The Nissan->ke62 Juke Nismo is a really surprising little machine. After a week with my foot on the floor (in 'normal' mode), I was vaguely unimpressed with the little truck's ability to hustle out of its own way. I thought it looked cool and handled well, had great seats and a good image. But... even the coolest car in the world still needs to be fast to get my attention, and yours too I bet.

Silly me. The TopSpeed team is mostly hard at work during the day producing news content, so the amount of miles we put on the press loaners is pretty low overall.

That extra time was exactly what I needed to discover the Juke Nismo's sport buttons, which allow personalization of numerous parameters between normal, sport and eco.

Most sport buttons in mainstream cars are a waste of time. They might make the engine hold shifts longer, or thump harder over bumps - but generally achieve very little beyond that.

The Nismo sport tune is far from subtle, however. Cars have to generally start up in their 'Normal' setting so that they can achieve the emissions and economy required by the test and buyers.

Flipping to Juke Nismo to Sport mode opens up a totally different little crossover. One that has front, AWD auto or even a V-mode all-wheel-drive setting to keep traction.

Skinny tires ensure more playfullness than is normal in a compact, and the sport mode also transforms the optional CVT auto of our test car into something much, much more special. It thrums and upshifts like a real sports car, with handling and steering precision on the highway that seems autobahn-ready.

A quick walk-around video of the Juke Nismo highlights some of the reasons I loved this car by the end of our time together. It also shows of an impressive exhaust rumble and all the Nismo-exclusive styling features of this $27,000 pocket rocket.

Click past the jump to see some clips of the Nissan Juke Nismo ahead of the full TopSpeed Driven review in the coming weeks.

2014 Nissan Juke Nismo - Exterior Walk-around Video

2014 Nissan Juke Nismo - CVT Brake Torque Launch

Please excuse the extremely rough production values of the video below. Only included here because this clip shows a brake-torque launch around the same corner as recently performed in the CVT 2014 Pathfinder Platinum.

The Juke Nismo shows much better shift delineation in Sport mode than it does in eco or normal, as one might expect.

The full TopSpeedDriven review is coming soon, so please check back for all the latest news and photos of the Juke Nismo!

Until then, the full model details are available by cruising over here.