Nissan Juke Takes Continental Irish Car of the Year Crown

Irish Continental Car of the Year 2011

The Nissan Juke has been voted Continental Irish Car of the Year 2011 by the Irish Motoring Writers’ Association. The announcement was made at an awards ceremony today in the Convention Centre Dublin attended by leading figures from the motor industry.

The results were as follows:

The Irish Motoring Writers Association judges awarded points on the basis of criteria ranging from innovation and safety to space, comfort, build quality, driving quality and value for money.

Presenting the award to Paul O’Sullivan, Marketing Director of Nissan Ireland, Paddy Murphy of awards sponsor, Continental Tyres Ireland, commented: “The Irish motoring writers have selected an exciting model and no doubt the 2011 Irish Car of the Year accolade will provide a huge boost to the popularity of the Nissan Juke in the Irish market, particularly in the context of the current economic environment.”

Awards were made in five categories, reflecting the diversified nature of today’s car market in Ireland

Continental Irish Small Car of the Year: Nissan Juke

Continental Irish Compact Family Car of the Year: Skoda Yeti

Continental Irish Family Car of the Year: Peugeot 5008

Continental Irish Executive / Luxury Car of the Year: BMW 5 Series

Continental Irish Performance Car of the Year: Peugeot RCZ

 The Nissan Juke succeeds the Peugeot 3008 which took the title last year.  The Continental Irish Van of the Year 2011 title was awarded to the Mercedes Benz Vito.The Irish Motoring Writers’ Association has organised the Irish Car of the Year Awards each year, for the past 33 years.

ROAD TEST NISSAN JUKE

The Juke is what Nissan calls part SUV, part sports car, and certainly looks the part with some stand-out styling in its five door body. It is very distinctive aesthetically and will get lots of consumer attention. Its natural competition is set to come from the Mini Countryman, the Citroen DS3 or even the Audi A1.

Nissan hopes that it will replicate the huge sales success enjoyed  by the Qashqai, Inside, headroom for adults is limited, although legroom isn’t bad for a supermini. The boot’s an okay-in-class 251 litres, however,

Available in 1.6 petrol or 1.5 diesel (both Band B) prices start at E18,195 for the petrol with the diesel attracting a E2,000 premium. .

Four-wheel drive is offered under special order only, while the CVT automatic costs an additional €2,900.

That all-important commanding driving position is present and correct, so the Juke immediately feels bigger than its rivals. However, on the road it proves quite agile and is keen to corner. The suspension is tauter than in the most comfortable of superminis, but in return there’s not too much body rollThe steering and brakes are well-weighted and easy to modulate, and the five-speed manual gearbox is quite slick.

Nissan hit the nail on the head with its Qashqai. We’ll shy away from predicting whether or not the same can be done with the supermini segment. We love the unique appeal of the Juke and it’s bound to attract a bunch of potential MINI buyers into Nissan showrooms. A worthy Irish car of the Year.