Fidelity presents sports crossover

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

A beaming Leslie Nembhard, sales manager at Fidelity Motors, was literally bouncing on his toes as he reeled off the Nissan Juke's attributes on Thursday night. As the adjectives flowed and the descriptives blossomed, the audience at Zen Lounge, Belmont Road, New Kingston got more involved in the build-up to the vehicle's unveiling.

Nembhard spoke about the Juke's "unique and distinctive style". He revelled in as being full of fun and energy, "that will bring unbridled emotion to anyone who drives it". He emphasised that it is "responsive and confident" and told the audience they will find the Juke is "agile and energising".

At this point the listeners gave in and cheered.

The words on the Juke's styling were worth the look, as two models - red and black - were presented. The distinctiveness was clear as two ladies removed the cover from the red model before the stage from which Nembhard delivered the build-up, but the real surprise was the black model driven into the launch area from stage side. At the invitation to get closer to the rides, some of those at the launch were eager to slip into the seats and try out the driving position.

A press release from Fidelity claims unique pedigree for the Juke as "the world's first Sport-Cross, and follows in the wheeltracks of the Murano - the world's first Crossover - and the ever popular Qashqai. Together the trio cement Nissan's place as King of the Crossovers".

"From a design standpoint, the lower portion of Juke is pure SUV. It combines chunky wheels, wide tyres, extended ground clearance and a robust stance with a top portion that is unadulterated sports car, with a high waistline, slim visor-like side glass graphics and a coupe-style falling roofline. The coupe effect is further underlined by the rear doors, which have their handles hidden in the frame of the door. Inside, the sports-car theme continues with a cockpit-oriented cabin dominated by a centre-console design inspired by a motorcycle fuel tank. Finished in a distinctive high-gloss colour - metallic red or grey - the 'bike' console adds a sense of fun to the car."

The Juke comes equipped with all mode 4x4-i with new torque-vectoring system, the latter designed to reduce understeer when the driver is cornering.

As Nembhard said in the opening of his unveiling address, "Nissan is proud to introduce a new concept for the automotive market. We are happy to introduce the new model that breaks paradigms and makes use of the word 'change'".

Fidelity also used the occasion to launch its social-media initiatives, using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The Nissan Juke launch was hosted by Bambino, with Richie Ras dropping the beats.

S