“Our goal is to become one of the most trusted car companies in the US,” Mike Drongowski, Senior Product Planner for Nissan, explained at a recent event for the Juke in Vancouver, BC.

“Juke is a segment buster — it’s something between a sports coupe and a crossover.”

That wasn’t all Nissan marketing speak. The mid-sized five-passenger Juke is a member of the fourth largest small crossover segment—- an arena that combines urban practicality with style. To wit, the Juke is expected to be cross-shopped with Mazda3, Mini Cooper, Toyota Matrix, Scion tC and Suzuki SX4.

And the name JUKE? In keeping with the sporty appeal of the brand, as explained, Juke is a take-off on movement—the fake-out in football, dodging obstacles and Juke box. Sounds rather like something out of “Mad Men.”

But the look is certainly not 60’s. In fact, it crosses between cartoon, euro-cool, new age and edgy. At 162” long (6” shorter than the Versa) with 17” alloy wheels, a low, wide stance and wheels pushed out to the corners, the Juke looks different than any Nissan we’ve ever witnessed.

That could be a good thing. Features, including boomerang shaped tail lights that mimic the Nissan 370 and “crocodile headlamps” (like the reptile’s head peering out of the water) and an interior console designed like a motorcycle, give this car some serious street cred.

“For the instrument panel, what designers had in mind was an athletic figure with a wetsuit,” remarked Drongowski. “The Juke has a rally car kind of look; we were trying to put a very expressive face on it. The center console is a motorcycle driven design.”

Take note—the red interior of the manually driven Juke was over the top cool!

Positioned for the 18-34 year-old male who makes $45,000 plus, Nissan is gearing the Juke towards guys who are into sports, women and gaming. After all, Nissan is a proud sponsor of the NFL, where on kick-off day, they plan to let loose a slew of advertising.

“So, this is a boy toy?” I queried.

“When we were product planning, we worked with the team to pick out a person or amalgam that exemplifies the vehicle. This person was a 20-something guy,” Drongowski explained.

But truly I think the Juke could play on either team. The cheeky vehicle was full of personality, buzzing with road noise, fun to drive and highly intuitive. The design? It drew motorcycle guys decked out in leather to beehive around me… and the car!

And the driving experience? Dynamo. A 1.6-liter direct injection gasoline turbo aluminum-alloy 4-cylinder (from Nissan’s alliance with Renault) puts out 188 hp, 177 lb-ft torque with a noteworthy mpg of 27 city/32 hwy. A 6-speed manual transmission in FWD is available.

“Nissan is about expressive design, a passionate driving experience and friendly technology,” noted Drongowski.

I asked, “Is this design too far from what your customer expects a Nissan to look like?”

Drongowski replied, “In an ideal world people would check out a car when it rolls down the road and remark…’WHAT is that?’ And then they’d say, ‘Oh yes, that’s a Nissan!’”

The tab? The numbers for the Juke are very satisfying. Juke S starts under $19K, with an added moon roof the Juke SV starts at $20,260 and the Juke SL pumps it up with leather-appointed seats and a navigation system for $22,550.