The 2012 Nissan Juke ranks 23 out of 40 Affordable Small Cars. The 2012 Nissan Juke stands out from the pack with its unique look and slot-car performance. Reviewers agree that while the Juke offers less cargo space and a smaller back seat than many of its rivals, the Juke excels with a powerful engine, confidence-inspiring handling and available all-wheel drive. If you like the Juke’s performance, but would prefer a small hatchback with a timeless design, check out the Mini Cooper. Like the Juke, the Impreza’s athletic handling earns reviewer praise, but it’s not as powerful.
Front-wheel drive and a six-speed manual transmission come standard, while all-wheel drive models feature a continuously variable transmission (CVT). See the full 2012 Nissan Juke specs.
The 2012 Nissan Juke may be small, but it’s surprisingly powerful. By comparison, a Juke with front-wheel drive and a CVT averages 27/32 mpg city/highway, while the six-speed manual Juke gets 25/31mpg city/highway.
Test drivers compare the Nissan Juke’s handling with the Volkswagen GTI and Mini Cooper, which is a huge compliment. Even the base front-wheel drive Juke earns high praise for its agility, but some critics note that all-wheel drive models benefit from a more-refined suspension system and improved grip.
Squished seating aside, some test drivers also complains that the Juke’s interior is noisy on the highway. Additionally, critics dislike the expanses of hard plastic used in the Juke’s interior. Still, the Juke’s long list of standard features makes it a compelling choice among affordable small cars.
The Nissan Juke seats five, but only the driver and front-seat passenger will be comfortable. The Juke’s exterior styling makes the back seat uncomfortable as well.
The Juke also has standard anti-lock brakes and traction control. Many reviewers say that the Juke’s driving position offers excellent outward visibility, although one critic notes that the driver’s view to the rear is slightly obstructed by the Juke’s roof pillars.
Nissan's five-seat Juke small crossover is about 20 inches shorter than the Rogue, the previous smallest crossover in the automaker's lineup, but it packs a more powerful engine and a sophisticated available all-wheel-drive system that together give the Juke a decidedly sporty bearing.
A continuously variable automatic transmission is standard, and a six-speed manual is available, though the manual is offered only on front-wheel-drive SV and SL trims. Available performance-oriented all-wheel-drive system can evenly split engine torque between the front and rear wheels, and also transfer torque between the rear wheels --All-wheel-drive models get a multilink rear suspension in place of the front-drive models' torsion-beam design
The all-wheel-drive 2012 version of the "Nissan Juke", like the front-wheel-drive version I drove last year, is uglier than ugly. Brought to us originally as a 2011 model, the 2012 Nissan Juke retains a tiny 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine (still with 188 horsepower and 177 foot-pounds of torque).
Reaching that goal involves more than reworking engines — such as giving four-cylinder models the power of six-cylinder or even some eight-cylinder engines while retaining or improving on four-cylinder fuel efficiency. The Nissan Juke, the second time around, turns out to be a hatchback crossover-utility vehicle I hate to love and love to hate.
