| 2011 Nissan Juke vs 2001 Pontiac Aztek | May 30, 2010 | AUTORIVALS.NET |
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| You probably saw this one coming.
This comparison was inevitable and I gotta say, I'm still
scratching my head on this one. Who would've ever thought the
world needed another Pontiac Aztek. Apparently, Nissan. Whereas
some go as far as to (partially) blame the Aztek for Pontiac's
demise, only time will tell how the all-new Juke turns out for
Nissan. We can only hope Nissan doesn't share Pontiac's fate. The Juke is hard to classify just like the Pontiac Aztek was. It's 20 inches smaller than the Nissan's Rogue, it's aimed at competing with hatchback wagons like the Kia Soul, but it's a crossover with all-wheel drive. The Pontiac Aztek was a combination of a minivan and SUV. Whatever they are, it's safe to say they're unique to say the least. |
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| 2011 Nissan Juke | vs | 2001 Pontiac Aztek |
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| Where do I start. There's so much going on with the Juke's front end design that it sometimes frightens me when I catch a glance of it unexpectedly. The wide upper grille, lights that I can't tell which is which sometimes (for the record, the turn signals are up top, headlights in the middle, and fog lights below), and a circular-patterned lower grille are all just so oddly designed that people have begun to call it the "Nissan Joke." I feel like the design could've been saved though with a little bit of rearranging. If they remove the split turn signals and combine them with the headlights, the Juke might actually look decent. Well, maybe not but at least it wouldn't have a face that scares children (and some adults too). | ||
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| Nissan says the Juke combines the styling traits of an SUV and a sports car similar to how the Aztek tried to combine an SUV and minivan. It seems the Juke shares an affinity with the Aztek in more ways than one. The Juke's front design has the same split headlight/turn signal styling cue that the Aztek had but that's where the similarities stop. The Juke's body encompasses a mixture of curves and contours most notably in the wide wheel arches. The funky front end styling seems like it should be called the Nissan "Funk" instead of Juke but one can only wonder what obscenity people would call it for a nickname. | ||
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| The sports car design influence can be seen in the upper half of the Juke with a sloping roofline leading into a uniquely styled rear. The side and rear designs are the only elements salvaging the Juke's overall design and might look interesting on a hot hatchback rather than an SUV crossover. | ||
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| The Juke's rear design actually looks pretty good. It's got the right amount of curves, good proportions, and unique features like the boomerang taillights. The taillight design is similar to the 370Z's (which is a plus) but instead is all red with a simple white circle for the backup lights. (The Aztek actually shares the same color scheme but has a blander design). There's some interesting angles on the Juke where it actually looks pretty good. The fender flares that lead into the taillights leave a nice broad shoulder that gives the Juke a unique (in a good way) design. | ||
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| RECAP | RECAP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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PROS +Still not nearly as bad as the Aztek +Side profile is decent +Rear actually looks nice CONS -A face only a mother could love -On second thought, even mothers might be frightened by it |
PROS +It's dead +Versatile +At the very least, it's original CONS -Where to begin... -Everything -May have killed Pontiac |
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| Video Source: Cars.com via YouTube |
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| NOTES |
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Update: So far, things are looking pretty good for the
Juke. Sales over in Japan have been better than eight
times Nissan's sales target. We can only wait and see how America and
Europe responds to it when it arrives this Fall. |
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