Thursday 12 July 2018

Nissan Juke Nismo confirmed for Australia

James Wong

Journalist

Media invite confirms October launch for hotted-up crossover.

The Nissan Juke Nismo has finally been confirmed as a starter in Australia, with the company's local arm announcing the sportier SUV's launch through a media invite.

Scheduled to launch in October according to the press invitation, the Juke Nismo adds a range of cosmetic and mechanical upgrades to Nissan's littlest crossover, first launched in Europe six years ago.

Australian specifications are yet to be confirmed, but the European version first revealed in 2014 makes 160kW and 280Nm (157kW/250Nm CVT) from its 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine, sending drive to all four wheels through a choice of six-speed manual or continuously-variable transmission.

Other key upgrades for the Euro-market car include a smoked headlights and tail-lights, a more prominent chrome exhaust tip, 18-inch alloy wheels, upgraded brakes with red calipers, revised spring and damper rates, specially tuned KYB twin-tube shock absorbers, a reinforced front suspension link, and front and rear stabiliser bars.

Inside, you get stuff like Nismo-branded Recaro sports bucket seats, a red-stitched leather/Alcantara steering wheel with red 12 o'clock stripe, a red-stitched leather gear knob, alloy sports pedals, and Nismo-stamped aluminium tread plates.

Pricing remains unconfirmed at this stage, though we're expecting the Nismo to carry a decent premium over the Ti-S with all-wheel drive currently listed at $33,490 before on-road costs. With that in mind, expect a figure around the $38,000-$40,000 mark.

It's likely the new Nismo variant will breathe some new life into the ageing Juke range in Australia, which has been struggling for sales.

Last month the crossover managed just 65 registrations locally (down 27 per cent), taking the year-to-date figure to 360 units (down 52.4 per cent). By comparison, the larger and more expensive Qashqai, which competes in the same segment, posted 2198 registrations for the month of June, and is currently sitting at 7213 YTD, gains of 45.6 per cent and 11.4 per cent respectively.

The Juke Nismo will join the GT-R Nismo and 370Z Nismo in the Australian line-up when it launches later this year. Stay tuned to CarAdvice for all the latest over the coming months.