Corn on the cob, cheese, lemons, daffodils, banana custard and the yellow Nissan Juke

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Car Reviewed: Nissan Juke HEV Tekna+ Automatic 2WD

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This week, I am driving the latest yellow Juke Tekna+. Admittedly, this colour would not be my choice, but it sure cheers up the roads. For owners, yellow Juke will be a bit showy and a strange extension of their personality; it attracts looks and comments noticeably.

This is the latest 2WD Hybrid model with a 1.25Kw Lithium Ion battery. The powertrain is a good choice with improved economy. The three-cylinder 1598cc powerplant runs in conjunction with the hybrid system.

The interior has been cheered up with quality soft touch, tactile materials and a sporty feel. The quilted synthetic leather seats are very comfortable; the ambient lighting is a nice touch at night. The smooth leather multifunction steering wheel feels good. ProPilot assist and adaptive cruise control assist are a must-have for journeys.

The touchscreen is now more prominent. It is responsive, clear and concise, but compared to rivals, it could possibly do with some further updating. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available, and a useful charging pad is in the centre console ahead of the armrest.

The sound system is an immersive 360-degree eight-speaker Bose Personal Plus set-up. There are speakers in the headrests. Overall, the sound is quite impressive and enhances the driving experience. Adding a slight bias to the sound to the rear quietens road noise within the car.

This Juke also offers keyless entry, so you can just walk up, and it unlocks and walk away, and you hope it locks; it is a premium feature but can be annoying at times.

Since the previous generation, when the Juke was a car with a look that only some could love, it has grown up to become an attractive compact SUV with many fans and is always in the top 10 cars in the UK.

Sadly, it’s not the most engaging of drives, but these days, we don’t drive on the most engaging of roads at any actual speed anyway. For many, the economy would come way above performance, which is still adequate, with 0-62mph in 10.1 seconds and a top speed of 103 mph.

It’s a comfortable, light, and easy car to drive, and handles well enough with front-wheel drive. The ride and handling are reasonably good, the Juke stays composed in bends, and the steering has a good feel; the 19-inch wheels are very attractive but probably don’t help maintain composure over larger bumps.

Eco, standard and Sport are available as options to adjust driving characteristics. The claimed combined mpg of this hybrid model is 58.8mpg, and it does well combining the electric mode and engine to maximise the mpg; CO2 emissions are down to 109g/km. On electric-only mode, it allows up to 34mph when accelerating and driving lightly; in heavy traffic, it runs along quite happily, using the excellent e-Pedal to speed up and slow down; it also tops up the battery. Nissan says you can drive using e-Pedal 99% of the time, which I did. Driving sensibly, the electric motor works very well with the 1598cc petrol engine; driven harder, the engine cuts in a lot more and can be rather noisy.

Bootspace is down a tad on the petrol model, with 354 litres and seats folded down, making a useable 1237 litres of space. There is a handy area under the boot panel with about 6″ of space deep, ideal for putting things away that you don’t want to slide around. The seats in the rear are a little compact but still quite useable, but maybe not for the tallest of passengers.

Overall, the Juke Hybrid is a pleasing car and arguably the best so far. Its unique, bold styling makes it an excellent choice for a compact SUV, but it is amongst stiff competition. I hear the next one may be electric, but for now, it’s jolly good as it is.