Nissan Juke Ti 2020 Review

The Nissan Juke Ti is the flagship of the second-generation compact SUV range. Perhaps it’s slightly less arresting these days when it comes to the exterior styling, but the $36,490 (plus on-road costs) pricing will certainly get your attention.

Positioned below Ti are the ST-L, ST+ and the ST, which anchors the range at $27,990.

No matter what you pay, that money gets you a five-door and five-seat mini SUV powering its front wheels via an 84kW/180Nm 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Gone are the first-generation’s 1.6-litre engines and manual and CVT gearbox choices.

The Juke Ti’s pricing is more expensive than any front-wheel drive Mazda CX-3, the two-model Volkswagen T-Cross range and miles higher than the cheap-and-cheerful Hyundai Venue.

And that’s just a few examples of the models the Juke is priced higher than.

Reserved for the Nissan Juke Ti alone in the line-up are follow-me-home LED headlights, 19-inch alloy wheels, quilted leather/Alcantara seat trim, a plush Alcantara dashboard, knee pad and door panels, and a Bose audio system with ‘UltraNearfield’ speakers in the head restraint part of the single-piece front seats.

That’s on top of features lesser Jukes also get, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connection, voice recognition, satellite navigation, seat heating, an electric park brake, an eight-inch colour touch-screen, auto air-conditioning, a digital instrument panel, dimmable ambient lighting, an intelligent key with push-button start and front and rear USB charging points.

The Juke also comes with a standard spare tyre on a steel wheel.

An important feature reserved for the Ti and ST-L are rear disc brakes rather than the drums allocated to the ST and ST+. The more expensive models also get three-mode adjustment of powertrain and steering behaviour.

The Juke Ti is protected by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty backed up with five years of 24-hour roadside assistance. A capped-price servicing program also runs for six years. Service intervals are a very competitive 12 months or 20,000km and add up to $2084 after 60 months/100,000km.

Standard Nissan Juke Ti safety tech includes airbags that cover front and rear seats, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warning, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, traffic sign detection, a 360-degree camera and tyre pressure monitoring

The Nissan Juke Ti comes with a 2019 five-star ANCAP safety rating.

The independent crash test authority gave the new Juke full marks for adult and child occupant protection in the side impact test and high scores in each of the other destructive crash tests.

It also achieved full marks in the child restraint installation assessment which provides guidance to parents on the vehicle’s ability to safely accommodate a range of child restraints in each of the rear seating positions.

Performance of the Juke’s active lane support and autonomous emergency braking features were good at highway speed, but ANCAP reported the system was not impressive in emergency lane keeping scenarios.

The Nissan Juke Ti is an all-new vehicle. It is based on the Nissan-Renault alliance CMF-B modular structure along with the second-generation Renault Captur that arrives here in 2021. It also underpins the new Renault Clio city car which won’t be coming to Australia.

Nissan says CMF-B makes the new Juke approximately six per cent lighter and 13 per cent more rigid. It weighs in at a claimed 1274kg and has a maximum braked towing capacity of 1250kg.

The new Juke measures up bigger than its predecessor in all key respects; it’s 4210mm long, 1800mm wide, 1595mm high, has a 2636mm wheelbase and an 11m turning circle.

There is a claimed 422 litres of luggage space in the boot, or 1305 litres with the rear seats split-folded. That’s great for a vehicle this size, although you do have to negotiate a high lip to access it.

The ‘HR10DDT’ DOHC direct-injection engine hails from a Nissan-Renault co-designed family that first appeared in 2013. It produces its 84kW of peak power at 5250rpm and 180Nm peak torque at 2400rpm.

The claimed average fuel consumption is 5.8L/100km on 95 RON premium unleaded fuel, helped by the inclusion of automatic engine idle-stop tech. We recorded 6.5L/100km during our week on-test.

Nissan makes no acceleration claims for the new Juke, but we can assure you it’s not that quick.

The Juke family is underpinned by MacPherson strut front suspension and a twist beam at the rear end. The steering system is electric-assist rack and pinion and, as explained earlier, the braking system is all-disc. The test Ti rolled on Hankook Ventus 225/45R19 rubber.

For all the newness the Nissan Juke Ti features, it does all feel a bit old-school.

There’s just nothing here in the driving experience that is especially refined or memorable, especially when the price is taken into account.

The triple churns along, its distinctive beat pretty hushed. It’s got a decent pot of torque to prevent constant gear changes, but acceleration is merely relaxed.

You can help that by switching the drive mode selector from standard to Sport. Then you get more engine revs more quickly and more prompt – but also more abrupt – gear changes.

Whatever you do, don’t opt for Eco mode because the Juke powertrain just loses interest.

The flappy paddles help for more precise manual gear selection when you need it for things like engine braking into corners.

It’s noticeable when it’s cold how balky the DCT is in its responses. It improves as you go, but always remains a bit hesitant to slot into reverse gear.

There’s little connection offered by the gluggy steering which heavies its weighting in Sport mode. There’s also a suggestion of torque steer, tug and bump steer.

Meanwhile, the ride is lacking in refinement. You’re always feeling something from the road surface intruding, like a constant background vibration.

All Jukes come with what Nissan calls intelligent trace and ride control. These features apply small corrections to throttle and/or the brakes to aid comfort and handling. Gosh knows if it works.

The Juke is at its best at low-speed motoring around town. Then the ride imperfections are less obvious, even bumping along on 19s.

Overall though, a VW T-Cross feels like a whole generation better vehicle.

The interior is pretty smart with soft and sporty touches like the D-shaped steering wheel, those deep front seats and the digital IP. Aiding practicality is reach and rake adjustment of the steering column, a well-positioned left footrest and an array of storage options.

In the back you want to be compact in size, or pretty cosy with whomever is seated there with you. There are some storage options, but no climate-control vents.

Speaking of which, the test car had something weird going on with its temperature control. At an indicated 18 degrees it was frosty, at 18.5 degrees it was boiling.

It’s difficult to get excited about the Nissan Juke Ti. There’s so much new here, yet it doesn’t add up to as much as expected.

Take that into account along with the polarising styling and the high price and it’s a struggle to recommend the Ti ahead of a whole swag of impressive compact SUVs.

Put simply, the second-generation Nissan Juke feels like an opportunity lost.

How much does the 2020 Nissan Juke Ti cost?
Price: $36,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 84kW/180Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 5.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 123g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)