Being a tough, serious 4×4 magazine, we are not supposed to be that bothered about ‘soft-roader’ SUVs, but confess that this one raised our interests. Nismo is the performance arm of the Japanese manufacturer Nissan, and at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, the company unveiled the Juke Nismo.
Very distinctive styling, has the Juke as a lower and wider machine, much more aerodynamic than the standard machine, reducing the lift at speed and ‘forcing’ the vehicle down on the road through its 19-inch alloy wheels. The Nismo Juke is powered by an uprated version of the 1.6-litre direct injection turbo engine. Probably the wrong thing to say, but we like it. Even the fancy red stitching of the interior.