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The Nissan Juke is the brand's subcompact crossover which saw launched in 2010 and is currently in its second generation. The original Juke was known for it's unique looks and was popular with those who appreciated it's style but also those who were looking for something with a higher driving position. The second generation became available in late 2019 and is larger than its predecessor with a plethora of upgrades and new designs.
The Dacia Duster was first introduced to the market in 2010 with a second generation Duster coming along in 2017. The current model has won several awards, including What Car? Best Family SUV, Best For Value, and the Auto Express Road Test Winner. These awards prove its popularity and successes in the market as a key model in Renault's budget brand.
Our guide will compare the Nissan Juke VS Dacia Duster to highlight the similarities and differences between the two models to help you to choose the best model for your needs.
The current Dacia Duster is built on the Dacia B0+ platform, currently the only Renault-Nissan car to be built on the platform. As Renault's budget friendly brand it does share many parts with the French brand's line up.
The key changes that the Dacia Duster has seen since its previous version is the addition of electric power steering, the multiview camera system which is an upgrade from the reversing camera, the blind spot warning system, automatic climate control, and keyless entry and go.
The second generation Nissan Juke has an entirely new chassis and engine and is built on the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance platform that also shared with the Renault Captur and Clio. This uses high-strength steel which supposedly has better stability, performance, and cornering capabilities. It's also all built in the UK at Nissan's factory in Sunderland, which builds for European, Australian and New Zealand's markets.
The vehicle body is now 75mm longer than the first generation and has ditched the rounded, and arguably iconic, exterior bubble shaping of its predecessor in favour of sharper lines. It's also a little lower than the Duster with a ground clearance of 170mm compared to Dacia's 210mm.
At entry level both models are fairly basic, with a digital radio face in the centre console and standard dashboard for the driver. Both offer media controls built in to the steering wheel and manual air conditioning controls, which is a preference for many.
For passengers, particularly those that are a little taller, the Nissan Juke is the clear choice. It offers 1006mm of front headroom and 932mm of rear headroom compared to 900mm and 892mm respectively in the Dacia Duster.
The Dacia Duster is the larger of the two cars for boot space with 445 litres available when all five seats are in use compared to 422 in the Nissan Juke, although if you opt for the hybrid this is reduced further to 350 litres to accommodate the electric motor.
The Nissan Juke continues to fall behind when you fold the rear seats down in both cars, providing 1305 litres in petrol models and 1114 litres in hybrids compared to 1623 in the Dacia Duster.
The main difference in standard equipment comes from the driver assistance and additional safety features that both models offer. Whilst you can expect things like electronic stability control, isofix points in the rear seats, traction control, and a range of airbags in either the Dacia Duster or the Nissan Juke, the latter has additional equipment too.
You can expect to find traffic sign recognition, lane departure warning, intelligent emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, intelligent lane intervention, high beam assist, height adjustable seatbelts, active trace control, and active ride control in the Nissan Juke.
At top trim levels (Extreme SE for the Duster and Tekna+ for the Juke) the Juke still pulls ahead with equipment that Dacia don't currently offer on the Duster at all. This includes blind spot intervention, rear cross-traffic alert, moving object detection, an integrated Bose sound system, heated side mirrors, a heated steering wheel, and a ThermaClear heated windscreen.
The Nissan Juke offers one petrol engine and a new hybrid engine in line with the move to electrifying their range. The Dacia Duster offers a much larger range which includes three petrol, two diesel, and one Bi-Fuel option.
Dacia offers the most powerful petrol engine with its 1.3 litre 150HP offering, which also means much more torque, whilst Nissan's 1.0 litre 114PS engine has the best fuel economy. It offers a combined mpg of 48.7 whereas the best performing from Dacia's petrol choices comes in at 45.6.
Both the Dacia Duster and the Nissan Juke offer a hybrid alternative to their petrol or diesel engines. The Duster has a 1.0 litre Bi-Fuel engine which runs on both a petrol engine and liquified petroleum gas which is delivered via an integrated injection. Meanwhile, Nissan have taken the more traditional hybrid route with a petrol engine which is supported by an electric motor.
Dacia's diesel engine allows you to choose either front wheel or four wheel drive, giving it more of an SUV feeling for drivers. However a diesel engine has a more negative impact on the environment with more harmful particles released in comparison to petrol.
Both cars have been rated by Euro NCAP with the Nissan Juke performing much better than the Dacia Duster with a five star rating compared to the Duster's three star rating. It's lower rating comes from it's smaller amount of safety equipment and driver assistance features available on the car. Nissan, on the other hand, includes more of these features which help to improve the Euro NCAP rating.
The obvious benefit that the Dacia Duster holds is it's lower price point. Straight away it helps you to save money whilst providing much of the same experience as the more expensive Nissan Juke SUV. However, the Nissan pulls ahead elsewhere with its superior safety rating and additional equipment offerings.
To experience both options for yourself or to ask any further questions please don't hesitate to contact our friendly and knowledgeable teams at John Clark Dacia and John Clark Nissan, both in Aberdeen.
