The designers of the Nissan Juke claimed that they drew from Baja racers as inspiration, in the same way that sprinkling a packet of taco mix on some undercooked ramen turns it into Tex-Mex fusion cuisine.
If you were one of the stalwart few who were holding out for the chance that it would be better-looking in person (like so many unphotogenic automobiles are), then allow me to dash your hopes right now: no. Because somehow it manages to look even worse.
It’s easy to dismiss the car’s styling by saying “what the hell were they smoking?”, “where can I get what the hell they were smoking?”, and/or “what sort of illegal narcotic substances were these miscreants partaking in, and where shall I obtain some for my personal use?” But the disjointed styling, mishmash of design themes, busy front end, awkward proportions, bulging fender flares, tacked-on headlights and clumsily sloping roof indicates some sort of conscious, concentrated effort to design something this awkward and ungainly. Clearly the Nissan team went out of their way to take the automotive crown away from the Pontiac Aztek. What sort of design “language” could Nissan cite as a precedent? The Teletubbies, perhaps?
Nissan claims that the Juke “breathes new life” into the small crossover segment, and that it’s “funky” and “distinctive.” The latter is certainly correct. But if this is what passes for “funky” these days, then I’m going to go set fire to my Rick James vinyl collection.
Nissan, why must you turn this convention center into a house of lies?
Here it is next to a GTR, a car that although controversial is still leaps and bounds beyond the realm of ridiculousness. It speaks volumes about modern car manufacturing that these two completely different cars can come from the same company.
— Blake Rong
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Blake Z. Rong, Matt Farah. Matt Farah said: TST at the #NyAutoShow: Hide your children, it's the Nissan Juke http://bit.ly/aiPaj7 [...]
[...] NY Auto Show: hide your children, it's the Nissan Juke | The … [...]
Almost as fuggly as an Aztec! How do these things get approved for production? And by the same company that approved the GTR, WTF?
I think there was some confusion in translation at Nissan. It's spelt J O K E.
The Nissan Juke is indeed smaller than the Rogue and barely bigger than the SX4. Since those two are basically hatch-sized anyway, you would be pretty good with a hatchback to begin with, like the new Golf or Ford Fiesta.
Though if you're There's a lot of small-ish SUVs out there, in varying sizes: the VW Tiguan, the new Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tuscon, Escape/Tribute twins, . If you want something more upscale there's the Acura RDX. If you want to drive something that looks like it came out of an alien's rectum, there's the Nissan Juke.