Limited to a single 114 hp petrol engine since its release at the end of 2019, the Nissan Juke finally welcomes the hybrid block of the Renault Captur with a combined 143 hp. Consumption is falling, prices are soaring.
Car tested: Nissan Juke 1.6 Hybrid 145
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From€31,450
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With its three levels of headlights, its coupé-like bevelled rear and its motorcycle fuel tank as a central console, the atypical Nissan Juke happily launched the urban SUV segment in 2010. Eleven years later, its second generation vegetates in the ninth place in its category in France, far behind the Renault Captur cousin, very far behind the Peugeot 2008 leader. the global pandemic) and that his range didn’t really help him appeal to a large audience. The car did not have any diesel, no more electric, but a single 1.0 DIG-T 114 hp petrol engine. Fortunately, a new hybrid version comes to the rescue today.
Inaugurated by the Renault Captur E-Tech from 2021, the full hybrid powertrain is divided as follows: a 94 hp 1.6 naturally aspirated petrol engine (originally from… Nissan), a 49 hp electric machine (same!) and a 1.2 kWh battery just sufficient to animate the Juke noiselessly up to 55 km/h about 3 km. This is reminiscent of the famous Toyota hybrids, except for the original Renault-designed claw gearbox. Here, an electric motor replaces the clutch and synchros. It takes care of getting the car off the ground, then juggling between the four gears dedicated to internal combustion and two dedicated to electric (the two engines can work together, there are fifteen different transmission modes!). Transparent technology for the driver in use… but not really in terms of prices.
Nissan Juke hybrid price
Deprived of the first two Visia and Acenta trim levels, the Nissan Juke Hybrid starts directly in N-Connecta at €31,450 minimum. A high call price and superior to those of rivals (see below in the competition chapter), barely offset by the standard equipment. 8-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay via USB socket, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, hands-free key, 17-inch aluminum rims, but nothing more remarkable. At €33,450, the Juke Tekna adds adaptive cruise control, 360° parking cameras, Bose 10 HP sound system and nice 19-inch rims, but still no integrated GPS navigation, charged €500 on all non-Business finishes.
The higher level N-Design (€34,100) is not encumbered with the technological equipment of the Tekna and rather takes care of the presentation: ambient lighting, body parts and interior inserts in dissociated tone, 19-inch rims. The Juke First Edition pushes this slider even further with its white inserts on the shields, its roof stickers and its backlit door sills. But the price of this launch series limited to 900 copies peaks at €34,700. With an equivalent finish, the Juke Hybrid 143 is therefore €3,160 more expensive than the 1.0 DIG-T 114 version with DCT-7 gearbox and will have to justify this nice additional cost in use…
Driving
If the Juke 1 was more original, the Juke 2 remains a separate crossover. Small adjustable steering wheel close to the body, fairly low adjustable seat and enveloping center console are more reminiscent of a coupe than an urban SUV. But the comparison stops there. Despite the jolts of the ultra-low profile tires on the bumps, our 19-inch Juke indeed behaves very smoothly. Thanks to the frequent changes in 100% electric mode, even in the event of vigorous acceleration at the green light or while driving around 50 km/h. A real difference compared to the Toyota Yaris Cross and Hyundai Kona Hybrid, which require you to start like a snail to leave the heat engine dormant.
As for the Captur, the small jolts encountered on the first Clio E-Tech (when lifting the foot after 40 km/h or when braking between 70 and 60 km/h) have been correctly erased, and a touch makes it possible to reinforce energy recovery on deceleration. If its name is reminiscent of the e-Pedal of the Nissan Leaf, the e-Pedal Step mode does not allow here to completely stop the car without touching the brake. It lets the Juke crawl at 7 km/h in idle. A step back demanded by some Leaf customers who, according to the manufacturer, struggled to maneuver smoothly with the system engaged.
Too bad that the activation of this e-Pedal Step is located far behind the console and remains less accessible than on the Captur (from the gear lever) or the Kona Hybrid (via paddles behind the steering wheel). That said, this mode is not essential to reduce consumption, which is really reasonable in town – 5 l/100 km recorded after several congested urban journeys – unless you multiply the very short journeys which wake up the heat engine for a while to regenerate the battery after a cold start.
The value will barely rise to 5.5 l/100 km on the road in relaxed driving, moreover, everything indicated to continue to appreciate this sweet chain of traction. The power is thus expected if you crush the right pedal beyond 80 km / h, because the box claims a good second before going down a report. This inertia, added to the limited number of speeds and the high-pitched torque of the naturally aspirated engine, sometimes gives the impression that the Juke mixes up brushes when it is abruptly. Finally, the feeling of the brake pedal lacks naturalness on hard slowdowns. Moving a coupe was just an impression, we said…
Let’s close this chapter by gauging the semi-autonomous driving system, offered from the Tekna level and present on our test model. On the tail side, it is responsive on the highway, quickly resuming its cruising speed after a slower user releases the left lane. On the front side, this dynamism appears too marked in the congestion, braking and sudden reacceleration then altering the smoothness of driving. As for the active centering in the lane, it is well calibrated but does not transform the Juke into a licensed motorway. Air noise becomes quite present at 130 km / h, and consumption seems more arbitrary (7.3 l / 100 km) at a speed where the electric motor remains in virtual hibernation.
On board
competition
With the same traction chain, the Renault Captur E-Tech hybrid 145 will be the most bulky rival of the Nissan Juke with its lower appeal price of €3,000 (€28,600), its more generous standard equipment with a comparable finish. , its suspension a bit less firm and its sliding bench seat sometimes offering more legroom, sometimes more trunk. The reception of rear passengers is the specialty of the latest Honda HR-V, royal on this point and just as convincing in terms of consumption. It remains to digest an even higher call price (€32,210), justified by the rich standard endowment.
The last two rivals start lower. Count €26,900 “ only ” for the small Toyota Yaris Cross. Handy and very sober in town, it is less comfortable on the road due to modest performance and average soundproofing. Top-of-the-range equipment (head-up display, adaptive cruise control, GPS, etc.) only comes in the Collection at €31,900, but our Juke N-Connecta costs €31,450. Same observation for the last thief, the Hyundai Kona Hybrid 141. Displayed at €27,000 in Initia, it climbs to €31,000 in Creative while offering, in addition to the Toyota, two beautiful 10.25-inch screens, a charger per induction and a five-year warranty instead of three. Only to have a double clutch box, the Kona’s hybrid system is just a little more greedy than the others, while the trunk volume is limited to 314 l.
Find the results of the test, the technical sheet, all the prices and equipment of the hybrid Juke on the following page.
