2012 Nissan Juke

(credit: Nissan)

This isn’t your ho hum Nissan product. The styling is in your face with touches like turn signal indicators in the upper front fenders. Hidden black covered rear door handles and rear lights that look like a cross between a Volvo and a Nissan Z.

Motorcycles inspired Nissan designers. The center consol looks like a fuel tank.

There’s room for five adults, but only the front seat passengers will be comfortable. It’s pretty tight in the back.  60/40 fold-down 2nd row seats help because there’s not a lot of storage here, unless you are using your Juke for grocery store runs.

Back to the dashboard. Nissan calls this system I Con for integrated control. It’s a double duty display for driving mode and climate control. So you push either the D Mode or Climate depending on what you need from your Juke. Pretty slick. Here’s the boost gauge in action.

The engine is not fast, but it’s no slug either. Gas mileage is a little disappointing for this front engine all wheel drive looker. The Juke is rated at 25 city 30 highway.

I like a big car company that designs bold vehicles. When you drive the Juke you can imagine how much fun the designers had putting it together. The Juke is a car packed with cool technology, it is unique and above all, fun to drive. What more could you ask for?

Mike West