Ah, the Nissan Juke. Whether you like it, love it, or absolutely hate it, you have to give Nissan some respect for daring to be different. In the insanely competitive world of compact crossovers, the Juke absolutely stands out among its competitors, for better or worse. In the United States, the take was predominately worse because Nissan axed it from the lineup in 2018. In Europe, however, strong sales led to a second-generation Juke that still has bizarre styling, albeit toned down and graced with a bit more symmetry.
Juke, jive, and wail:
General feedback so far is that the Juke’s updated look is a definite improvement, and that got us thinking about other ways to improve this quirky crossover. Our minds immediately flashed to Nismo, Nissan’s in-house performance branch that occasionally steps in with some minor enhancements to rides like the 370Z or GT-R. What better way to try and expand the Juke’s youthful market than to deck it out with some beefy aesthetics? Rather than wait for Nissan to make a move, we dialled up our own design department and got to work on the exclusive rendering you see above.
Interestingly, Nissan already injects a sporty flavour into the Juke, so our attention focused primarily on the front fascia. The lower corner vents and driving lamps grow just a bit, and the fascia itself reaches a bit lower with a small red-accented chin spoiler. The added size allows the front fender wings to dip lower, creating square edges to accentuate the larger corner vents. Speaking of wings, a monochromatic treatment always emphasises the sport factor so everything on the sides gets white paint, except for the red-trimmed lower rockers and black mirrors. The Juke already has a black “floating roof” with more black on the pillars, but we extend that down to the bonnet for better effect. Lastly, you can’t have a Nismo-tuned machine without a cool set of wheels.
Does our performance makeover further improve the Juke’s curbside appeal, or should we have left well enough alone? Let us know your thoughts on this unconventional digital makeover.
