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Impul gives its take on the Nissan Juke

Japanese tuner Impul has either improved or ruined the already awkwardly styled Nissan Juke.

Headshot of Antuan Goodwin
Headshot of Antuan Goodwin
Antuan Goodwin Senior Writer, Electrified Cars
Antuan started out in the automotive industry the old-fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. He now has nearly 20 years of expertise and experience behind the wheel of hundreds of cars, including electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen, and traditional combustion vehicles. For each car he tests, Antuan covers more than 200 miles behind the wheel and evaluates driving dynamics; acceleration and braking performance; range; and efficiency. Antuan's goal is to use his extensive car knowledge to educate CNET readers and help with their next car-related buying decision. Whether you're EV-curious, an EV-enthusiast or a combustion-car loyalist, Antuan will bring you the unbiased advice, reviews, best lists and news you need. You can reach Antuan at antuan.goodwin@cnet.com
Expertise Nearly two decades of testing, driving, reporting on, writing about, reviewing, and editing content about electric and ICE cars. Category focus is on electrified cars, EVs, HEVs, PHEVs, ICE cars, EV infrastructure, EV chargers, EV adapters, EV news, auton Credentials
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Antuan Goodwin
Impul

Nissan Juke wearing Impul's body kit
Impul's Nissan Juke is either much cooler or more awkward-looking than its stock aesthetic. Impul

It's been a while since we've showcased a tuner car here on the Car Tech Blog, but after getting an eyeful of Japanese tuner Impul's take on the already love-it-or-leave-it stylings of the 2011 Nissan Juke, we couldn't help but take another look.

The Impul Juke benefits (or suffers) from a new front bumper with a more aggressive lower lip, side skirts, and a rear diffuser, as well as a restyled grill and a huge, aggressive rear wing. There are also larger wheels in a Hyper Black finish, side-window vent visors, and what look like small winglets hanging from the bottom of the side mirrors. Rounding out the look are Impul script graphics along the vehicle's flanks and Impul badging at both ends.

For the enterprising Juke driver who'd like a bit of go-faster with the extra-aggressive styling, Impul also manufactures and supplies an array of performance parts, including a performance ECU, a more freely flowing throttle body, and an axle-back exhaust kit--all of which should unlock a few more ponies from the 1.6-liter turbocharged engine. Handling improvements come from available high-performance brake pads, upgraded dampers, and stiffer springs.

My Japanese is a bit rusty so data on the actual power and handling gains from the performance parts eludes me, but does the Impul Juke at least manage to look better than the standard Juke? Sound off in the comments with your opinions.