Looking closer to the Juke-R in terms of looks more than anything else, the new Nissan Juke NISMO has been given a number of aesthetic and performance updates to bring increased performance, improved handling, sharper looks and mass-market affordability.
The Juke NISMO features an aerodynamic body kit consisting of front and rear bumpers, wider wings, side skirts, a modified grille and tailgate spoiler along with new 18-inch alloy wheels shod in 225/45 R18 performance tyres.
Other enhancements include a stiffer suspension with spring rates (up by around 10 percent) and modified damper calibration. Steering feel has also been sharpened via tweaks to the electronic power steering software, along with the traction control system with torque vectoring for improved handling.
Inside, the hot crossover sports uniquely styled pedals, gauges, alcantara-clad steering wheel, gear knob and door trims, and scores suede-trimmed, red-stitched and heavily-bolstered NISMO sports seats.
While the Juke NISMO gets the same 1.6-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder as base Juke models, power is bumped up from 140 kW and 240 Nm of torque to 147 kW and 250 Nm. Nissan isn’t specific on how the gains were achieved, but we suspect intake and exhaust mods were enough to do the trick.
Nissan will offer the Juke NISMO in both two- and four-wheel drive variants, the latter equipped with a CVT gearbox as standard. The front-wheel drive model accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds and has a maximum speed of 215 km/h, while the four-wheel drive model sprints from 0 – 100 km/h in 8.2 seconds and tops out at 200 km/h.
