First of all, the Nissan Juke really is a fun car to drive. The engine’s an absolute cracker, and the chassis is shockingly composed. Too bad it’s impossible to mention the car without a full-blown war breaking out over its controversial styling. As I noted in my review, Nissan is unabashed about targeting a specific demographic with the Juke, and a number of practical concerns were overlooked in order to please what Nissan calls the “urban experience seeker.” In this video, Nissan’s Alfonso Albaisa shows that the Juke’s design is also a product of this intense focus on 30 year-old guys. Plus, counter-intuitively, a desire to forge a more cohesive design language across Nissans product portfolio. Had Albaisa and his team designed the Juke with more universal values in mind (but with the same widened Versa chassis and 1.6 liter direct-injected turbocharged engine), it’s tempting to believe they could have made a truly iconic automobile. And this is coming from someone who more or less fits the Jukes target demographic.
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The arguement that this was designed for 30 year old guys just doesnt compute, and I say that as a man who is only 3 months away from that exact figure. While the design has grown on me (hated it before, it’s grown on me ever since I saw it in person), I really just don’t see this thing being driven by anyone but a young woman. This was really designed at 30 year old guys? Seriously? Perhaps this resonates with some of the Chelsea-set, but I just don’t see the average 30 year old male that tends to lust after GTI’s and M3’s being interested in a funky little CUV whatsoever. I mean which guy dreams of a CUV in the first place?
I do think the Juke has its attributes (small package, drives great, confident if wacky styling), but when I first saw this, I thought it would be great for my girlfriend. Never once did it cross my mind as something to consider for myself.
I believe that the Juke was designed by NIssan UK. A 30 year old Englishman might find this more appealing than a 30 y.o. American. I also believe that it was primarily intended to sell substantial numbers in Japan and Europe, with anything in N.A just being bonus sales.
Um…then color me female.
I also like the Miata…another “chic” car.
And I think the entire macho look of the Dodge line god awfull.
I guess the idea that a woman likes a car for separate reasons than a guy does is dumb. My daughter hates anything that is not big and square…and hates the Mazda3 or any hatch.
Then again, I have a pink leather jacket.
It very old and used to wear it on the truck docks in Alsip, IL as a young man working through college.
It became kind of a accepted joke with the grizzly full timers. After you prooved your worth on the docks, you could get away with this.
My wife and I are considering driving up to St Louis to look at this thing. We were planning to wait the Focus ecoboost next spring, but every review says this is a fun (hoot) little suv.
Well this 38 year old GTI driver would try it. I’m really curious about the small displacement turbo charged engine – you usually only get turbos in Canada as pricey engine options. Not to mention that when married to a VW it means maintaining a VW. This could be a game changer on that front alone. But I’m also the kind of guy who would drive a B200 turbo – now that’s a Hausfrau car.
Alfonso Albaisa’s flair for spin is a statement in itself.
However, the Juke as a statement doesn’t compare to another ugly Betty that comes to mind –
http://www.edmunds.com/flipper/do/MediaNav/year=2010/make=gmc/model=terrain/firstNav=Gallery/photoId=20334580
I will say that the rear and side views of the Juke are attractive enough.
“Adventurous Design” seems to be the keyword here. If I look at the car and the designer and listening to hm, everything suddenly makes sense. I could imagine a lack of real life exposition (a.k.a. adventures) on the designer side, however. The girls certainly wil like it. As a bonus they will get a decent engine….
here’s how it was styled: http://www.youtube.com/user/davidsfarm?blend=1&ob=4#p/u/63/HS0CnwxJOss
It was styled?
I think he likes feet. And may be very sneaky.
I like it… its different, unique. Maybe I wouldnt buy it, but I am glad some manufacturers have the balls to try something new. I am sick and tired of Camry clones or luxury crossovers that all look the same.
That being said, I think it was designed by a focus group to appeal to the imaginary 30yo guys that live in beer commercials and lame “bromance” movies. I sincerely doubt the target demographic will actually find this appealing. Like most all CUVs, I think this will appeal to young couples (or singles) with 1 young child (maybe 2 tops), and who arent swimming in money.
this guy spouts bullcrap at 8,000rpm
if you really want this engine i have no doubt they will put it into the Dualis/Qashkai and eventually the Versa
I am a 30 year-old-male, right on the button. The Nissan Juke is without qualification the ugliest car I have ever seen.I’m not sure what an “Urban Experience” is, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to have one. In fact, “Urban Experience Seeker” sounds like the first line of a very frightening personal add.
Yep, I suppose trawling for trannies at the Lincoln Tunnel is the same sort of “Urban Experience”..
.. Or getting mugged in Jamaica.. Very “urban”..
35 and liking it.
Still don’t see the styling as ugly. Just incredibly unconventional.
Alfonso is a weak-minded twit…Which is the real demographic here.
I like that they tried, but this is without a doubt the ugliest automobile since the Aztek.
I dunno,
Have yet to see one on the road, so I’ll give it a pass.
Not as instantly-quirky-lovable as The Cube. But, it may be as sexy as the Panamera staying next to your turbo 928 at 190 MPH.
The road will tell…
I like many of Nissan’s designs (the Z and Altima readily come to mind), but this Nissan designer is smoking some serious crack. The Juke is just butt ugly! I just don’t see how a 30 year old male (or female) could find the exterior the least bit appealing.
It’s interesting to see how the Juke sells here in northern Europe, as people here tend to be pretty conservative when it comes to cars. I really can’t imagine anyone willing to spend money on a vehicle that looks like a squished frog.
Most 30-year-old men that I know (I’m 29) are still up to their eyes in debt from university or buying houses and simply don’t have the money to buy a relatively (relative to a 2nd or 3rd hand Nissan Almera) expensive new car like the Juke.
I can see older people buying it when the Jazz/Fit gets to be too much because the Juke’s high-up seating is easier to get into with arthritic hips.
Speaking of small, phoney off-roaders. Does anyone remember the Honda HRV. That ended well(!)
You can sell a young man’s car to an old man but not vice versa – unless it’s cheap!
You’re dead-on with the responsibilities of a young family head. That’s why I ended up with an ’81 Reliant bought new with no radio, no air, no nothin’! But that thing was sure fun to drive and we had it for 7 years. Other than that, we had to buy used until I hit 40. I wasn’t strapped with college debt, but had all the other stuff, and did have some help from in-laws.
Ok, I’ll be the older guy that dissents. I’m 41. I like the quirky styling. I look at it as a cross between the SX4 wagon and a CR-V. I’d like a 6 speed with that engine. An auto with AWD for my wife would nicely replace her current CR-V. It would also get better mileage than my gas-guzzling ’08 Legacy GT. It would probably handle the bad weather (floods, snows) and terrible roads here in the Northeast quite well. I just wish it had higher-quality materials inside. I hate cheap interiors.
I credit the designers with trying to differentiate an econobox. There’s only so much you can do, given the architecture (I’ve used that word twice, today!) of today’s cars that a person can actually fit in more-or-less comfortably. There is a style for everyone, and I’ll pass my judgment when I see one on the street. As a package designer myself, I understand the challenges of making a square box appear more than a square box!
Man…as a 28 year old male I just don’t see myself falling for this thing in 2 years time. I picture my 20 year old cousin driving this thing. He’s an art major in college, completely against getting a part-time job because he doesn’t want to fuel the government’s capitalist adjenda by paying taxes, and his vision of the future involves playing guitar and never paying taxes or joining “the system”. Most 30 year old males I know are far more conformist than this thing would portray.
A word on the design…remember when you were like 6 and you used to draw pictures of cars with crayons? I know I do, and my main style of designing was to take small bits of everything in my life that I thought was cool at the time (pizza, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, bright colors, my bicycle) and mish-mash it all together into some crazy looking concept mobile! Hey…wait a second…
If that’s what your cousin believes in (until reality rears its ugly head), then he certainly won’t be driving anything (maybe a ’69 Subaru), he’ll be walking!
Yeah, many in the family have attempted to inform him that his chosen path through life isn’t a sustainable one but he is cursed with the stubbornness of youth. Hopefully his 1989 Astro panel van will outlast his anarchist tendencies. Right now he’s completely focused on sustaining his theoretically perfect course, complete with values that benefit all and ideals that revolutionize our way of life. Ironically…he’d make a hell of a politician.
Way off topic here…Quick question. Your cousin drives a 89 Astro, and insures it,plates it,and feeds gasoline to its thirsty 4.3. He also goes to college. Where is the cash coming from?
Somebody is paying the bills. If the family wants him to change his ways. Turn the money faucet to the “off” position.
Yes, that does sound like a good fix, but the “get straight or get out” ultimatum seems easier to pitch than enforce from what I’m observing in my Aunt and Uncle’s household. The goal was to get him in college doing something productive and enjoyable for 4 years and hope 4 years older means 4 years more mature. I guess we’ll see where it goes from there. Personally I’m with you. Starvation–>Desperation–>Alteration…but tough love isn’t for everyone.
The four years in the USAF cured me! I even enjoyed the car shown in my avatar.
I’ve got a nephew that is going down the same path. Wondering how long until the family gets tired of this. Meanwhile I sit back and quietly watch the show. Have said my piece and suggested a go in the Navy like I did. 6 years did wonders.
I’ll have to see one of these things in person to make a decision. I don’t mind a car that will get me around in the city or a little further down a snowy road or out to a campsite along a dirt road. Didn’t mention rock crawling did I?
Honda designed the Element to be a “dorm room on wheels” and predicted significant sales to twenty-somethings. So what ended up happening? Baby Boomers flocked to the quirky utilitarian design. I suspect that Nissan will find the same thing with the Juke: it won’t sell to thirty-year- old males and instead be embraced by a completely different demographic. If the car is really good and reliable, we may see them everywhere in the coming years and, like Honda Elements, won’t even give them a second look.
The Element sells mostly on its versatility features though, which is why people flock to it. Its got hose out flooring, a 50-inch side-door opening, fold-away rear seating, a giant rear opening, and cavernous interior dimensions. There aren’t too many smaller vehicles that supply all these attributes. The Juke is just a passenger space on the inside. The ways it competes are looks(?), fuel economy, driving dynamic, price-point, safety, and reliability (to be seen), and all cars in the segment aim for these goals.
Exactly!
Last night I was trying hard to remember which recent car was developed for a distinct buyer, only to realize an entirely different one was buying the car.
I think this has happened a lot.
As a side note, I was finalizing a purchase of a Mazda3 hatch over the phone when the sales “kid” blurted out how funny he thought older guys looked driving one.
Really?
I explained I was 54.
And I loved the ’05 orange/red sunrise color.
Hmmm…talk about a pregnant pause followed by the sound of a crow being eaten.
Like the silly female buyer philosophies above, the “categorization” marketing that comes out of business schools today kills me.
Hey TrailerTrash, you stick to your guns. You’re gonna love the versatility & frugality (at the pump) of your 3. I know I love mine & I’m 43. Just don’t stick 18in rims/low profile tires on it or it will beat you to death. But damn, this car is fun to drive.
OT, My (almost 70) parents traded in their Mercury Quest Village (ne Nissan) during cash for clunkers for a base model Versa. When I first saw it, I was aghast. However upon driving I changed my tune. If this is basically a Versa on steroids, I’m all in. :)
Went to a juke joint located on a Louisiana bayou where you were checked for weapons at the door.
If you had none you were offered a knife or a gun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juke_joint
After my initial outpouring of vitriol against the styling, I actually went and had a walk around one at a Nissan dealership aaaand… I dunno. I’m not in the ‘My god it’s hideous’ camp any more, but neither am I in the ‘Oh wow, that is so cool’ camp either.
I find I often react to totally new and unconventional designs and artwork in much the same way, only to then spend far to long looking at it and finally appreciating it as ‘different’ rather than ugly.
So I’m still on the fence when it comes to looks, but like Ed said, you can’t fault the fundamental mechanics of the machine. But more importantly for Nissan – it’s got car people talking about it.
A car that in the US is appealing to a narrow set of motorheads, specifically those who’d be happier living in Europe.
A car with a design that will be a no-issue in Europe, Asia and South America (and Canada) but has predictably polarized the opinion in the land where the 300, Escalade etc are considered of good taste.
I see weak sales here.
Alfonso’s second worst nightmare (his hair stylist running out of hair-spray and gel would be the first) is for the Juke to become cult for its mechanical attributes instead of its design. Like, you will see some of these used to commute from Silicon Valley to Laguna Seca. Had they shoved a 1.6L engine with CVT and lowered the price to Kia Rio levels it would sell by design.
It happened with the Element. There’s more of them at any given time at parking lots of home and garden stores driven by 60+ year olds than in a beach parking lots and mountain bike downhill tracks.
For some reason I think this car will appeal to woman, teens to late 20’s, I think it’s the ovaries on the front.
It looks like a cross between a Kia Soul and a pug. One of the ugliest cars ever made. It makes an Aztek look like a ’55 Chevy.
You know, the looks aren’t bad, the performance numbers look pretty decent, the pricing doesn’t seem outrageous, but the marketing speak got to me:
“compact, tight, sexy . . . feel the solid stance of the car
the wheels are way out.”
Are they trying to sell this to Larry Craig?