MOTORS: Will the heated seats of the latest Nissan Juke warm the cockles of reviewer Alan Douglas's heart?
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I’ve always considered heated seats to be something of an extravagance. Of course, when I started driving a heater was considered a luxury and air conditioning was a posh way of describing the process of opening the windows.
However, after a few days in the latest Nissan Juke I’m a convert. It’s probably partly to do with my advancing years but definitely associated with the sub-zero temperatures which hit Scotland while the car was in my custody.
I had to make a long journey south just as the snow and blizzards struck to cause chaos on our roads. Just south of Perth on the M90 the traffic ground to a halt as we struggled on packed snow to climb beyond Bridge of Earn and I sat in the queue of motionless cars, vans and trucks as the flakes got larger and more persistent.
I was beginning to fear I would be spending all the planned journey time rooted to the spot and considered myself lucky that I wasn’t in the couple of all-electric cars at my side, where the drivers must have been more anxious than me as they saw their battery reserves slowly dwindle.
With a full tank of fuel, I was happy to keep the engine running with the heater blasting away – and the heated seats on full setting, so I was nice and toasty as I looked at the frozen landscape.
Before long, the cavalry arrived in the form of one of the fleet of comically-named gritting snowploughs to clear the worst of the white stuff. I’m not sure if it was “I Came I Thaw I Conquered” or “The Great Grittish Flake-Off” but they did the business and we were on our way once again, slowly but surely.
I was in the latest petrol/electric hybrid version of the compact-SUV Juke in top-of-the range Tekna + spec which came with lots of toys as you’d expect for the £30,000-plus price tag.
Lots more car reviews for you to consider from Alan Douglas
It’s always been a popular model since it first appeared more than 12 years ago to become Nissan’s second best-selling car after the Qashqai. Sales have been boosted by a more recent remodelling which smoothed off some of the more dramatic styling, like its signature bug eyes.
It’s built at Nissan’s plant at Sunderland in the north-east of England and engineered specifically for European markets. The hybrid is available only in the higher-spec models and brings together a 93 bhp
1.6 litre petrol engine with a 48 bhp electric motor to power the front wheels working with a clever “multi-modal” automatic gearbox. It drives well although I was surprised that the economy figure of upper-40s mpg wasn’t better.
There’s also an e-Pedal setting for increased regenerative braking so there’s always a good reserve of charge allowing the car to move away in EV mode and up to 34mph on electric power, as long as you keep a gentle foot on the accelerator.
It’s effective so you hardly ever have to use the brake pedal, except to come to a full stop.
There are three driving modes of Normal, Sport and Eco and you can also call on it to run solely on EV if there’s sufficient battery charge.
Hybrid badges on the front wings and the boot lid are the only exterior clues of what lies under the surface but there are also subtle changes around the car to improve aerodynamics.
The interior has been smartened up too with some nice touches including a smart Bose audio system with speakers built into the front seat headrests. The keyless go system is effective but I found the “walk away lock” and “approach unlock” function pretty annoying. It is over-sensitive and operates too quickly with the result that the car spends a lot of time locking and unlocking itself as soon as you step out or come anywhere near it.
CAR: Nissan Juke Hybrid Tekna+ 2WD Auto
PRICE: £30,150 (£30,320 as tested)
ENGINE: 1598cc petrol/hybrid
POWER: 93 bhp (petrol) + 48 bhp (electric motor)
TORQUE: 205 Nm
TOWING CAPACITY: 750 kgs (braked)
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 103mph. 0-62mph 10 secs
ECONOMY: 47 mpg combined
CO2 EMISSIONS: 114 g/km
