Saturday, March 5, 2011

Car Style - The Nissan JUKE

If you want an urban crossover SUV from Nissan, meet the JUKE. This machine is a muscular machine with urban style and some rally influence. It has some boldness and some charm to make it hot for city streets. People whom have hinted on the JUKE's looks range from people saying it is ugly to some saying it is styled unusually. One YouTube user commented that this is one of the ugliest cars Nissan has ever made since the Cube. What do I think of it? You'll see. My opinions on the JUKE's looks will be featured in another "Car Style" blog post of mine. My "Car Style" blog post welcomes another automobile to the list of machines I have profiled for their looks. This time, I'll be ready to juke and jive on my thoughts of the JUKE's styling. So let's get cracking!





--- Car Style: The Nissan JUKE ---
This here is a video preview of the JUKE, courtesy of Motor Trend's YouTube channel:


^ from: YouTube - Motor Trend video on the Nissan JUKE.

The JUKE starts at $18,990 USD (MSRP) for the S model, then goes up to $22,750 USD (MSRP) for the SL model. Front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive are offered for this machine. The engine is the MR16DDT- a direct injection gasoline DOHC turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 16 valves. It is good for 188 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual/standard transmission is only offered optionally for the FWD versions of the JUKE SV and JUKE SL. Perhaps unusual for an SUV is that this JUKE is pretty light. Curb weights for the JUKE range from 2912 lbs. for the front-wheel drive JUKE SV with manual transmission, and the heaviest is the all-wheel drive JUKE with Xtronic CVT at 3,210 lbs. This is the lowest-priced offering among Nissan crossover SUVs and minivans.


Exterior.

Intros aside... the JUKE is unspeakably ugly. It has a great deal of aggression up front and on the sides (in the next paragraph). But in terms of style, its style severely lacks. Its looks make it too uninviting (to me) to really be of any interest. I am not sure what are the real headlights on the JUKE- the rather stylish eyes around the front hood/bonnet, or the rally car-style circular headlights. The grill breaks up the top headlights and the circular lights. Not sure what kind of message it is supposed to send, but it could have been done much better. The front air dam looks like it can shoot three missiles out of those ports. Either that, or three machine gun cannons or three lasers. It is one of the worst-looking cars or trucks up front from Nissan in my view.

There is no denying the edgy appeal on the sides. The sides make you forget about this machine's ugliness up front. Bold fender flares give the JUKE plenty of muscle. It has the right amount of charm to make you forget all about its ugly face up front. Everything is styled in an sexy urban way. Perhaps in recent times, I've noted the sloping roofline of Nissan models, like with the GT-R. I wonder if this sloping roofline can have a negative effect on head room for the second row.

A machine's rear leaves a lasting impression for when it passes you by. In keeping with this theme, its rear has a little of Nissan and a little of Volvo. The Volvo element of the JUKE is the tall and vertically-elongated tail light design. It has a boomerang style set of tail lights. The rear spoiler has a small tail light as well. The rear doesn't look anything too stylish to really warrant your money, but it isn't bland at the back. Just not lovely.


Interior.

A car's interior can tell a story different from the exterior. It is the living and commuting space of an automobile. The JUKE has a very nice interior. Maybe not a glamourous one, but it also helps you forget all about the JUKE's exterior experience. It has a nice steering wheel and instrument panel. The center console looks very nice and sporty. The JUKE is a sporty machine, so there is no identity crisis here with the JUKE. It also has some lovely-looking and sporty seats.





Unfortunately, this car is almost totally ugly. Its front-end design is a hot mess of fail with no flow, grace, or charm. This crossover SUV is too ugly and uninviting for me to even get close to it. I'd rather lay eyes upon the Murano (though I've never been into the Murano style-wise) than the JUKE. Its performance figures and driving performance are probably the only reason to even be remotely interested in the JUKE. You can be an urban crossover SUV with a unique sense of style. However, Nissan did a pathetic job styling this machine. This effort is almost as putrid as Honda styling the latest CR-V or the Accord Crosstour. I would have liked to have seen cleaner style up front along with a bold or elegant rear view. It could have had a front-end style that had at least some form of clean style like the Murano or the Rogue (as far as crossover SUVs and such are concerned). The sides of the JUKE are the only saving grace of this crossover SUV. I'd leave its muscular side profile alone. Having such a poor-looking front sends a horrible message. The front of any automobile is the public face of any automobile. And when you have an ugly and poorly-designed front end, you send a haunting image to others who have to look at such a front end. The front end is more ugly than "different" or "aggressive." Different BAD, mind you. Some praise the JUKE's style as an unusual style. Don't sugarcoat it- it's not unusual; it's UGLY! It's one of the poorest-designed automobiles this century, if not one of the worst of the previous decade (2001-2010; machine has been in production since 2010).

Wikipedia notes the JUKE as the winner of "CUV of Texas" for 2011 by the Texas Auto Writers' Association among some other accolades. Remember again- my "Car Style" posts are about the STYLE AND LOOKS of cars; not performance figures or anything like that. Not that I think this, but I get the feeling some people will only see me post "Car Style" posts only on cars I like or remotely like. So I wonder how people respond when I trash certain cars for their looks. I think we learn more about people based on what they DON'T like as opposed to what they do like. Agree or disagree with my comments at will. I am almost totally unapologetic for posting certain things sometimes.

For More Information on the Nissan JUKE...

If you think differently about the JUKE (remember- "Car Style" is about the LOOKS of cars), you can learn more about the JUKE (or create/order your own Nissan JUKE) from Nissan JUKE on Nissan USA's website.


Thank you for reading!

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