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The Nissan Juke, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2010, has been launched in Japan at 8.71 lakh rupees. The Juke is the smaller crossover in Nissan's line-up (consisting of Qashqai and Murano) which uses a 1.5-liter diesel engine making 114 PS and 150Nm of torque.

What about its chances in India? We're confused, so a monologue was in order.

Pessimism -

This 1.5-liter, 4.1 meter long mini SUV won't make in-roads in India even if it is brought in as a CKD. The only viable option would be to manufacture it locally bringing the price of the vehicle to around 10 lakh. For 10 lakh rupees, would one go for the tried-and-tested Mahindra Scorpio or a mini SUV like Juke? The decently equipped Tata Safari variant is also not a long way away from this price band. Remember, Nissan is a company that is literally unheard of for affordable passenger/utility vehicles in India.

Conclusions from studies conducted in India might have prompted them to develop a mini SUV on the cheaper V-Platform.

Optimism -

I mean, look at that thing. Have you seen something like this before? With those curves, it could serve as a Kim Kardashian double in Hollywood. It's a cartoon character for the GenNext. A cartoon character that's grown up into a young and admirable Hollywood star. How long are we going to buy the age old Scorpio and Safari? Isn't change good?

Based on the Nissan B-Platform, it shares underpinnings with cars like the Renault Duster which is developed for BRIC countries. If that can come to India in 2012, why not this? Nissan, why are you having second thoughts? I want mine in cherry red.

click through to read press release

Tags: Nissan, Nissan Juke

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Nissan Juke priced at 8.71 lakh rupees in Japan today; Dim chances in India was originally published by Indian Autos blog. Read the full story by clicking here.