Nissan’s Hybrid Juke Is ‘milestone To Electrification’, Says RAY MASSEY

Meet the new Juke of Sunderland — its hybrid powertrain should help take some of the sting out of those soaring fuel bills. 

This sportily styled runaround is built in the North-East of England along with its sibling the Qashqai. 

It has distinctively sharp looks, is a comfortable drive, and its increased efficiency over standard petrol engines means it should be delivering up to 56.5mpg with CO2 emissions of 114g/km. Nissan says the new hybrid represents ‘another milestone’ on its road to electrification. 

Prices for the range start from £27,250 with the N-Connecta trim level, which is £1,730 more than the equivalent non-hybrid automatic option, but starts only from the higher trim level. That rises through to Tekna, from £28,750 and Tekna+ from £30,150.

I was driving the early arrival Premiere Edition riding on 19 in wheels and priced from £28,250, though the two-tone Storm White paint with a pearl black roof added another £570 taking the full price up to £28,820. But you’ll have to get in quick as there’s just 750 of these early bird models which arrive in showrooms from July. 

To put the prices in context, the cheapest non-hybrid Juke overall is the petrol Visia, from £20,420. 

The car combines a 1.6-litre 94hp petrol engine with a 49hp (36kW) electric motor to give a combined output of 143hp — enough to drive from rest to 62mph in 10.1 seconds and up to a top speed of 103mph. 

The Juke always pulls away in pure EV electric mode and — if you drive smoothly and are not too heavy on the gas — can continue this up to 34mph. 

But the real benefit and genius is how the engine, battery and electric motor work seamlessly together to deliver the most efficient combination of energy use. You can watch it on your dashboard screen as the flows go back and forth, but perhaps not while driving as it could prove a hypnotic distraction. 

There are new colours: Magnetic Blue and Ceramic Grey and new 17 and 19in alloys.

The Juke also comes with an ‘e-pedal’ which is less complicated than it sounds. When you press the button on the centre console it allows you to control the movement of the car using just the accelerator pedal, as it applies moderate braking down to a 3mph crawl (but not a dead stop) when you ease your foot off. 

Another button, between the centre air vents, activates an electric only EV mode with a limited range of a few miles.

• Meanwhile the Juke Hybrid Rally Tribute, celebrating the firm’s participation in the East African Rally more than 50 years ago in 1971 , will be in action at next week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (www.goodwood.com), providing demonstration laps of the Goodwood rally circuit.

BMW’s fabled M motorsport division being celebrated

Fifty years of BMW’s fabled M motorsport division are being celebrated next week at the Goodwood Festival of Speed — the world’s only motor show held as a country house garden party. 

The Bavarian marque is being honoured with pride of place on the lawn outside Goodwood House with a striking ‘central feature’ sculpture showcasing iconic models from BMW M. 

M is the high-testosterone arm of the prestige car-maker that both creates specific race and road cars while also sportily tweaking mainstream BMWs. 

Visitors have a chance to witness the world premiere of the first-ever BMW M3 Touring and the UK premiere of the new M4 CSL with just 100 allocated to Britain from £128,820 (goodwood.com). 

Other new BMWs on display — with some available to drive — will include the new iX1, i7, i4 and iX M60.

BMW M’s chief executive Frank van Meel said: ‘There can be no better place to celebrate our 50th anniversary than among our fans at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.’

Launched in May 1972, in 2021 BMW M delivered 163,542 vehicles to customers worldwide.

‘Taxi of mum and dad’ costing more 

As fuel prices soar, you know it can only get worse. 

But parents, as the round-the-clock ‘taxi of mum and dad’, are already spending more than £2,400 a year chauffeuring their offspring to social events, hobbies, parties and other activities, as well as school, according to research by car finance experts Zuto (zuto.com). 

Comprising a total average of £2,443.81, the report says the school run is the most costly, at £642.25 every year, followed by trips to see friends or dropping off children at parties (£607.72), hobbies and activities (£601.04), and after-school clubs and other extra-curricular activities (£592.80). 

More than half of parents (55 per cent) said they spend between one and three hours each week driving their children to social activities. 

Additionally, for hobbies and activities outside of school, more than one in 10 of parents (12 per cent) drive over three hours a week.

Nearly one in five parents (18 per cent) are driving their children 150 miles or more per month

Lucy Sherliker, head of customer services at Zuto said: ‘Despite the abundance of public transport options in our modern-day society, parents still choose to spend a substantial amount of time in their busy schedules taking their children to various activities.’