I've just bought a Nissan Juke Hybrid...

I bought a Nissan Juke 1.6 automatic petrol hybrid recently. I do a lot of town driving. In town I thought it would be driving mostly on the battery. This doesn't seem to be the case. Can you please advise as to how I can monitor this and any suggestions how I can improve its efficiency?

Thanks

Dee (Roscommon)

Jan 2026 Filed under: hybrid

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Expert answer

Hi Dee,

Hybrids such as the Juke have very small batteries and can therefore only drive on electric power for very short distances. If you're in stop-start traffic, it might use the battery for most of the time, but if the traffic is free-flowing and the speeds are higher, then it will not.

Unfortunately, the Juke Hybrid does not give a readout showing how much time is spent using the battery alone so you can't monitor it accurately.

If you drive slower, the car will use the battery more in town. Likewise, less use of the heating or air conditioning should mean less need for the engine to start up.

Bear in mind through all this that most of the energy used to charge up that battery comes from the engine itself, so it's not free energy.

Choose the Eco driving mode for maximum efficiency, but really, it will come down to your driving style as much as anything else.

Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Advisor