Refreshed Nissan Juke to bow at Geneva motor show

The Nissan Juke is more lovable than it ought to be. For a ute/hatchback, its rear cargo room is negligible. The more fanciful bits of the interior aren't made of the greatest stuff on Earth. It's got a higher center of gravity than your average hot hatch, and you can only get AWD if you resign yourself to CVT duty. But it's got two things in its favor: wonderfully sprightly handling, and a turbocharged 1.6L engine that Nissan should put in more cars. Versa Note NISMO, please?

It's also got a head-thwonkingly bizarre front-end treatment that recalls a Pontiac Aztek storing acorns in its cheeks. Unlike the much-maligned Aztek, people tend to find the Juke rather adorable. A week from now, at the Geneva Motor Show, Nissan will unveil a refreshed example of its unique utelet. A techno-black-gold rendering obfuscates both front and rear, leaving a side view not all that different from the current mechanized mite's.

The question is, will Nissan go weirder, leveraging the Juke's nichiness to the hilt? Will they tone it down? Whatever it is, we wouldn't be surprised if the new look echoes the company's Sport Sedan concept from this year's Detroit Auto Show.

By Davey G. Johnson