Discussion
This is a bit of a cheat because I don’t own a his car but as small SUVs are all the rage thought it would be fun to write about my experiences with my loan car - a 1 litre Nissan Juke. About as un-pistonheads like car as you could find! My own 3 series had been smashed into, possibly written off and I just wondered what a Juke would be like when subject to the driving of a typical PH enthusiast rather than it’s usual demographic! 
Anyway, I picked it up last Friday from Enterprise in Liverpool and of course the b***** only gave me enough fuel for about 65 miles of driving before the low fuel light came on. First thoughts, boy does this thing drink fuel! I did my trip back to the South Coast in two stages and the indicated MPG by the time I got home was a mere 40.6, cruising around 75 MPH. Now that is poor. My daughter's 15 year old Astra H 1.6 petrol used to do a measured brim to brim 43 MPG on the same journey. Of course it has the aerodynamics of a brick. Next complaint, the bings and bongs which you get with every new car (I am used to 10 year old cars and older). Managed to figure out how to disable the speed limit warning one. Positives. Well it doesnt ride too badly although pot-holes do upset it (its on a weird size of tyre, 205/60/17) and Bridgestone Turanzas which are famously hard. However it is simply underpowered. I am not sure why as 115BHP in a 1200KG car should be adequate, but it just doesn't accelerate very well. My 1 litre 99BHP Focus Mk4 hire car from 5 years ago went better.
Anyway, I picked it up last Friday from Enterprise in Liverpool and of course the b***** only gave me enough fuel for about 65 miles of driving before the low fuel light came on. First thoughts, boy does this thing drink fuel! I did my trip back to the South Coast in two stages and the indicated MPG by the time I got home was a mere 40.6, cruising around 75 MPH. Now that is poor. My daughter's 15 year old Astra H 1.6 petrol used to do a measured brim to brim 43 MPG on the same journey. Of course it has the aerodynamics of a brick. Next complaint, the bings and bongs which you get with every new car (I am used to 10 year old cars and older). Managed to figure out how to disable the speed limit warning one. Positives. Well it doesnt ride too badly although pot-holes do upset it (its on a weird size of tyre, 205/60/17) and Bridgestone Turanzas which are famously hard. However it is simply underpowered. I am not sure why as 115BHP in a 1200KG car should be adequate, but it just doesn't accelerate very well. My 1 litre 99BHP Focus Mk4 hire car from 5 years ago went better.
Edited by greenarrow on Friday 1st November 14:19
I am a proper petrol head and my partner has the earlier model with the 1.5 diesel engine.
I know it's not very PH, but I really like it, it goes well with 3 selectable power levels, looks good, well equipped and well screwed together, it's also been very reliable so nothing to complain about really. Its not the lead on handling, but who really buys a mini SUV for that purpose.
Very interested to see how you found the new model as this would be on the cards next when this Juke is upgraded.
I know it's not very PH, but I really like it, it goes well with 3 selectable power levels, looks good, well equipped and well screwed together, it's also been very reliable so nothing to complain about really. Its not the lead on handling, but who really buys a mini SUV for that purpose.
Very interested to see how you found the new model as this would be on the cards next when this Juke is upgraded.
Anyway yesterday I decided to see how the Juke would fare on my favourite B road, the infamous B3078 Wimborne to Cranborne Road in East Dorset. Having driven round for a week I thought the car had decent grip and not too much roll, turned in fairly well, but didn't like sudden direction changes. Anyway on this sinuous little B road first thing I noticed was that it totally confused the lane assist which had a bit of a mental breakdown. To be fair the car gripped fairly well, but you can definitely feel the weight transfer in such a tall riding vehicle. The final section of switchback left and right direction changes clearly wasn't its forte but overall I had to say, not bad for a shopping trolley small SUV. I do find it hard to place the car on the road. Because you can't see the front corners very well, it seems wider than it is. Today, I retraced the road in my wife's old Fiesta ST150. Not a fair comparison I am sure, but tbf, the Fiesta is 19 years old and running on very past their sell by date slightly cracked Kumhos rather than brand new tyres. Same size at 17 inches. What surprised me was that in tight corners the actual cornering speed wasn't so different. However on the faster windy sections, the Fiesta is miles faster, the limiting factor really only being your self preservation radar. That said, I do think the Mk2 Juke is a big improvement on the Mk1 I drove some years ago. More interior space, bigger boot and plenty more grip. Weirdly though that Mk1 felt faster. So there we go. You can drive a small SUV quite hard down a tricky road, but it won't particularly thank you for it. I can see why people like these high riding cars, because visibility is good and you don;t feel so vulnerable amongst the bigger SUVs, but when the fuel economy is so poor and performance mediocre, you do question the progress being made with smaller cars... great cars like the Fiesta and Focus have been chopped for cars like the Juke and I for one feel sad as those old Fords were practical, economical and a blast to drive..
Edited by greenarrow on Friday 1st November 14:31
CKY said:
Evil.soup said:
Its not the lead on handling, but who really buys a mini SUV for that purpose.
Apparently everyone nowadays, given the recent death of 99% of all hot hatchbacks - work that one out.Muzzer79 said:
I had one as a medium-term hire car a few months ago and thought it was thoroughly capable, for what it was.
Now searching for a suitable one to buy for the OH as she liked it too.
Yeah to be fair it does pretty well for what it is, I just generally can't see the progress of these popular small SUVs over old fashioned small hatchbacks, other than being higher up and feeling safer.Now searching for a suitable one to buy for the OH as she liked it too.
CKY said:
Evil.soup said:
Its not the lead on handling, but who really buys a mini SUV for that purpose.
Apparently everyone nowadays, given the recent death of 99% of all hot hatchbacks - work that one out.I guess the problem here is, most buyers have little interest in handing characteristics, my other half isn't bothered with things like that as she doesn't drive her car with any significant enthusiasm.
That said, when she takes the Subaru somewhere it is like she has had a brain transplant, she unexpectedly passed me like a bolt of light the other day while I was heading home in my Kia Ceed. I finally caught her at the lights and she was just nervously laughing at me like a naughty child who got caught out, guess it depends what you put someone in lol!
One thing I will say- the interior feels nicely finished and it has a sweet sweet gearchange. Also there is space enough behind my seat for a reasonable tall person to sit. That was never the case in the old model. Crumbs is it winning me over? Last Saturday I posted on here that it was an absolute turd!! I think I was still upset at losing my 3 series and forced into something so sluggish feeling and thirsty by comparison!!
CKY said:
Apparently everyone nowadays, given the recent death of 99% of all hot hatchbacks - work that one out.
Most people didn’t buy them for handling. More to the point the people buying the majority of the base model units don’t care and therefore there isn’t a car to make a hot hatch from.
Edited by Dingu on Friday 1st November 21:32
Edited by Dingu on Friday 1st November 21:32
I’m driving one at the minute as a rental car.
It’s brand new I think 2 litre.
I’ve taken the mick out of them for years, but it’s actually not bad!
The stop/start system has a lag of about .4 seconds so people are always beeping me at the lights, but it has enough oomph apart from that and nice enough inside
It’s brand new I think 2 litre.
I’ve taken the mick out of them for years, but it’s actually not bad!
The stop/start system has a lag of about .4 seconds so people are always beeping me at the lights, but it has enough oomph apart from that and nice enough inside
Is that not a bit people in glass houses?Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff