2011 Nissan Juke Reviews

2011 Nissan Juke

At first blush, the 2011 Nissan Juke would seem to fit into the latter category. With styling that's two shakes away from robo-reptilian, the small crossover packs plenty of power, a tall ride height and a small footprint into one sub-$20,000 package. The Juke weighs in at less than 3,000 pounds in front-wheel-drive guise and packs a turbocharged, direct-injection 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that's good for 188 horsepower. Opt for the manual gearbox in the Juke, and things get even lighter. Up front, the Juke serves up something of a puzzle with its lighting array. From the side, the Juke boasts seriously bulging fenders front and rear as well as a short wheelbase of just 99.6 inches. Fortunately, the Juke comes from the factory wearing stylish 17-inch alloy wheels even in base configuration. Those sizeable rollers give the Juke a little extra attitude and serve to help avoid the pitfall of looking like an econobox... er, trapezoid. Throw in a set of rear door handles hidden in the C-pillar and the Juke comes off as a three-door hatchback from a distance.

The rear of the Juke shows more of a traditional CUV or crossover look with a rounded hatch, sculpted tail lamps and a small roof spoiler. Jump indoors and the Juke delivers an interior with a greater attention to detail than we're typically accustomed to from Nissan. Large, easy to use buttons make short work of cruise control, audio settings and handling calls from the Bluetooth system. Nissan has cleverly graced the Juke with the same "shift able" CVT programming as found in the likes of the Maxima. Speaking of darting, front-wheel drive will net drivers a torsion-beam suspension out back, though like many inexpensive small cars these days, the rear bar doesn't seem to hold the Juke back when it comes time to tango.

Keep the tach pointed above 2,000 rpm and the Juke will gladly dispatch any amount of tarmac with little argument. That sticker price snugs the Juke smack dab between the Nissan Rogue at $20,810 and the Nissan Sentra at $15,520. With decent (if a bit theoretical) fuel economy and a fun factor that's well above either of those options, the Juke represents the perfect middle child in Nissan's lineup.

The audio system, for example, has plenty of input options -- AM/FM radio, CD, USB, aux and Bluetooth A2DP streaming, which allows users to pipe audio from a mobile phone to the car's speakers. The sat-navy system is flawed, too. Below the central touch screen, Nissan's installed a smaller, secondary display that forms part of the Juke's Dynamic Control System -- available in the Acenta and Tekna trims. Hit the climate button and the cabin temperature and fan speeds are shown on the display, while buttons on either side of the screen let you toggle the air-conditioning system and alter the direction of air flowing to different parts of the cabin.

Hit the D-mode button, however, and those buttons besides the screen transform into driving-mode buttons, allowing you to change the Juke's on-road personality. While in D-mode, 'normal', 'sport' and 'eco' driving modes can be selected. While in the eco mode, the Dynamic Control System display shows an economy meter telling you just how frugally you're driving

The bottom line: Although an exceedingly fun and satisfying car to drive, the funky 2011 Nissan Juke suffers from some weak cabin tech.

In many ways, Juke designers seem to have taken inspiration from the Mini Cooper S. The Juke can be had with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and with a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission (CVT). Nissan only mates the manual with front-wheel drive, and the CVT with all-wheel drive. So dreams of turning your Juke into a World Rally Car competitor can be laid to rest.

The Juke takes its power-train tech a lot further than most by giving the driver Sport, Normal, and Eco drive modes, features not seen in cars of its price range. Each mode affects engine, steering, and climate control. Eco mode detunes engine response and dials down climate control, leaving the steering in normal mode.

Nissan created different engine programs to achieve the three modes, and also took advantage of the electric power-steering unit, giving it two distinct programs for normal and sport driving.