Nissan Juke takes a run at Scion xB

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Updated: August 29, 2011 10:28AM

Consumers today demand more from their small cars. Automakers have seized upon this demand and are packing more features and making some equipment and features optional in small cars that normally were reserved for pricier models. They are also trying to carve out more space.

Five-door hatches and mini-wagons are starting to gain favor with consumers due to their versatility.

A standout in this group of “funky five-door” urban haulers is the Scion xB. This vehicle, along with the Nissan Cube, Kia Soul and Chevrolet’s upcoming Sonic, pack a lot of versatility into small packages.

Nissan’s Cube thus far has been unable to shake the xB from its funky five leadership position, so Nissan launched the Juke to see if it can put the moves on the wily veteran and earn a starting position.

While the Juke may not appear to be a direct competitor, it is certainly a member of the funky five group. I like the approach Nissan has taken with the youth market with this vehicle.

Looks are key with this segment and the exteriors of these vehicles are polar opposites. The xB is basically a tall, stylized box with some narrow windows and large expanses of side sheet metal. The 2011 Scion xB checks in with a wheelbase of 102.4 inches and an overall length of 167.3 inches; width checks in at 69.3 inches and the roof reaches 64.7 inches, including the stubby antenna base.

The 2011 Nissan Juke, on the other hand, has a flowing and athletic, almost muscled, body with a great-looking rear (three-quarter view) to pass you by with. The Juke’s measurements are in the xB’s ballpark with a wheelbase of 99.6 inches; length reaches 162.4 inches, width is 69.5 inches and overall height is 61.8 inches. It’s the Juke’s face that stops me cold. It is a face that only a designer could love. It looks like it had an accident and the pieces were put back together out of order. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder (Pontiac Aztek excluded), I just can’t warm up to the Juke’s face, so the bigger, better-looking xB takes the beauty contest.

The interiors of these two are again nearly polar opposites due in part to their exterior dimensions.

Nissan did its best to liven up the Juke’s insides: My test car had comfortable front buckets with splashy, colorful fabric inserts and a contrasting colored plastic console cover. Speaking of plastic, there is plenty of it (hard pieces) throughout. Said to accommodate three adults in the back, I’d limit that to two small adults or kids. Cargo volume is unimpressive with 10.5 cubic feet behind the second row of seats and 35.9 cubic feet when you fold down the second row.

Nissan equips the Juke with necessities such as power windows and doors, remote keyless entry, steering-wheel-mounted cruise control, a tilt steering column and a Bluetooth hands-free phone system. My test vehicle came with the optional, inexpensive looking and operating navigation system that sometimes got washed out in the sun. In this case the body is great, but the car is short on guts.

The xB built its business case on its interior, but it too has a few warts. Like the Juke, the xB comes fairly well equipped and Scion has been the model for dealer add-on personalization goodies. The issue is the “Cyclops” center dash placement of the primary gauges. You either like it or you don’t. I don’t have a big issue with this arrangement, but I do have an issue with the tall shifter placed too low on the dash and the small tachometer that is hard to see. Some of the standard features on xB include power windows and locks, steering-wheel audio controls, cruise control, a nice six-speaker stereo with two tweeters, a USB port and an auxiliary port.

Cargo volume is generous for this size vehicle at 21.7 cubic feet and 69.9 cubic feet with the second row seats folded down. Seating is comfortable and the interior features high-quality materials and less plastic than in the Juke. Headroom as well as rear seat passenger comfort is better. The xB takes this interior category, but it is not a convincing victory.

Both cars, surprisingly, offer some power. The 2011 Scion xB comes with a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder generating 158 horsepower that moves this wagon smartly. However, with this spunky four you pay a penalty at the pump as the Environmental Protection Agency rates the 2011 xB at 22 mpg city and 28 mpg with either the four-speed automatic or the five-speed manual. Road manners are decent and handling is not as top heavy as you might think. Contact with pavement is made via P205/55 R16 rubber.

The Juke more than holds its own with a powerful 1.6-liter four-cylinder direct injection engine cranking out 188 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. The Juke also puts the move on the xB with fuel economy ratings of 27/32 mpg city/highway in two-wheel drive with a continually variable automatic transmission; a Juke with a six-speed manual gets 24/31mpg city/highway. I tested a Juke with two-wheel and all-wheel drive. The AWD model had ratings of 25 mpg city and 30 mpg highway with the CVT automatic.

This car is a ball to drive. The power zooms this car from light to light and the handling is catlike in the corners – especially with all-wheel drive. I really felt I could toss this car into a corner and its suspension set-up, combined with the slightly meatier (than xB) P215/55R17 tires, provided some grip. No matter which transmission or drivetrain, the Juke outmaneuvers the xB in this category.

At check out time these two cars really take different roads. The least expensive base price for a 2011 Nissan Juke is $19,750 plus $750 destination. My AWD model started at $22,800 plus the $750 destination charge. The 2011 Scion xB with manual transmission starts at a reasonable $16,000 plus $670 destination charge.

So for 2011 the Scion retains the “funky five” crown, but if driving performance trumps everything else, then the Juke runs rings around the xB.