Remember the Toyota RAV4?
No, I don't mean that big, slightly flabby machine that wears the badge these days. I mean the original RAV.
It was quite a revelation back in the day.
It was tiny - a bit bigger than a shopping cart - yet powerful and capable enough to go just about anywhere its oversized wheels cared to take it. Despite its impossibly short wheelbase, it rode and handled like a much bigger machine.
In many ways, it started the SUV revolution that, these days, has swept the motoring world.
Now, that original RAV has been reborn.
Well, kind of. It wears a Nissan badge these days - they call it the Nissan Juke.
But it's almost as small, every bit as funky and nearly as much fun as that first RAV was a couple of decades ago.
It boasts that same sort of shrunken-down cuteness that defined the RAV, and it has a wheelbase almost as short.
Yet like the RAV it's unique to drive - heaps of power for such a small, light vehicle, with all-wheel-drive capability (in some models, anyway), surprisingly sharp and sporty handling and a funky interior.
The Juke is the latest member of the large and ever-growing range of Nissan SUVs. At last count the Japanese manufacturer offered 10 off-road or soft-road machines - from the iconic Patrol (two different models these days), the Murano, X-Trail, the recently reborn Pathfinder all the way down to the Dualis which is joined by the Juke in the small SUV segment. The Dualis already owns 20 per cent of that market - but Nissan hopes the Juke will entice an entirely new type of buyer. And Nissan will soon unveil the Qashquai, which sits somewhere between those two models and is proving a big hit in overseas markets.
Phew. Talk about being spoiled for choice. And that's not to mention the 4x4 versions of Nissan's Navara ute - and of course the SUV variants in Nissan's luxury Infiniti range.
It's part of a major makeover of Nissan's SUV fleet - there have already been new Patrol and Pathfinder models arrive in Australia over the past 12 months, while an all-new X-Trail will arrive in a few more weeks.
The Juke, though, is carving out its own niche.
It's part SUV and part city car - in fact its styling is remarkably similar to the baby Micra which sits at the lower end of Nissan's passenger car range.
That styling is edgy but won't win everybody's approval. Pronounced wheel arches, swept-back bubble-style headlights and big, bug-eyed fog lights dominate at the front of what Nissan describes as a "sporty and distinctive" machine.
Nissan says the Juke's design is "inspired by active lifestyle influences including motorcycles and rally cars". The Juke will be offered with a choice of two engines - one a normally-aspirated 1.6-litre four-cylinder (86kW, 158Nm) and a turbo-charged , direct-injected 1.6-litre (140kW, 240Nm) it shares with the Pulsar SSS. It will drive two or four wheels through either a five-speed manual or smooth-shifting CVT auto, with a sports-shift function.
The Juke will feature three trim levels - ST, ST-s and the top-of-the-line Ti-S and pricing covers a broad range from $21,990 right up to $32,190.
We drove the top-spec TI-S, featuring the punchy turbo engine and all-wheel-drive grip. It's clearly the pick of the bunch although, costing more than $35k once you get it on the road, it would want to be. That's certainly pricey for a machine of this size and puts it into competition with BMW's X1 and Audi's Q3 and soon-to-arrive Q1.
Countering that is the high level of equipment in the top-spec Nissan, including a full array of electronic handling aids such as Vehicle Dynamic Control, traction control, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist as well as speed-sensitive power steering. Luxury gear includes nicely sculpted leather seats (heated), Bluetooth audio streaming, a high-end audio system, cruise control and speed limiter, remote keyless entry with push-button start and navigation with touch-screen.
A modern-looking and functional dash arrangement includes a comprehensive trip computer between the turbine-style speedo and tacho dials - although toggling between displays requires a push of a button on the dash, rather than on the wheel which would be better.
There's also a secondary display, further down the centre console stack, that shows things like turbo boost and torque, although the only problem is you have take your eyes way off the road to read them, which seems a bit pointless.
The Juke is also quite a sophisticated thing mechanically.
We drove the 1.6-litre DiG turbo-charged model, boasting the same 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo powerplant, and similar acceleration and performance, as the spunky SSS performance version of Nissan's latest Pulsar.
The engine's punchy 140 kilowatts is piped through a smooth-shifting CVT (constantly variable) transmission and powers all four wheels.
A Vehicle Control System allows the driver to select from Normal, Sport or Eco modes - with throttle response, gearbox mapping and even handling characteristics all following suit.
Official fuel consumption figures are 7.4L/100km for the turbo and as low as 6L/100km for the entry-level model. Our test found no reason to dispute those numbers.
Nissan claims the Juke can accommodate five adults - although I suspect not all would find it the most comfortable place to be. The cargo space is adequate but inevitably compromised by the car's sheer lack of overall size.
The Juke's ride is firm and tends to get a little jiggly over uneven surfaces (another product of that short wheelbase) but it remains generally composed and turns in with bite and precision.
The Juke is a refreshing entry to the ever-more diverse SUV market, and in the form we drove it is a fun and engaging machine to drive.
Is it as good as that original RAV4? Well, I guess we always remember things more fondly as the years pass. But the Juke is a worthy modern-day incarnation.
NISSAN JUKE TI-S
DETAILS: Five-door, five-seat small SUV with turbo-charged four-cylinder engine and Constantly Variable Transmission; all-wheel-drive.
TECH STUFF: 1.6-litre, direct gasoline injection turbo-charged four-cylinder engine produces 140kW@5000rpm, 240Nm@2000-5200rpm; CVT transmission features sports shift option and driver-selected economy, sports or normal driving mode. All-wheel-drive with torque vectoring.
FEATURES: Driver and passenger front, side and curtain airbags, dynamic stability control, traction control, ABS with brake assist; leather trim, electric windows, seats and mirrors; heated seats, touch-screen with satellite navigation; premium audio with Bluetooth connectivity and audio streaming; cruise control with speed limiter; Vehicle Control System.
THIRST: 7.4L/100km.
VERDICT: Small, but interestingly formed.
BOTTOM LINE: As tested $32,190 plus onroad costs; entry-level model from $21,900 plus onroads.
