SPY PICS: Next-gen Nissan JUKE breaks cover

Since it was introduced to the Australian market in late 2013, the once-outrageous and polarising Nissan JUKE compact SUV has been swamped by an expanding group of equally-adventurous rivals.

Relative newcomers such as the Hyundai Kona, Suzuki Jimny and Toyota C-HR have blunted much of the little Nissan crossover’s cheeky charm, which has had little impact in a sea of mainstream small SUVs led by the Mitsubishi ASX, Mazda CX-3, Honda HR-V and Nissan’s own QASHQAI.

On current sales figures the current Nissan JUKE – which has already been discontinued in some markets – barely manages a blip on the Australian charts with just 212 year-to-date sales to May 2019.

In 2014, the year following its launch, it recorded 2812 sales which, although well behind contemporary segment leaders such as the then small-SUV-categorised Hyundai ix35’s 15,227 sales in the same year, was a respectable enough figure given the little Nissan’s role as a more-or-less niche player – despite the unique NISMO version.

Now, the quirky little five-door city-crossover is in readiness for a second-generation replacement that could make its international debut before the end of the year.

These recently-snapped spy photos of what is clearly identifiable as a next-gen Nissan JUKE on shakedown trials in southern Europe show that it will follow a design philosophy that conceptually sticks with the original model that made its international debut back in 2010.

The test mule’s cladding does little to conceal the overall shapes, nor the details of grille, headlights and rear-end, all of which fundamentally replicate the chunky looks of the near-decade-old original with its bulbous wheel-arches, distinct metal-to-glass proportions, pronounced front-to-rear roof taper and C-pillar rear door-handles.

Within expectations of a slightly larger footprint that comes from the adoption of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi alliance’s subcompact CMF-B platform, the next-gen JUKE will reportedly offer similar driveline choices to the current model, including front-drive or AWD, plus a range of powerplants that will include regular petrol four-cylinder engines as well as a plug-in hybrid.

Looking to the near future, it is also understood the CMF-B platform, which is a smaller version of the CMF platform used widely across the French-Japanese alliance, allows full-EV capabilities.

The slightly larger proportions are also expected to bring better interior space and improved luggage-carrying practicality.

Nissan is reportedly getting ready for production of the next-gen JUKE at its factory in Sunderland, UK, for an introduction expected to take place either late this year, or early in 2020.

As yet there is no word on whether, or when, it will come to Australia but if the new Nissan JUKE is given the green light, an arrival around the middle of 2020 would seem likely.