You either love the bold design of the Nissan Juke or you think that it deserves to be left in a pond somewhere with just the headlights exposed, like an angry hippo or a bewildered frog. We quite like its quirkiness, however.
Nissan is very much aware of the divisive opinion surrounding the Juke and the company is apparently working on toning down the design of the next-generation Juke by basing it around the Gripz concept introduced back in September at Frankfurt.
The second-gen Nissan Juke is expected to be revealed sometime next year and to arrive in dealerships in 2017. Word is that the side profile will be much more conservative than the current model but it will have similar arrow-shaped LED headlights and V-shaped front grille as the current model.
The mechanicals of the new Nissan Juke will be improved. This will include a selection of four-cylinder petrol engines with the top of the range sporting a 1.6-litre turbo that will put out 162kW and 260Nm of torque. The engine as well as its six-speed dual-clutch transmission will be borrowed straight from the Renault Clip RS 220.
There will also be a Juke with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, incorporating the electric motor of the Nissan LEAF with a small petrol engine acting as a generator to charge the batteries. This is expected to deliver around 75kW and 254Nm of torque.