Hybrid drivetrain for Nissan’s smallest crossover.

ELECTRIC assist has come to Nissan’s baby crossover, the Juke, but with no word yet about local intention.

The brand’s announcement of a new hybrid hybrid powertrain, which fully leverages the engineering strengths found within the alliance the marque has with Renault and Mitsubishi, comes as the local distributor seems set to face a lean year for new product, as result of delays.

Since last week’s announcement from Nissan New Zealand that the new X-Trail is coming – but not until the end of the year – it has been established that the Qashqai is also running behind time, with September availability being advised at dealership level. Under original timings suggested a year ago, both those models were expected here around now. There’s also no clarity about when the new Pathfinder is coming.

The new powertrain for Juke would likely be a bonus for NZ, given the strong swing toward hybrids.

The derivative would conceivably go up against the Toyota C-HR hybrid, though Nissan’s system appears to be more advanced, as it allows much more electric driving. Between the new powertrain and the aerodynamic improvements, the hybrid Juke's official fuel consumption has been reduced to 4.4 litres/100km.

Nissan’s powertrain is specifically developed for working in a hybrid application and seems set to first appear in European Union markets and the United Kingdom.

It produces 69kW and 148Nm of torque. Nissan supplied the main electric motor which produces 36kW and 205Nm of torque, while Renault provided the 15kW high voltage starter/generator, the inverter and the 1.2kWh water-cooled battery, as well as the highly innovative gearbox.

The net result is a powertrain providing 25 percent more power than the 1.0-litre petrol engine that also goes into the model, with a fuel consumption reduction of up to 40 percent in urban cycle, and up to 20 percent combined.

Nissan says the system will allow some 80 percent of urban journeys to be addressed in electric-only mode, with the petrol engine only kicking in periodically for spells of hybrid running when the 1.2kWh battery is depleted.

Battery-only driving up to 55kmh can be driver-selected for situation such as in car parks, in traffic jams or around schools where the driver doesn't want to run the petrol engine.

The transmission is a clutch-less, multi-mode automatic system with four "ICE" gears and two "EV" gears all synchronised by the two electric motors to deliver smooth acceleration.

Switching on an e-Pedal mode allows for the strongest level of regenerative braking, slowing the Juke down to a 5kmh crawl speed.

In addition to the new powertrain there are a few visual tweaks to the hybrid Juke, mostly in the name of making it more aerodynamic.

It achieves a new grille, for example, with shutters that open and close depending on the engine's cooling requirements. The front bumper has been redesigned too, as has the rear spoiler. Less noticeable are the tyre spoilers and rear axle cover aimed at optimising airflow and making the hybrid more efficient.

Interior changes aren't extensive, the biggest perhaps being the 68-litre reduction in boot space (now 354 litres) due to the battery packaging. The instrument panel too has been revised to better provide information more relevant to hybrid driving, such as the state of battery charge.