BETTER fuel economy, lower emissions and more pulling power are among the benefits of the latest 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine just added to Nissan's Juke line-up.

Since its UK launch at the end of 2010, more than 19,000 Jukes - around a third of all sales - have been powered by the 1.5-litre dCi unit.

And changes to the engine have made it even more efficient with CO2 emissions of 109g/km and combined fuel economy of 67.3mpg while maximum torque has been considerably boosted.

Nissan says the improvements are down to a series of engine enhancements along with changes to the gear ratios, all of which contribute to a 14 per cent improvement compared to the outgoing engine.

And fuel efficiency is also helped by the use of the Nissan Dynamic Control system, which enables the driver to select from three engine settings - Eco, Normal and Sport.

The unit's overall power output remains at 110PS while its performance figures of 109mph maximum speed and 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds are also unchanged.

The new generation engine will be available across all Juke grades excluding the NISMO and the top selling model is expected to be the n-tec, which includes technology like the latest Nissan Connect communication centre.

As well as new navigation software and a 5.8-inch colour touchscreen, the system has features such as Google Send-To-Car, which allows an owner to plan a journey on their PC or tablet, then send the instructions to the car ahead of the trip.

Prices for the Juke 1.5 dCi remain unchanged, starting at £14,895 for the Visia model.