On the fence: Nissan Juke or CX-5?

I don't get the cross shopping between these two.

The CX-5 is designed to contend with the RAV4 and CRV.

The Juke has the Mini Cooper in its crosshairs. True story.
 
One way they can be compared is with price.

As a buyer, I can say...Ok, I have 30k to spend on a car. What types of cars can I get for my money?

That's what I was thinking when I was looking at the Wrx/Focus ST and comparing it to the CX5/CUV's because both can be had for very similar money.

My trade off was...do I want something fast and sporty with some utility? or do I trade some of that power and sportiness for extra utility and comfort?

That seems to be the case here.
 
When shopping for my car. I had 3 requirements. It had to have space, be around 30k, and had to have AWD. Most of the CUVs had all 3. Than it came down to looks and the CX-5 beat all of the other CUVs.
 
My lady friend saw a Juke today, She said it looks like a dog with bad hip dysplasia.
 
Apart from having a higher driving position, I don't see the benefit of owning a mini-corssover.
I'd totally get a Mazda 3 instead. The 3s (2.5L) if you really want power. It looks better, drives better (maybe except in a straight line if you get the 3i) has more room, better fuel-economy, lower weight and probably costs a little less.

CX-5 has 3.5" more rear seat leg room, 1.5" more rear seat head room, 68% more luggage volume (seats up), and 39% more luggage volume (seats down). And, AWD for trips to Tahoe. I totally see the benefit of the CX-5 for us (though I really love that Mazda 3).
 
The Juke is insanely popular in Ireland and the Isle of Man, which I was both just visiting at...but in UK, they have a diesel and a manual transmission, not that insanely terrible CVT that Nissan is pushing so much...

The Nissan Rogue (there call the Quiashi or something like that) are EVERYWHERE...but once again, in diesel and manual form...
 
cx-5 great on looks and comfort I guess, Juke seems to have good quality even tho it looks odd.

I think nissan offers better warranty rather than the mazda(based on my own exp) and besides if you are going to keep the car for a long period of time, might as well go into consideration, if the car/brand of car has any rust issues(known as mazda's) CVT problems(nissan's) there would always be pros/cons to every car out there.

Cx-5 is a great car, but there are minor issues that they can't seem fix with my car, which is vibrating at hghwy speeds 110-120km/hr so yah that is my main headache atm.

juke is fun manual trans and turbo charged.
 
get the Nismo RS, 6sp, 215hp turbo, recaro seat, all for 26k, not bad, FWD one comes w/ LSD.

you really need to know what you going to use the car for first. I needed high MPG and room to drive hockey kids around, cx5 works great!

if my kid play any other sport I probably be looking at WRX, GTI 5 door, A3 wagon....
 
CX-5 has 3.5" more rear seat leg room, 1.5" more rear seat head room, 68% more luggage volume (seats up), and 39% more luggage volume (seats down). And, AWD for trips to Tahoe. I totally see the benefit of the CX-5 for us (though I really love that Mazda 3).

True, except that CX-5 is a compact crossover. The Juke is a mini-crossover.
 
True, except that CX-5 is a compact crossover. The Juke is a mini-crossover.

I don't get why it's even a "crossover" at all. Is it the AWD? Because beyond that it's just sheet metal and styling cues. Once you're inside you might as well be in any number of small hatchbacks, except with less cargo space.
 
I think that the higher seating position along with car chassis make it a crossover.
That is, unibody construction but otherwise an SUV in height.
 
I don't get why it's even a "crossover" at all. Is it the AWD? Because beyond that it's just sheet metal and styling cues. Once you're inside you might as well be in any number of small hatchbacks, except with less cargo space.

The whole idea of a crossover is the unibody car design (and benefits of better MPG and handling) combined with features of traditional box-on-frame SUV (road clearance, higher H-point), "utility." When I drove the Mazda 3, I felt like I was sitting "in" the car, climbing up out of the seat, and my feet were more "out in front" of me (like a sports car), whereas when I get behind the wheel of the CX-5, I am (relatively) climbing "up" into the vehicle, sitting higher off the ground, with better visibility in traffic, a less claustrophobic feeling, and (in this case) getting AWD. If I weren't getting AWD, I would ONLY buy RWD (if I could find one I like) and happily buy a dreaded "station wagon" that so many Americans deride (ideally a small-ish BMW RWD wagon with manual tranny -- if such a car existed). Cheers.
 
I think nissan offers better warranty rather than the mazda(based on my own exp) and besides if you are going to keep the car for a long period of time, might as well go into consideration, if the car/brand of car has any rust issues(known as mazda's) CVT problems(nissan's) there would always be pros/cons to every car out there.

I wish I could say the same about Nissan as your experience, but as you say later there are pros/cons to every car.

I am now so much happier getting rid of the Nissan Titan and going to the CX-5. I won't go into all the drama that I went through between the dealership and Nissan corporate, but I am a much happier owner of two Mazda cars in our household now.
 
If a Mazda 6 wagon AWD was offered in the US, I'd jump on it today.
The Wagon has more Sport, more Utility in the Vehicle. It would not have any off-road pretenses and car like ground clearance, not unlike many other crossovers. It would not have higher seating position that I personally do not value. But it would have more usable interior volume for both passengers and cargo, lower weight and center of gravity, less drag with better fuel economy and it would be even more fun to drive.

For some reason, Europe and Japan get it and the US does not. Higher seating position is directly impacting weight, drag, fuel economy, center of gravity and car performance. It is very much pickup truck like and very much unlike a sports car. Given the choice between 2 vehicles with the same usable interior volume, one which is more like a pickup truck and one which is more like a sports car, I would pick the latter in heartbeat.
Alas, in the US a wagon is either a Subaru or European luxury. If not, crossover is your other option.

I chose the CX-5 because I wanted AWD and utility. A European vehicle was out of the question (price, reliability, fuel economy). For a while I thought of the Impreza but it's small and has oil-consumption issues. An Outback is very much like a crossover, I tested one and did not like how it drove.
The CX-5 has the best ride of all crossovers, has very good fuel economy, has the utility we need and AWD. I am happy with it. Had I been given the choice, I'd choose a wagon.
 
In the US market, a crossover SUV like CX-5 will easily outsell the 6 wagon.

My preference is a sport sedan over a wagon, and for utility purposes a crossover SUV over a wagon.

The higher seating position and capacity of the CX-5 has benefits that a typical US buyer feels outweighs the disadvantages. In Europe small crossover/SUVs are also a growing growth segment of vehicle, of course not with same traction as US.
 
I've owned both! When I sold my 911 Targa C4S, I was looking for an inexpensive commuter AWD vehicle.
Test drove the Juke and bought one. Made some mods, it was fun and sold it after 4 months. Then I bought a Mazda CX-5, and similar to Juke, it was great and actually more practical. But after 4 months, sold it after I found another 911 that I wanted. I don't think you can go wrong with either vehicle. The Juke is getting a refresh for 2015 and its pretty compelling - worth checking out.
 

Attachments

  • photo 3 copy 4.webp
    photo 3 copy 4.webp
    200.3 KB · Views: 153
  • photo (3).webp
    photo (3).webp
    181.8 KB · Views: 156
Besides the obvious comments on the juke's quirky looks, Nissan has switched all their cars to the horrible groaning CVT. I owed 4 Nissan's since 1996 and once they made this switch I was done with them. My brother just dumped is POS CVT Murano for a CX5 and couldn't be happier. We have 22k on our 2014 and I am very happy with our first Mazda purchase.
 
I've owned both! When I sold my 911 Targa C4S, I was looking for an inexpensive commuter AWD vehicle.
Test drove the Juke and bought one. Made some mods, it was fun and sold it after 4 months. Then I bought a Mazda CX-5, and similar to Juke, it was great and actually more practical. But after 4 months, sold it after I found another 911 that I wanted. I don't think you can go wrong with either vehicle. The Juke is getting a refresh for 2015 and its pretty compelling - worth checking out.

911 to juke and back. That's a heck of a contrast!
 
Back