Overall I like Nissan. They make reliable cars and occasionally they produce some pretty exciting vehicles. Plus my old Patrol will go just about anywhere (albeit slowly) without much fuss. Reliable. Capable. Tough.

But the Juke? My god, what were they thinking? While the recently updated version has cleaned up the styling somewhat, the original Juke was best described as a “bold” design. Diplomacy aside, it was ugly as hell.

Looks are, of course, subjective but I fail to see how anyone with two functioning eyes could look at the Juke and like what they see. It’s like two designs for totally different cars were melted together to create a front end that is difficult to stomach. Those big round bug eyes with the weirdly shaped lights above… it’s a mess.

In my opinion, if you like how the Juke looks then you shouldn’t be driving a car. Why not? Because you’re obviously blind.

A recent update has given the front end a more palatable appearance but it still isn’t pretty. By contrast, the rear styling is quite attractive for a small-mid size SUV. There’s only so much you can do with the back end of such a car, but the Juke looks pretty clean and sporty from behind.

I’ll give Nissan credit for making the Juke stand out in a crowded and competitive market segment. I’ll even applaud their bravery for pursuing such a polarising design. But sorry Nissan, I’ll never be seen driving one.

Which is a shame because – being a Nissan – it’s probably a very comfortable and reliable car to drive. But if it was my money on the table it would be for an X-Trail or a Qashqai, depending on my space requirements. And currently, Nissan is cheaper than almost all their competitors across the range, so now is a great time to be shopping for one of their cars.

Well, one of the good looking ones, anyway.