Nissan unveils the new ‘grown-up’ Juke to be built at Sunderland

Nissan has revealed the new second generation Juke with a host of tricks up its sleeve, including an app that can lock it, check its location and whether the person driving it has gone over the speed limit.

The car will be built at the Japanese car firm’s British factory in Sunderland – just as the UK’s planned Brexit departure from the EU is set to take place.

The new second-generation compact crossover Juke – described by the firm as being ‘more grown-up’ joins the existing Nissan Qashqai and all-electric Leaf at the Sunderland factory which employs 6,500 people.

And with impeccable timing its production will straddle the deadline for the UK leaving the European Union.

The Juke features the kind of smart features that are usually the preserve of much more expensive cars. 

Owners can now lock or unlock their Juke directly from their smartphone and check their tyre pressure and oil level remotely before a trip. 

The Juke’s Connected Services app also allows the owner to remotely check on the car’s location, whether a set speed is being exceeded and if the car has ventured outside a designated area.

Nissan has confirmed that this feature can be switched off for privacy. 

Production of the new Juke, priced from under £17,500, is set to begin just before the UK’s planned exit from the EU on October 31.

First customer and showroom deliveries of the Juke will be in November – after the UK’s planned exit for the EU.

Sunderland has built more than one million Jukes since the outgoing first generation model was launched nearly a decade ago in 2010 – creating a whole new segment of small fun SUVs, although while at one point some were available as all wheel drive this was later phased out.

Last year it sold 24,530 Jukes in the UK as part of 71,900 across Europe.

Sunderland produced 79,153 Juke units last year, and the plant will be the sole factory in the world building the new car.

About 35 per cent will be bought by UK driver – its biggest market – with 65 per cent exported mainly to Continental Europe. 

Some 80 per cent of all cars built in Sunderland are exported to more than 100 countries – half of them to the EU.

Yet Sunderland itself had one of the highest ‘leave’ votes for Brexit, despite Nissan and the wider car industry urging that Britain remain in the EU to help ensure frictionless trade with the Continent. 

While the Juke has been confirmed for the Sunderland factory, a question mark hangs around future models there because of uncertainty over Brexit. 

The manufacturer said: ‘We first announced plans to build this all-new Juke in the UK in 2015 and today is the result of four years of planning and hard work. Regarding Brexit, our position has not changed –we are still waiting for clarity.’

Previously Nissan has urged an end to uncertainty, saying that frictionless trade with the EU since the factory opened in 1986 has turned Sunderland into the UK’s biggest car factory and warning that reversion to World Trade Organisation (WTO) trading terms would be a hindrance.

‘Today we are among those companies with major investments in the UK who are still waiting for clarity on what the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU will look like,’ it said in a statement.

‘As a sudden change from the current arrangements to the rules of the WTO will have serious implications for British industry, we urge UK and EU negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade’.

It has also warned, in February, that ‘uncertainty around the UK’s future relationship with the EU is not helping companies like ours plan for the future’.

Nissan also unveiled a prototype of the next generation Qashquai – codenamed IMQ – at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, which is set for production in around 2021.

It is a decision over whether this model will continue to be built as planned at Sunderland which could be affected by Brexit uncertainty.

In February, Nissan announced it was cancelling plans to build the next generation X-Trail at the UK factory – concentrating production at Kyushu in Japan – because of declining demand for diesel vehicles caused by tougher emissions regulations, reduced demand in Europe, and uncertainty over Brexit.

In a letter to Sunderland workers Nissan Europe chairman Gianluca de Ficchy said: ‘We have taken this decision for the reasons I’ve explained, but clearly the uncertainty around the UK’s future relationship with the EU is not helping companies like ours plan for the future’

Sunderland has built more than 10 million cars since it opened in 1986 with more than £4 billion investment made by Nissan. Some 442,308 cars were produced there last year alone.

What does the new Juke have to offer?

Nissan unveiled the new Juke as part of a simultaneous five-city launch in London, Paris, Milan, Barcelona and Cologne on Tuesday evening.

It will be powered by a frugal 1.0-litre three-cylinder 115bhp turbocharged petrol engine linked either to a six-speed manual gearbox or a sporty automatic seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle-shift.

Promising more space and improved performance, fuel economy and refinement, top speed is 112mph with 0-62mph acceleration in up to 10.4 seconds (manual) or 11.1 seconds (auto). 

Fuel consumption, subject to confirmation, is expected to be around 45mpg with CO2 emissions of about 136g/km.

Prices start from £17,395 for the base Visia model up to £23,895 for the top of the range Tekna+ .

However a limited run flagship Premiere Edition with just 140 available in the UK costs from £23,995 to £25,395. 

Nissan Europe’s product planning vice president Ponz Pandikuthira, says the Juke has ‘grown up’, though retails the ‘fun-to-drive qualities that have always made it stand out’. 

Out goes the bulbous silouhette of the first-generation Juke, with its Marmite cartoonish smiling frog-like face formed from two sets of upper and lower headlamps. 

This new version has more sleek athletic lines, low coupe-like styling and has incorporated the brand’s latest grille design already being used for the Micra, Leaf and Qashqai. 

Nissan says it has been created for drivers who like vehicles with ‘bigger personalities’ and value design, technology and performance, as well as practicality.  

Rear-seat knee room has been increased by 5.8cm and rear head room by 1.1cm. 

The Juke’s 422 litres boot also provides 20 per cent more storage space than in the car it replaces. 

A raft of new on-board technology includes Nissan’s advanced ProPILOT system, offering for the first time electronically assisted steering, acceleration and braking to reduce the stress of long commutes and heavy traffic.

Safety technologies includes intelligent emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, traffic sign recognition, lane-keeping, and active ‘blind spot’ warning.

The car’s infotainment system allows customers to use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to play their favourite smartphone apps on the eight-inch touch screen display, access TomTom maps and live traffic alerts, or activate their on-board wi-fi Hotspot so passengers can connect their laptops or tablets. 

A Nissan spokesman said: ‘Almost a decade after it set the bar for compact crossovers through its distinctive personality and emphasis on fun, the next-generation Nissan Juke arrives to reinvent the segment once again. 

‘Fun to drive as ever, the all-new Juke delivers new levels of performance and technology, within a striking yet roomier dynamic crossover body.’