The Nissan Juke nismo is easily the most driver focused model on the range. It is a different take on the traditional hot hatch - it's never going to woo you like say a Ford Fiesta ST or a Peugeot 208 GTi would, but it offers a little more practicality and plenty of fun. The Nissan Juke nismo is the first car to get the nismo treatment, the 370z nismo will be the second and after that will come the LEAF nismo. Performance Powering the Juke nismo is a 197bhp 1.6-litre DIG-T petrol engine. Our test car had a smooth shifting six-speed manual gearbox. It produces 250Nm of torque making the Juke nismo fairly lively. It will complete the zero to 62mph sprint in 7.8 seconds and has a top speed of 134mph. As we mentioned earlier this is a not an outright rival to the hot hatch brigade and is a full second slower than the Peugeot 208 GTi - you lose the outright pace, however, you get a little more practicality and a high-driving position. With 250Nm of pulling power, overtaking is never a chore, you may need to drop to fourth or third gear at times but the Juke nismo has more than enough oomph to overtake slower traffic on single lane carriageways. Ride and Handling Surprisingly the Nissan Juke nismo is pretty engaging. The steering is fairly well weighted meaning the driver gets a good level of feedback. The suspension is firm, however, it prevents the Juke from rolling through corners when driving enthusiastically. The Juke nismo is agile when tackling twisty B roads but the sports suspension is not harsh enough to make your fillings fall out, like in the cases of some hot hatch rivals. Comfort and Practicality Nissan Juke nismo comfort levels are high. You can hear the turbo engine kick in when the Juke nismo is pushed, however, all-in-all refinement levels are good. Road, tyre and wind noise are fairly well suppressed. Up front the driving position is good, the seat has a good amount of lumbar support while enhanced sides on the standard sports seats hold you in well when cornering hard. The Nissan Juke nismo has a load space of 251 litres with the seats in place but fold them flat and this expands to 830 litres making the Juke nismo much more practical than its rivals. Running costs Nissan Juke nismo prices start from £20,395, while our test car had nismo Storm White metallic paint at £700 taking the price up to £21,095. Compare that to the current crop of hot hatches including the Peugeot 208 GTi at £18,895 and the Ford Fiesta ST from £16,995 and the Juke is starting to look a little expensive. The Nissan Juke nismo has a claimed average economy of 40.9mpg so expect mid thirties in real world driving. It emits 159g/km of CO2 putting it in band G. That means it will cost you £175 annually on road tax. Based on the regular Juke, the nismo version has a few more design cues to make it more eye-catching along with additional equipment. So what do you get for your money? This nismo version adds 18-inch nismo alloys, nismo aero package including front and rear bumpers, side skirts and rear spoiler, nismo front grille, signature red door mirrors and detail line, nismo badges located on the front and rear and a single sports exhaust finisher. Standard equipment highlights include Nissan Connect, colour reversing camera, Bluetooth, Nissan Dynamic Control System, LED daytime running lights, six airbags, climate control with pollen filter, heated front seats and remote central locking. Summary It's different, that's what you'll come away thinking. The Nissan Juke nismo offers a good level of practicality mixed with decent levels of performance. Leftfield it is, hot hatch it's not. Written by Simon McBride
