NISSAN describes its British-built Juke crossover model as a funky alternative to the conventional urban hatchback.

It's actually a lot more than that because there's nothing like it on the road, to the point that it blows everything else out of the water.

The Juke isn't an easy vehicle to pigeon-hole. In fact it's a car of two halves.

The lower part is pure SUV with chunky wheels, wide tyres, extended ground clearance and a robust stance.

But the top half is unadulterated sports car with a high waistline, slim visor-like side glass graphics and a coupe-style falling roofline.

And the coupe effect is underpinned by rear doors which have their handles hidden in the frame of the door, not a new innovation but definitely an effective one.

Inside, the eye-catcher is a motorcycle fuel tank-inspired centre console with high gloss finish, while the instruments are clustered under a cowl behind the steering wheel.

Given that this is a compact car there's no shortage a space for five, including a refreshingly comfortable rear centre seating position, with ample headroom all round.

In fact the only area in which the Juke could do better is with regard to boot space, though what you do get is split level with some hidden storage opportunities.

Of the three available engines - two petrol, one diesel - the 1.5-litre dCi diesel featured in the test model is a mid-term improved unit now boasting an average 57.6 miles per gallon.

That's up 2.2mpg on the original model from last year while CO2 emissions are down from 134 to 129g/km, meaning the model is able to retain the PURE DRIVE badge initially placed on all Nissan vehicles that produced emissions of 140g/km or lower.

But to show this is an on-going programme, that target has been lowered to 130g/km and will come down further to 120 in 2013-14.

Trim levels are the familiar Visia, Acenta and Tekna grades, the latter pair along with the special edition Shiro featuring a dynamic control set-up which alters the car's throttle and suspension settings to accommodate normal, sports or eco modes and changes the display colour from red to blue accordingly.

The 1.5 dCi isn't an especially powerful engine, but it really livens up in sports setting with a noticeably stiffer ride.

With every car featuring standard kit like electric windows, air-con, alloy wheels, electronic stability control, six airbags and sports seats - and the higher grade ones adding Bluetooth, USB ports and cruise control, you certainly get value for money as Juke prices start at £13,395.

Shiro, which means white in Japanese, has white details - centre console, door panels, seat stitching - to mark it out from the rest of the range.