First Drive Review
Cynicism is easy to come by these days, and it’s easy to understand why. A world such as this, where maximizing mainstream appeal is the order of the day and even the man in charge of developing Porsche’s GT3 preaches the superiority of automated transmissions, is fertile ground for breeding negativity. That’s what makes the Nissan Juke such a breath of fresh air. There are no logical reasons for it to look the way it does; its aesthetics are so clearly drawn without concern for what critics would think. Its 1.6-liter turbo four is an overachiever, imbuing this automotive non sequitur with the verve to match its shape. There’s not a cynical bolt or bead of adhesive in the Juke’s spunky, amphibian body.
So the Juke NISMO unsettles us, because it seems on the surface to be an uninspired application of promising branding to an empty body kit. Nissan recently put a 545-hp GT-R powertrain into a Juke, but that’s not what this is. (That one is called the Juke R and sells for about $650,000. So far, only one Middle Eastern buyer has stepped forward, and he purchased a pair.) No, this one has a wild body kit and red mirrors and hit the gym for…nine more horsepower? On the plus side, its base price of $23,780 ($26,080 with the CVT) is budget-friendly.
NISMO-morphosis
Even though the nine extra horsepower and the seven bonus lb-ft seem just as likely to come from a margin of error in output measurement as from actual powertrain computer updates (Nissan assures us it was the latter), the NISMO’s springs are 10 percent stiffer, and if you want factory 18s on a Juke, this is the only way to get them. Wrapped around those wheels is Continental ContiSportContact5 performance rubber, 10 millimeters wider than the tires on other Jukes. The revised front fascia, side sills, and spoiler are good for a claimed 37-percent increase in downforce, likely offsetting the increased output at speed. In addition to the mirrors and exterior pinstriping, “red” is the word of the day inside, too. The NISMO gets a leather-and-suede steering wheel with a red centering stripe, a red tachometer face—meaning the fuel cutoff is denoted by a black line rather than a red one—and red stitching on the heavily bolstered front sport seats.
Those seats are hands down the Juke NISMO’s best assets. Their aggressive contours are shaped from soft foam that grips occupants without pinching them, providing superbly comfortable support. The electric power steering is retuned to require greater effort, but it’s a minimal change, as the wheel still feels pretty light. Nevertheless, there are no other changes to the steering gear, so it’s just as quick and progressive as the rack in the regular Juke. The stiffened suspension keeps body roll to a minimum, even though the Juke was already quite competent on this front as well. It’s eager and nimble. However, front-wheel-drive versions could really use a limited-slip, which isn’t available on any trim level and seems like it would have been a perfect NISMO addition. Thanks to a torque-vectoring rear differential, the all-wheel-drive version is the better autocrosser; unfortunately, its mandatory CVT kills any interest we might have in that model.
With the same notchy action and extra-long shifter that makes it feel like the Hail Mary lever in Ken Block’s gymkhana car, the manual provides plenty of entertainment. The turbo engine’s 197 horsepower and 184 lb-ft are impressive figures from 1.6 liters, and the linear swell in power as the revs rise makes it feel eager, if not noticeably stronger than other Jukes.
From Little Tadpoles Doth NISMO Grow?
Which brings us back to the question of the Juke NISMO’s cynicism. The Juke is little more than a spunky, tadpole-inspired styling exercise, the only car on the market in which you can watch the road go by through your own protruding marker-lamp lenses. It’s an overachieving and charming oddity. As a Juke, the NISMO reaches well beyond what a plain old compact is supposed to be. But as an ambassador for Nissan’s motorsports division, it feels half-hearted. Nissan representatives tell us that this is “just the beginning” for NISMO, that the name will be applied to more models in the future. We hope they’ll feel more deserving of the NISMO badge.
