The Nissan Juke is regarded by many as a Marmite car, loved by many but disliked by just a few.

I have to say I am among the minority. It’s never been my type of car and much as I try, I can never fall in love with it.

But what do I know about Nissan cars?

When the Qashqai came out 12 years ago I was one of those who said: “That’ll never sell.” How wrong could I have been?

It started the crossover revolution which every manufacturer religiously followed and is produced in its millions and a winner around the world.

And I have to say the Qashqai is quite brilliant and one of the best crossovers ever built.

So eight years ago Nissan went for a smaller version and the Juke was born. A few weeks ago the one millionth Juke has rolled off the line at the Nissan Sunderland Plant.

And would you believe it on average, a new Juke is built at the plant every 105 seconds.

Kevin Fitzpatrick, Nissan vice president said: “Reaching the one million milestone is a fantastic achievement for any model.

“Eight years ago we had never seen anything like the Juke before – it created an entirely new segment and brought a distinctive never-seen-before look to the market.

“Fast forward to today and we have one million customers and Juke remains the segment leader.

“It’s terrific to see that the 2018 model, with all its improvements and personalisation options, is as popular as the version that rolled off the line for the first time in 2010.”

Well known for its distinctive sporty styling, the 2018 Juke comes with a host of interior and exterior personalisation choices. Thanks to all the options and possible personalisation combinations, more than 23,000 different versions of the Juke are available for customers across Europe.

The one millionth Juke built in Sunderland was a Tekna grade in Vivid Blue, the most recent colour to be added to the range.

Juke was the second crossover to be built at the plant after the pioneering Qashqai of which then more than three million Qashqai have now been built in Sunderland.

This follows the Micra (2.4m) and Primera (1.5m) as models to have hit seven figures at the plant.

Juke is a huge sales success, hitting the sales mark of just short of 100,000 in 2017 in Europe.

The interior is both sporty and unique and it drives. It was refreshed in 2014 and although it doesn't look much different on the outside there are some significant changes under the skin.

Suspensions and steering have been revised so the Juke is now far better when it comes to ride quality. It is more refined and quieter at speed.

Features on the latest model include a new dark chrome V-motion grille, dark headlamp interior and dark turn indicators on the door mirrors. LED fog lamps are now standard from Acenta grade.

Three new 16-inch and 18-inch alloy wheel designs have been added to the Juke range, also from Acenta grade. For customers looking to add a dash of design flair to their car, the wheels on Tekna grade can be personalised with coloured inserts.

The interior has complementary personalisation options, in Energy Orange and Power Blue, as well as black faux-leather seats, arm rest and meter hood with coloured double stitching.

There is a Juke is available with a BOSE Personal sound system, which delivers a high-quality and immersive 360° listening experience through speakers built into the driver’s head rest.

The Juke also features innovative technology including Nissan’s Intelligent Around View Monitor with Moving Object Detection, Lane Departure Warning and Blind Spot Warning.

The 2014 facelift also saw the introduction of a new 1.2 DIG-T engine which gives you 50mpg. The rest of the engine range has been tweaked to be more economical including the good 1.5 dCi diesel.

It’s not a cheap car. My top of the range Nismo came in at more than £26,500 with its bucket Recaro seats and a techo pack which gives you the full monkey with extras.

Top speed is 137mph; 0-62mph in seven seconds dead and around 40 miles to the gallon.

Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 17,000 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations.

Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 640,000 vehicles including award-winning crossovers, commercial vehicles and the Nissan LEAF, the world’s most popular electric vehicle.

Last year, the company sold 5.77 million vehicles globally and Nissan has partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors in 2016.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is today the world’s largest automotive partnership, with combined sales of more than 10.6 million vehicles in calendar year 2017.