Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Datsun 510 vs. Nissan Juke--In the Dirt Comparo

Now this is an awesome head to head matchup.

What "could" be a solid modern rally vehicle vs. an all time classic rally vehicle.  I have loved the Juke since covering its U.S. debut two springs ago in NYC and have always thought it would make a great rally vehicle given its looks, turbocharged engine and AWD.  Couldn't you just see a Nissan WRC team kitted out with red, white and blue Jukes??  Very similar to what Mini is doing right now with their Countryman.

The 510 is a classic and this one has a SE-R motor in it and should be a great piece of work.  The video shows how sketchy a RWD vehicle can be in the dirt, rarely pointing its nose down the middle of the road and the driver always sawing at the wheel.

The video here is also fantastic with some great scenery of the snow and cloud covered mountains in the background.  Heck, the Juke actually gets some pretty good air for stock suspension and tires and no roll cage or saftey equipment!

Enjoy folks...enjoy...

510 vs. Juke Comparison Article...

2 comments:

Brian Driggs said...

Nice!

We picked up a mid-level SV (2WD/CVT) a few months back. Love, love, LOVE the Juke. Let those who think it's ugly have another vanilla 4-door commuter turd.

I'm currently a few hundred words into an article on GBXM about how I've fallen in love with the Juke. We took it to Colorado and did some dirt road exploring with it.

With the CVT in 'sport' mode, I managed to trip the traction control on a couple steep gravel inclines. Our friends, who happened to be following in an equally loaded rental Versa (ironic) had to back up, get a running start, and floorboard it to crawl up many of the grades (often at about 3mph).

Wonderful, unique vehicle. Given a 6MT and AWD, I might consider buying a second. It's that good.

spalind (Dan Spalinger) said...

I know...that's the only thing I wish it had..a MT combined with the AWD...maybe when they come out with a performance version of it!