Take a closer look between the Qazana above and the Juke below. Surely, you can appreciate the faithfulness of Nissan’s design as it bridged the gap from concept to reality. The ride height has been lowered in the transformation, but it could probably use a few more inches of lowering. Because really, the “crossover” schtick is fooling exactly no one.

The rake in the rear window has been significantly diminished, the hatch opening expanded, and rear doors made useful for real-sized people. But by and large, despite the Qazana’s dramatic proportions, it was fairly ready for production. It’s just that no one expected Nissan to actually do it. I mean, what kind of company, in the midst of a recession, green-lights a daring and brash design into a segment of the market that doesn’t even exist?

Nissan has never been accused of releasing thinly-veiled concepts the way, say, BMW has. The Juke almost makes you want to start.

The suicide doors sound like a nice idea in principle, but they would add cost, thereby detracting from one of the Juke’s strongest selling points. It starts at less than CDN$20,000.

Then there is the motorcycle fuel tank-inspired transmission tunnel. It would be a little easier to hop on Qazana than the Juke, that’s for sure.