The Nissan Kicks finally made its debut at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show. The crossover’s arrival likely means that the Juke crossover is on its last legs. Nissan has given no indication regarding the status of the Juke, but all signs seem to point in that direction. That’s not necessarily a bad thing given how polarizing the Juke has been in the seven years that it’s been around. It’s about time Nissan’s quirky crossover is put to pasture. It makes sense for Nissan to do it now that the Kicks is here with a package that's admittedly more appealing to customers.

I’d be surprised if Nissan keeps the Juke around even with the arrival of the Kicks. It’s not exactly a novel thought, but it is worth mentioning because of the possibility that Nissan goes the other way and decides to keep both models around.

The rationale for doing so has to do with the popularity of the crossover segment these days. I can see Nissan offering these two models because, despite the perceived overlap, the two models do offer plenty of distinct features that could help differentiate themselves in the eyes of the public. The Juke has that kind of cache, no matter what you think of it. There’s something inherently different about it that can help carry it in the market for a few more years before it’s permanently put the pasture.

That’s one argument for keeping the Juke around. I think it’s possible, but ultimately, I do think the Nissan will decide to move on from the Juke so it can give the Kicks a bigger platform to showcase itself. As different as these two models are, they’re both still crossovers, so they’re still occupying the same space. It could be detrimental to the Kicks to have the Juke around because it’d be competing with a model from its own family, as opposed to being able to focus on the real competition from other automakers.

Everything about the Kicks’ presentation points to it being the future of Nissan’s crossover lineup. As such, it deserves to have its own platform as opposed to sharing it with a model that’s not only dated, but also wasn’t universally loved to begin with.

References

Nissan Kicks

Read our full review on the 2017 Nissan Kicks.

Nissan Juke

Read our full review on the 2017 Nissan Juke.

Read more 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show news.