Nissan won't have its official press conference for a few hours, but we've already snagged these shots of the production Juke, an oddly styled smaller-than-you-think crossover that's poised to hit North America for 2011. In person, the Juke is perhaps less bizarre than one might think, with the exuberance of its alien face reined in with comparatively modest alloy wheels, traditional doors and Volvo C30-like taillamps. If you're wondering where the Juke fits into the Nissan lineup that already has the Murano, Rogue and the Qashqai, this vehicle is markedly smaller than the Murano and actually appears smaller than the Rogue.
The interior is pure Nissan, though it looks like the Japanese automaker has put a few more dollars into some of its interior plastics and materials than it has in the past. In particular, the new HVAC controls have a crisp and colorful display, and the transmission tunnel has a quasi motorcycle-tank look about it.
For Europe, the Juke is available with a pair of 1.6-liter gasoline engines in either normally aspirated or turbocharged direct-injected form, as well as a 1.5-liter diesel, the latter of which is unlikely to make it to North America. The compact CUV will be made in both front- and all-wheel drive configurations, the latter being a newly developed torque-vectoring system dubbed ALL-Mode 4x4-i that is capable of splitting power 50:50 from front-to-rear as well as side-to-side.
We expect to see the Juke make its North American debut in New York. While you're waiting, check out our high-res galleries below and the official press release after the jump.
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