Nissan Juke gets a little Jukier, adds features

NASHVILLE -- Nissan Motor Corp., surprised that one of its most polarizing cars has become one of its most successful, is turning up the Juke-iness of its Juke subcompact for 2015.
The substantial freshening, unwrapped Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show, gives the Juke a bigger front, with a fierce V-Motion grille, projector-beam headlights, LED front accent lights and a more emphasized lower air intake. The backside is enlarged with more pronounced taillights.
The Juke, envisioned as a niche vehicle for single guys, has become Nissan”s second-most-popular model in Europe. In the U.S., it has sold in significant volumes to both men and women. Nissan originally expected younger males to buy about 75 percent of all U.S. Jukes. Instead, women have been buying around 40 percent of them, says Mike Higginbotham, Nissan senior product planner.
He says Nissan is reaching in two directions with the freshened Juke. Designers not only want to capitalize on the model”s sports car-like appeal, they want to make the Juke more comfortable, with more safety and technology features, Higginbotham says.
The 2015 SL trim receives a standard Around View Monitor and NissanConnect nav and mobile apps system with a 5.8-inch color touch-screen display and enhanced voice recognition. The SV trim gets automatic climate control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power moonroof and privacy glass.
The Juke also will allow buyers to add colors on 12 trim and accessory pieces around the car, with eight color options. Calen Cussimanio, product planning specialist, says that under the Juke Color Studio program, dealers will carry replaceable parts in the various colors and allow customers to customize color accents on the vehicle.
The parts include bumper accents, headlight trim rings, side mirror caps, door handle covers and trim pieces, side door sills, rear roof spoilers, floor mats, 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels and center caps.
Nissan revealed Thursday that the 2015 will have a base price of $21,075, including shipping.

You can reach Lindsay Chappell at [email protected].

advertising

Read Source

12.12.2014
ID:1182

More news from this source:

1. Tell us about retail high achievers under 40
2. Suits target price-fixing parts makers
3. Soaring on the wings of the snowbirds
4. Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault
5. Hyundai Ioniq targets Prius, but not in sales