New Nissan Juke small SUV Australian details

Australians are buying more SUVs than any other vehicle, and now a new model has landed and is ready to rumble.

Nissan is attempting to side-step its rivals with the new Juke compact SUV.

The pint-sized SUV is due to arrive in showrooms in June where it will take on rivals such as the Mazda CX-3, Toyota C-HR and Hyundai Venue.

Nissan Australia’s chief, Stephen Lester, believes the Juke has taken a big step forward while maintaining its outside-the-box edge.

Nissan’s all-new Juke is due to land in showrooms next month.

“With its impressive new engine, incredible fuel efficiency and wealth of safety equipment, the all-new Juke is a small SUV like no other,” said Lester. “It has certainly grown up, but it has also lost none of the youthful excitement that the Juke name is famous for.”

Prices for the four-tier Nissan Juke will start at $27,990 (before on-road costs) and rise to $36,490.

The Juke maintains its funky styling.

The new Juke maintains the previous versions funky looks but brings in a raft of safety and tech upgrades.

Nissan is aiming at younger owners who prioritise style and design. The Juke’s sloping coupe-like roofline and small rear windows have more appeal for front passengers who are less likely to have youngsters in the rear.

Nissan has expanded the Juke in all directions.

However, Nissan has improved interior space compared to the previous version, making it longer, wider and taller than before. It is still smaller than the Mazda CX-3 and Toyota C-HR.

Inside is where the expansion will be felt the most. An increased wheelbase and lower rear floor means there is more knee and headroom for back seats passengers. And a big 422L boot is far superior to most rivals.

There is now an extensive list of standard safety equipment.

Power comes from a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit making 84kW/180Nm and paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.

Fuel use is impressive at 5.8L/100km, which is well below its main rivals.

Nissan has upped the Juke’s active safety gear with auto braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, speed-sign recognition, reversing camera with front parking sensors, blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert standard across the range.

The Juke competes with the Mazda CX-3 and Toyota C-HR.

A 360-view camera and adaptive cruise control are available on higher-spec versions.

All versions come with an eight-inch touchscreen that is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All versions bar the entry-level ST also get built-in satnav. The top-two ST-L and Ti versions get a seven-inch digital instrument screen.