ChrisP

I'm with you on the cats. They're like genetically-flawed dogs equipped with evil, pointy claws.

Indeed. Intrigued to see some of the premium offerings next year when Lambo and Maserati join the party. Despite all the furore surrounding the EXP 9 F, it doesn't seem such a big jump for Bentley somehow.

Never driven the Juke R, but I did have a ride round the handling circuit at Milbrook with Jann Mardenborough. Jeez, that kid can drive. Never doubted the combination of GT-R mechanicals and RML engineering would keep us pointing in the right direction (more or less) but the speed we entered the corners was faintly surreal. That said, all those fast SUVs require a bit of mental recallibration. I drove the Cayenne Turbo S a few months ago and couldn't quite wrap my head around it. Come across plenty of sports cars that aren't as involving, let alone as accomplished.

I see Nissan is poised to release a more extreme version of the Juke NISMO at the LA motor show. And that got me thinking about the last one. At the time it struck me that the feisty engine and the various performance mods gave the Juke NISMO a dynamic character to match the car's relatively extrovert exterior. Everyone else on the planet seemed to pan it for falling short of the traditional hot hatches, though. Am I the only one with a soft spot for it?

If only it had one of those Perspex engine covers that were popular with supercar manufacturers a few years ago...