2017 Nissan Juke Review
Used Juke for sale
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
Edmunds' Expert Review
byJonathan Elfalan
Director, Vehicle Testing
Jonathan Elfalan has worked in the automotive industry since 2005. As a director of vehicle testing at Edmunds, Jonathan has tested and reviewed thousands of cars and written thousands of car-related articles over the course of his career.Pros
- Lively acceleration compared to other cars in the segment
- Tight, sporty handling that makes it fun to drive
- Sophisticated all-wheel-drive system for a car in this class
- Extensive color customization options
Cons
- Limited rear passenger headroom, legroom and cargo space
- Unique styling translates into poor rear visibility
- Doesn't ride as comfortably as some other subcompact crossovers
- Cheap-feeling interior plastic trim
What’s new
Enhancements for 2017 Nissan Juke apply mainly to the SV trim as the previous Cold Weather package, which included heated front cloth seats and heated outside mirrors, is now standard. There are new 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels on the SV and SL grades and a special Black Pearl model with a white and black color scheme.
Vehicle overview
Your first reaction to seeing the 2017 Nissan Juke is exactly what the manufacturer intended. The Juke makes no apologies for its controversial styling, which is part of its appeal. Nissan even took it one step further with a program that allows buyers to mix and match colors like an unsupervised kid at a soda fountain. Regardless of your views on the Juke's styling, the bottom line is it's one of the most capable performers in the compact crossover segment, so it's big fun in the driver seat.
Cost to DriveCost to drive estimates for the 2017 Nissan Juke S 4dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl Turbo CVT) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $4.07 per gallon for premium unleaded in Virginia.
Monthly estimates based on costs in Virginia
$171/mo
Juke S
vs
$179/mo
Avg. Compact Car
A lot of what makes the Juke attractive lies beneath the surface, namely a spunky turbocharged engine that is powerful yet efficient. An available all-wheel-drive system with genuine rear-axle torque-vectoring means the Juke can vary power delivery between the front and rear axles as well as the left and right rear wheels for optimum traction. A taut suspension makes for great handling when the roads start to bend, and there are 7 inches of ground clearance to help facilitate some light off-road exploration. One of the main downsides of the Juke is interior space. Rear passenger legroom, headroom and cargo space is scarce.
Edmunds' Expert Rating
3.5 / 5It may not be love at first sight, but a drive in the 2017 Nissan Juke will have you seeing the inner beauty of Nissan's feisty turbocharged creation. When it comes to performance, the Juke is a subcompact crossover standout.
Trim tested
Each vehicle typically comes in multiple versions, although trim levels share many aspects. The ratings in this review are based on our full test of the 2013 Nissan Juke Nismo (1.6L 4-cyl. turbo; 6-speed manual). NOTE: Since this test was conducted, the current 2017 Nissan Juke Nismo now comes with the same engine from the lower Juke trims, making 188 hp instead of 197 hp. The engine has received some tweaks, specifically in 2015, for better fuel economy and response. Our findings remain broadly applicable to this year's Juke.
Scorecard
| Overall | 3.5 / 5 |
| Driving | 4.0 |
| Comfort | 3.5 |
| Interior | 3.0 |
| Utility | 2.5 |
Driving
4.0The Juke Nismo never feels overly quick, yet its acceleration is more like a car's than a small SUV's. Handling is decent, but we expected better from the Nismo version. With an easy clutch and shifter, the manual transmission is easy to live with.
Comfort
3.5A slightly stiffer suspension and high-performance tires give the Juke Nismo a harsher ride than the regular model. The fantastically comfortable and supportive sport seats partially make up for the harshness, and the lack of road noise is impressive.
Interior
3.0Like its exterior, the Juke's cabin is a bit overstyled. Combining the climate controls with the drive mode selector is somewhat unintuitive and requires extra steps. There's plenty of headroom up front, less in the rear, and the sloping roof means cargo space is limited.
Utility
2.5Utility is where the Juke falls slightly behind the competition with a tiny cargo storage area and limited small item storage in the cabin.
Which Juke does Edmunds recommend?
For 2017, we like the midlevel Nissan Juke SV with all-wheel drive. The price jumps up a few hundred dollars from 2016, but you now get heated front seats and heated outside mirrors standard. We'd add the Tech package mainly for the Around View Monitor with moving-object detection because of the Juke's poor rear visibility. We also like the factory-installed front armrest for that extra bit of storage space. We don't really see the need to spend money for the SL trim's leather upholstery, and the Nismo models' suspension is too firm for comfortable daily driving.
2017 Nissan Juke models
The 2017 Nissan Juke is available in five trim levels: base S, SV, SL and sport-oriented Nismo and Nismo RS. All models except the Nismo RS come with a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine (188 hp, 177 pound-feet) mated to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and are available with the standard front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The Nismo and Nismo RS trims offer a six-speed manual transmission option for front-wheel-drive models only.