Next Nissan Juke to retain bold styling

Nissan bills the next Juke as an urban meteor with a nasty attitude.

The new Nissan Juke that will replace the original model outside of the United States is beginning to take shape. The second-generation crossover will likely make its public debut in October at the Paris auto show.

The Japanese firm is keeping us on our toes. Speaking with British magazine Autocar, Nissan global design boss Alfonso Albaisa said the next-gen Juke will remain polarizing to look at without copying its predecessor or its peers.

"It doesn't look too much like the last one. It doesn't look like the IMx or the new Leaf, either. It's an urban meteor with a nasty attitude," he said. That last part is open to interpretation, admittedly. Let's say it won't look wear a conventional design and leave it at that.

The Juke will ride on an extended version of the platform found under the Renault Clio and the Nissan Micra. It will offer buyers a portfolio of three- and four-cylinder gasoline engines plus a 1.5-liter turbodiesel four. Front-wheel drive will come standard, and all-wheel drive will be offered at an extra cost on some variants.

Autocar adds the Juke will make its debut before the end of the year at a major auto show. Since it's not bound for America we're ruling the Los Angeles show. That leaves, by process of elimination, the Paris show in early October. If that's the case, we expect Nissan to embark on a teaser campaign a few weeks before the Juke breaks cover.

Nissan stopped producing the Juke for the North American market in July. It already replaced it when it launched the Kicks. Both models are comparably sized and priced but the Kicks ditches the Juke's wild design for a more conventional look that follows both recent design trends and Nissan's latest design language. When we drove the Kicks, we concluded it ditched the Juke's niche appeal for mainstream practicality.