Nissan Juke

Allow me to start this comparison with an admission. Despite having driven many compact SUVs, I’ve never really warmed to any, regardless of the make or model. Clearly, nationwide sales suggest I’m a minority, as the small SUV segments accounted for 17.5 percent of all new vehicles sold in Australia to the end of May this year. But I feel that’s like arguing not eating fast food at least once a day is wrong simply because a lot of Australians do exactly that.

I’m not suggesting that the now-departed Holden Trax will fur your arteries like a triple cheeseburger, but it was one of the most fundamentally frustrating cars I’ve ever driven. Nor am I implying that the Haval H2 isn’t perfectly capable as a means of transport; it just lacks the zest and depth of engineering that most car lovers look for.

However, the cars you see here are box-fresh, kit-packed and carrying the colours of two of Australia’s favourite brands. And, most surprisingly, one has started thawing my cold heart. Which one? Read on.

In the blue corner is the tiniest SUV from Toyota positioned in the Japanese family below the also-quite-small C-HR, taking the platform of the Yaris compact hatchback. The Yaris Cross arrived to the already busy local market late last year and received a warm reception – it’s currently the nation’s second-favourite light SUV.

The same cannot be said for its opponent here. When the Nissan Juke first landed locally in 2013, it failed to muster the attention its maker had forecast and, even though it wears a more long-standing model name, this new model is outsold by the Yaris Cross about three times over.

The version we have here is the second-generation Juke which rolled into showrooms just over a year ago and the all-new model has grown up – literally. Measuring 4210mm long, the 2020 Juke is a full 75mm longer than its predecessor, while the width and height have swollen about 30mm each and that addresses one of the original Juke’s most frequent criticisms – space.

Hop aboard the Nissan and there’s demonstrably more room in the second row with air between the knees of a 188cm human and the driver’s seat-back, along with a similar amount of clearance above the head. There’s another noteworthy increase to boot volume, too, with a respectable 422 litres (up from 345 litres) and options to split the rear seats 60/40 for a maximum of 1305 litres with the second row fully folded.

The Toyota can’t offer quite as generous accommodation with a more claustrophobic second row and a boot that will only swallow 390 litres of stuff. Provision of a space-saver spare wheel can only liberate a certain amount of space for a very good reason that we’ll come to shortly. In the front row, both cars score very well, however, with polar-opposite interpretations of what a compact cabin should look like.

In this top-spec Juke Ti, Nissan has gone all-out high-impact with a radical orange and black design that initially shocks but starts to grow on you once your pupils have adjusted. Ostentatious sports seats are supportive and comfortable and match tastefully with the black roof lining for a sporty and enticing ambience. The equally sporty steering wheel is ergonomically sound even if it doesn’t quite establish a connection to the company’s GT-R and 370Z performance heroes.

Like the Juke, the Yaris Cross offers a big-car-like driving position with long-leg accommodation and excellent seat adjustment. However, the weird unintuitive electric switches bare little correlation to the part of the seat they actually control, which is frustrating.

Its interior is far less flamboyant than the citrus assault in the Nissan but it still manages to be different to varying degrees of success. There’s a strange but softly tactile material for the door trims, but the dark brown faux leather and the seats’ fabric sections that look like the static of an un-tuned TV won’t be to everyone’s taste.

Beyond the questionable but subjective décor choices, the Yaris Cross’s interior is functional, well laid out and generously equipped. Aside from a slightly cheap-looking central touchscreen, there’s classy kit everywhere including a vibrant full-colour head-up display, heated seats and a fully digital instrument cluster. The latter is simple and easy to read but it lacks a proper tachometer and the layout might be just a little too unorthodox for some pilot’s tastes.

The Juke opts for a less divisive blend of traditional and new with a large central digital information display, flanked by a pair of mechanical dials, while its central touchscreen feels newer and is bigger at 8.0 inches.

If you’re after a high degree of safety both cars will serve you well with excellent driver assistance and manoeuvring features, although the Toyota’s 360-degree camera is an impressive point of difference. But all this kit comes at a cost and, while both cars compete in a segment often regarded as attractive for pricing, neither is cheap. Little SUVs like these two may entice you into showrooms with ranges that start between $27,000 and $28,000, but this pair of line-up heroes cost almost 10 grand more.

With that kind of cash to splash, there are a lot of larger options on offer. In the Toyota catalogue you could choose from a mid-range C-HR or the entry RAV4, while Nissan will sell you a high-end Qashqai or mid-range X-Trail. One would assume therefore that the size of this diminutive pair is what appeals along with the generous level of equipment.

And if that assumption is correct then it’s also fair to assume these cars will be mostly used where there is less space, the speeds are lower and fuel economy is of greater concern – metropolis.

Until this point, the Yaris Cross and Juke have been on a fairly level pegging but a stark tangent in their personalities becomes apparent when it comes to the on-road driving experience.

Peer under their bonnets and you’ll find three-cylinder petrol engines, but that’s definitely where the similarity ends. Powering the Juke is a 1.0-litre with a turbo, while the Yaris Cross has 1.5 litres at its disposal and a hybrid system for a boost in place of a turbo. For those still wondering, it’s the battery that robs some of the boot space.

Power production is almost identical with 85kW for the Toyota and 84kW for the Nissan, however, it’s a different story when it comes to torque, at least on paper. The Juke makes 180Nm which thumps the Yaris Cross’s official 120Nm output, although that figure only refers to the petrol engine. Toyota doesn’t publish combined torque ratings for some hybrid models. So in practise the upshot is there isn’t a noticeable gulf between these two on the road.

While the turbo unit in the Nissan will indeed eventually produce the full figure, it takes time. There’s an initial lag – the compound effect of the turbo and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission getting their act together – and the full performance isn’t immediately available.

When trying to negotiate city traffic with urgency, the delayed response can be frustrating and sometimes even feels like an example of the (thankfully now rare) automated manual gearbox. No one wants a return to those days.

It’s no better when trying to switch between forward and reverse as you might when negotiating a tight three-point turn, for example. The transmission will even allow the car to roll while it’s working out which gear to engage.

Conversely, it couldn’t be more different in the Toyota. Its hybrid electric effect is not subtle and constitutes a large part of the useful performance at low speeds and perfectly paired to an eager CVT. It’s surprising just how long the car can be propelled on electric-only before the engine cuts in, even without having to flick the EV Mode switch.

More impressive, though, is the speed at which the transmission responds to the selector. Making tight manoeuvres or parking in a hurry actually puts a smile on my face such is the eagerness of the Toyota to oblige instructions. It’s a simple pleasure.

Out of town, the Juke’s heartier torque makes more sense and, while not exactly fast, it feels as though it’s trying. Overtaking – once the gearbox has chosen a gear – is marginally more gutsy and its chassis tune is similarly sporty. It changes direction obediently and there’s bags of grip from the Goodyear Eagle F1 rubber that’s fitted to whopping 19-inch alloy wheels for an impressive look – even if they do dwarf the tiny disc brakes inside.

There’s a confidence and stability to the Juke’s ride that is unusual in small SUVs that ride high and on a small footprint. And its occasionally confused DCT makes more sense away from the traffic with decisive cog-swaps.

During faster driving, the Yaris Cross takes on a slightly unsettled nature more typical to the segment. Its softer and more comfortable ride takes less kindly to enthusiastic driving with an occasional shudder transmitted through the body but its steering strikes a good balance of light weight and feel. It’s still confident and the drivetrain more aloof, but its hybrid advantages are less prevalent when cruising.

Sitting patiently in the showroom, this pair may appear to be similar offerings but it doesn’t take a long town-and-country blast to establish their differing personalities.

There was a time when I firmly believed the only little SUV that could win my heart was the one that delivered performance to match a Porsche 911 paired with looks to rival Meghan Markle, but I’m happy it’s something infinitely more humble that turned the tide.

The range-topping Juke is bursting with kit, looks sharper than ever, and it’s doubtless the happiest out of town of this duo, but compact SUVs are not typically mile-munching GTs that regularly cross state borders or carve B-roads.

Instead, it’s the Toyota that prevails in the more natural habitat of metropolitan labyrinths. Its excellent low-speed nature, expressionless but likeable looks and extensive useful features all combine to deliver a convincing package capable of winning over even the most dubious critic.

Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid and Nissan Juke Ti specifications