Long-term report: Is the Nissan Juke a car for all occasions?

After nearly a year on loan with us, I hear Nissan might want our long-term Juke test car back soon – and I’m not looking forward to parting company with it.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time behind the wheel of OU69XDF – and will be very sorry to see it go for a number of reasons – as it genuinely is a car for all occasions. It did a great job of ferrying family and friends around over the Christmas period – and in the early weeks of the new year has completed other tasks just as competently.

You might recall me mentioning (although I doubt it) that we had a bit of building work done at home late last year, to give us more space on the ground floor. So with a new kitchen extension in situ, attention has turned to the garden, which got thoroughly trashed in the process.

Now as a hapless homeowner, I’ve been the butt of a few of our contractors’ jokes in recent weeks. But after their many ‘hilarious’ suggestions that I pop out for a tin of tartan paint or a couple of spirit level bubbles, they did make a request that seemed genuine.

In short, six bags of cement were required – so I was despatched to our local builder’s merchant to pick them up. It turned out not to be a prank! The goods were ready and waiting – and even though they were heavy and awkward to handle, getting them home was a breeze thanks to the Juke’s spacious boot: roomy and with very easy access.

Next up was a new year visit to my 85-year-old mum – a 250-mile round trip (mostly motorways and decent A roads) that’s easily doable in a day.

Although I had attempted to get our Juke cleaned inside and out after my cement adventure, the queues were so long at our local hand-wash place, I headed off in a car that was dusty on the inside, and, thanks to the UK’s mucky winter roads, a bit of a state on the outside too.

It was then that I realised just how well Nissan’s blind-spot warning system works. With grubby windows, still-dark evenings and the roads getting ever busier as the pandemic subsides, it was an absolute boon.

I love it because it’s discreet. Not annoying or intrusive, there’s just a small orange triangle that you can see in each wing mirror if there’s another vehicle at close quarters. If you should start to make an ill-advised manoeuvre, there’s an audible alert to keep you on the straight and narrow.

The journey to Mum’s is notable for a couple of long, steep gradients – and the Juke’s dynamic and responsive 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged powertrain handles them with ease. There’s no need to change down or anything, I just apply a little bit more pressure to the accelerator and I’m easily passing the trucks crawling along at 20mph or so.

It’s obviously a journey I know well but for trips to unfamiliar locations, the sat nav has never let me down. Recent forays to the wilds of Watford have been completed without any stress or headaches thanks to the Juke’s clever on-board tech. It’s one of many positives that the Juke continues to bring to the table with every journey.