Note: This article was written as part of a commercial content partnership between CompleteCar.ie and Nissan.
Standing out from the crowd regularly comes with compromise. Stylish clothes often aren't the most comfortable. Sharp-looking shoes pinch your feet. All those clever IKEA cupboards are needed because minimalist Scandinavian apartments aren't very roomy.
So, usually, making a choice on the basis of style means making a compromise when it comes to the practical things. Usually…
That's why the Nissan Juke is different. It's a car that's driven by its style - there are lots of other compact crossovers on the market, but none of them look like a Juke, which leaves behind the predictable box-with-rounded-corners look for something that's entirely… well, you can't really say what it's entirely like as it just looks like itself - it looks like a Juke.
From the Y-shaped LED headlight signature set into the big, round, driving lamps to the way the roof slopes so sharply away towards the rear of the bodywork, the Juke has always been unique in its looks, across two generations. If you want to see it at its best, plump for the bright 'Icon Yellow' paintwork and the black 19-inch 'Akari' alloy wheels.
There's more, of course, and the whole idea of the Juke is that you can make it your own, picking and choosing from lots of colour, wheel and accessory options to suit your own unique sense of style. In fact, the Juke is available with 11 different body colours, and 13 different combinations of colour and contrasting roof styles. You can have 17- or 19-inch alloy wheels, and there are lots of other options too, from roof boxes to bicycle carriers to carbon-fibre trim.
Of course, there are plenty of cars that look great - Nissan isn't claiming to be unique in that sense - but there are few that manage to combine the Juke's striking looks with some day-to-day practicality.
Up front, the Juke has a centre console that rises up above your legs like the fuel tank of a sporty motorbike, mixing the space with the impression of a snug 'cockpit' feeling. Up top, there's a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and that can be augmented by a Bose stereo system, for those who really love their tunes.
For maximum style, you should go for the N-Sport model, which gets high-backed bucket sports seats and some bright colour accents around the cabin.
In terms of practicalities, the boot swallows up to 422 litres of luggage, which is enough for a couple of suitcases or IKEA flatpacks or up to 1,305 litres if you fold down the back seats and you need to carry home a piece of furniture you don't have to make yourself.
This generation of Juke marks a huge improvement over the original model when it comes to cabin and boot space, so if your only Juke experience was of an older version, then it might be worth taking a fresh and up-close look at the latest model.
That'll give you a chance to check out the latest engine options, including a feisty turbocharged petrol engine and even a full hybrid for a smooth and responsive drive. The latter is for those in search of maximum economy (and some helpful electric-only bursts of driving time), officially using as little as 4.7 litres per 100km.
The Juke is often bought as a car for growing families, so it's good to know that all Jukes come, at least, with cruise control, a speed limiter, a reversing camera, automatic emergency braking (that can detect if a car in front stops suddenly, or a pedestrian steps off the kerb in front of you), steering that keeps you in lane on the motorway and a driver drowsiness detection system.
You can boost safety with a 360-degree camera system (that gives you a 'bird's eye' view when parking), radar cruise control that can keep you a safe distance from the car in front and a blind-spot monitoring system that automatically nudges the steering if you try and change lanes into the path of a car coming up behind you.
So the Juke is compact, but roomy; stylish, but useful; and fun, but safe. After all, you shouldn't have to compromise on practicalities just because you don't want to blend in with the crowd.