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Nissan’s most connected car ever is not SA-bound

By Dejan Jovanovic, Motoring journalist
Johannesburg, 12 Dec 2019

At first glance, the new Nissan Juke is all grown up - gone is the daft, dewy-eyed look that made the first-generation crossover so beloved, depending on where you stood. Some hated the Pikachu styling, but Nissan had a hit on its hands the moment the production line started churning. 

At launch eight years ago, Nissan sold 10 times as many cars as planned and the first generation car went out of production, with the total tally at over one million Jukes sold.

Well, the second time around, Nissan has toned things down a notch for the new Juke when it comes to styling. A new-found maturity means the second-generation Juke has also grown in size, but, crucially, not in weight, even if under the skin, this Nissan hides more gizmos than ever.

In fact, the Japanese manufacturer claims the 2019 Juke is the most connected Nissan yet, equipped to deal with automatic emergency braking, as well as the ability to detect pedestrians and cyclists, recognise traffic signs, keep the vehicle in the lane and plenty more. 

Nissan seems particularly chuffed with its new ProPilot technology, which autonomously controls steering, acceleration and braking during highway-driving, and in addition maintains a safe distance from cars ahead. These tricks work in traffic too, so the driver can relax in stop-and-go crawls during the commute.

Since most Juke buyers are young and tech-savvy, Nissan has fitted the new Juke with its 'most advanced infotainment system ever’, featuring smartphone integration, a dedicated app to control and monitor basic functions of the vehicle, as well as in-car WiFi. 

With Google Assistant compatibility, you can just tell your smart device to send your Juke trip destination data before setting off so the satellite navigation is ready and waiting.

Nissan has decided to premiere some of these technologies in a budget vehicle instead of trickling things down from flagship products, which is the unusual bit, as is Nissan South Africa’s indecision when it comes to the second-generation Juke. 

Plans for a local release are currently not on the cards since Nissan South Africa is more committed to the bigger Qashqai, which means local consumers get to miss out on all the hype.

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