Geneva Motor Show: 2015 Nissan Juke & Juke NISMO RS

The 2014 Geneva Motor Show is in full swing, so we’ve got a jam-packed week of automotive news in front of us. With that in mind, let’s skip the introduction and jump right into the newest Japanese cars to make their premiere. Today, we’re looking at Nissan and the two most important cars they brought to the show:

The ‘New’ Nissan Juke

Nissan’s ‘New Juke’ is set to go on sale in June, and this is the European spec’ production model. Don’t like the color? Don’t worry – this Juke was developed with personalization in mind. In fact, Nissan started their R&D for the new Juke with their fans in mind; they polled Juke drivers to find the most common areas where it lacked, and they made a point of fixing those issues in the new model.

So, what changed?

Surprisingly, after all the hype with concealed images, the exterior aesthetics of the 2015 Nissan Juke remain largely the same. The biggest change is a new sunroof – one of the customer requests – which retracts over the top of the car.

The headlights and taillights have also been modified, along with the updated Nissan-style grille. The bumper has been slightly smoothed out, but again, nothing major. Perhaps coolest of all are the new 18-inch alloy wheels with color accents. The accents are actually separate inserts, which can be altered to fit your preference. The same is true of the side mirrors and side sills, as well as much of the interior. The front-wheel drive models also get an enlarged trunk.

Under the hood there’s more significant change — the new Nissan juke gets an all-around more efficient engine with cleaner emissions. It’s a 113bhp 1.2L turbocharged petrol that actually outputs more torque than its 1.6L predecessor. The 1.5L diesel and 1.6L petrol will also be carried over to the new model, but their emissions have been significantly lowered.

Nissan Juke NISMO RS

We were really impressed by the new Nissan Juke NISMO RS; it looks incredible. It takes all the bubbly quirkiness of the regular Juke and hones it down to something simultaneously bolder and more refined. This new NISMO RS model will top the line for the Juke as the most expensive trim package in the lineup. But, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Specifically, the new Juke NISMO RS gets new boomerang head- and taillights, as well as a new mesh Nissan grille. More importantly, it gets an improved 1.6L turbo that’s 18hp more powerful than the current Juke NISMO.

The compact crossover gets extensive upgrades to the rest of its mechanical innards too, from a new Limited Slip Differential in the front to a tougher CVT, larger brakes and improved springs, along with an all-around stiffer chassis. It also gets a new exhaust, new RS badging, along with Alcantara interior trim and Recaro bucket seats.

All in all, both the 2015 Nissan Juke and the new Nissan Juke NISMO RS look quite impressive. The regular Juke didn’t feature quite as many changes as we were expecting from all the hype, but it will surely sell just as well as its predecessor, if not better. As for the new Juke NISMO RS, it surpassed all expectations. It looks amazing, and we’re sure it’ll be a blast to drive.

As always, thanks for reading, and stay tuned later this week for more Japanese car news!