept version’s 480bhp) from its 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine.
In addition to these final technical enhancements, the first production Juke-R also gains a new look in its transition to a fully-fledged road car.
This is the Nissan INVITATION Concept and if you can’t get past the somewhat contrived name, then I’m pretty sure its looks will make up for it. Nissan are targeting the B-segment with this new model, positioning it alongside the Micra and Juke crossover, but with an emphasis on dynamic flair.
The 10th and final video in the Nissan Juke-R build series broke cover today, and predictably it’s the best one yet. Juke-R hits the track at the MIRA proving ground and we get to see what a 480bhp family crossover looks like on the move.
It feels so wrong… and yet you know you want to try it. Just once. While nobody is looking. The Juke-R is one of those cars that no enthusiast can deny wanting to drive, to sample the absurdity of its near-500 bhp powerplant shoe-horned into a conventional(ish) family crossover.
I must admit to being in two minds about this car, on the one hand I love unusual hybrid cars – Hayabusa powered 2-seaters, supercar-baiting SUVs and even EV sportscars such as the Tesla Roadster. What these all have in common is the ability to surprise and delight, to perform in a way beyond what you would expect from their appearance.
Hopefully mine won’t be the only voice of reason in response to the news this morning that Nissan have decided to build a 480 bhp Juke-R. The idea first surfaced at last month’s Frankfurt motor show – we had a giggle and thought “what fun!”, but then quickly consigned it to the drawer marked ‘Things you might do if the world economy was a little brighter’.
You either love it or hate it, but you’d be hard pressed to argue that Nissan’s niche soft-roader had much in the way of road presence. From its startled-looking front lights to its clipped rear-end, Juke is one of the least likely villains on our roads.
Youngest female Everest conqueror climbs aboard Nissan Juke Crossover