2025 Nissan Kicks Review | Kicks Gets Boxy, Finally Has AWD!

N/A today I'm down in Southern California getting handson with the least expensive all-wheel drive SUV in North America it is the 2025 Nissan kicks which has been completely redesigned to not only give buyers the option of all-wheel drive but also give you a ton more Tech on the inside than we found in the last generation kicks now kick Shoppers have a tough decision ahead of them because for about $25,000 including destination or less you could choose between two different front-wheel drive trims or the least exp expensive all-wheel drive trim which comes in at 24720 including destination so do you want more stuff on the inside and more stuff on the outside or do you want all-wheel drive and slightly better handling let's talk about what you get and what you don't get in the various trims of kicks and of course we'll try and decide which one might be right for [Music] N/A you instead of the Russian nesting doll design theme that we found in the previous generation kicks where looked a lot like the rest of Nissan's SUV lineup they decided to give the new kicks more of a unique design now we don't know what the Morano is going to look like that's going to be released in a few months but we know that this doesn't look like the new Armada which has more of a traditional Nissan VMO motion Grill up front modified of course for 2025 one of the most distinctive features about this design are these multimodule led daytime running lights that are integrated into this very horizontal grill that really adds to the sense of width in the kicks and indeed this is wider than the last generation model it's about an inch and a half wider most of that goes straight into the interior where you do find more shoulder room and more hip room than before if you live in the city you're probably going to appreciate the touches that we find in this topend Sr trim like the front and rear parking sensors we also have a 360° camera integrated right there into the middle of that new Nissan logo and adaptive cruise control is standard in every kicks model but unlike some of the competition where they're using camera only adaptive cruise control this actually has a radar sensor right there in the middle middle of the bumper N/A versus driver assistant systems that are cameraon based radar sensor based systems generally tend to be better in inclement weather so think Fog rain Etc and they seem to have fewer false positives and better adaptive cruise control performance than the camera only systems especially that we find in General Motors in expensive Vehicles so between the two systems this is going to be smoother and a bit more normative feeling versus the camera only systems that we find in the inexpensive GM crossovers the new kicks isn't just wider than the old model it's longer and taller as well at 171.5 in from tip to tail this is about 2 and 1/2 in longer than the old version and that's because it rides on an allnew platform some of the growth happens up front in the crash structure area and some of it happens back there in the cargo area interestingly the passenger compartment when it comes to legro and Headroom it's almost identical to the old version so again really the big Improvement inside is the width of the cabin giving you a little bit more shoulder room but visually you'll really notice the higher roof line definitely making this look more more like a mini SUV than the previous version this is the SR trim so we have the satin Chrome roof rails there the Chrome Windows trim right there the floating window design floating roof line design that we see in other Nissan models of course we also get 19-in wheels in this Sr trim but every version is going to get 8.4 in of ground clearance and definitely more of a mini SUV Vibe than we find in the Chevy tracks which really has a much lower roof line definitely is a hatchback without the lift that floating roof hides kind of a cool e egg it's a little bit difficult to see in this strong sunlight but you actually have kicks spelled out right there in the glass and you can see all the way through to the bodyc colored section behind the kicks has a distinctive design whether it's coming or going and in the back we have perhaps the most controversial design theme which is this sort of oval theme going on back here with the matte black plastic lower bumper and then the shiny black plastic tail lights and then this shiny black bar that connects everything across the back let me know what you think about that design down there below it definitely doesn't look like anything else in the Nissan lineup one thing I really like though are that the tail lights are full LEDs so LED backup lights LED turn signals LED brake lights everything's an LED back here of course we're driving the SR trim so things are going to look a little bit different depending on the trim you're looking at and this model of course is going to get the parking sensors again both front and N/A rear one of the most common complaints about the previous generation kicks was that it felt a little bit underpowered so of course Nissan has changed that by giving us a new engine and a new transmission under the hood this is a 2 L 4 cylinder producing 141 horsepower 140 lbet of torque and it's made it to an allnew CVT CVT is the only way to go if you choose all-wheel drive you'll get 30 m per gallon if you choose front-wheel drive you'll get 31 m per gallon combined according to the EPA like many small crossovers on the market choosing the option box for all-wheel drive doesn't just bring all- weather traction it also includes a fully independent rear suspension if you choose front-wheel drive like this particular Smurf blue model is equipped with then we get a Twist beam axle the rear so it's not going to be quite as much fun when the road gets winding and the rear suspension is going to become just a little bit more upset over broken pavement the difference is not huge but it's definitely there and it's another reason you might want to choose that N/A $1,500 option now let's check out the interior starting with the front seats one thing to know is that there is no power driver seat available in the kicks it's manual all the way even in this top end trim I don't find that to be too much of a problem because of the value pricing of the kicks but I do wish that we had at least manually adjustable lumbar support that's something I would love to see in the future I find these seats to be very comfortable for my body shape but I like more lumbar support than I know a lot of people do and this is more towards my side of the preference line than a lot of folks that really prefer more of a flat seat back so be sure you're okay with the seats before you sign on the dotted line again though for me I actually find these seats to be above average when it comes to comfort we also have a tilt telescopic steering column with an above average range of motion so this is definitely going to be easier if you're a family where you have tall drivers and short drivers driving the same vehicle the front seat tracks move pretty far rearward and with this seat all the way down I have several inches of Headroom left even in the model with the moonroof as I said before the interior dimensions N/A of the kicks haven't changed too much except for the extra width that we get in the cabin so with this front seat comfortably adjusted for me at 6 ft tall I still have about 5 in of legro left there reasonable amount you'll notice a bigger difference if I try and sit in the middle because the rear bench is a little bit wider than before we still have some pretty pronounced buckets for the outboard seat position which means I'm sitting notably higher off the ground and further forward than I was in the outboard seating position and that means my head's basically touching this part of the ceiling right where that panoramic moon roof is if I move all the way over to this side this front seats all the way back in its tracks I have maybe about an inch of leg room left there if you're wondering about child seats let's see how they might fit behind me as a driver we just Measure 11 in down on the seat back and then across and we get 28 half in that's almost enough room for the average rear-facing child seat remember you do want a little bit of clearance between the child seat and the driver seat in most Vehicles this is kind of acceptable for this category there are certainly going to be smaller entries if you're looking at something like a Toyota Coro across it's going to be considerably tighter in the back however if you're looking at a Honda HRV it's pretty generous in the rear back here we have a fold down Center armrest with two cup holders no air vents in the rear but we do have some USBC charge only only ports going N/A in for a closer look the rear door panels are made from almost entirely hard plastics except for that armrest right there in the middle and one thing worth noting if you buy one of these I would suggest getting a full floor mat set because instead of typical carpet we find what looks more like an expensive car trunk liner right there in the middle so we do have the floor mats on each side but I would get one of those ones that covers that hump in the middle if I were you that does not tend to wear as well as the carpet floor mat behind the manual hatch we find 30 cubic feet of carer capacity behind the rear seats that is absolutely enormous for this segment unfortunately we do have one of these hard cargo dividers rather than one of the roller style Shades so that does mean if you want to use all of the cargo you are going to have to remove this from the vehicle and then find somewhere to put it let's see if it fits under the floor it does not so that is one downside we don't have the ability to Stow that under the floor when you don't need it so you're going to have to leave that in the Home Depot parking lot but on the other hand we have an absolutely enormous and a very Square cargo area including a two-stage load floor and a storage well underneath that's big enough to put some of these larger roller bags that's a 22-in carryon sized roller bag as you can see it fits completely under the floor now just in case you're wondering you can get a kiix with a spare tire there's one with that spare tire right there under the floor if you're a fan of a lower load floor which is certainly going to let you put some of those larger bags in place then you can drop that down and that would allow you to line up 22-in roller bags all the way across the rear definitely put some extra cargo go in there and still certainly close the hatch now in case you're wondering with the load floor in its lowest height you can put 22-in roller luggage right there in the upright position and that hard cargo cover will actually fit right into place N/A as we look around this interior keep in mind this is the top end Sr trim and it has the optional premium package which includes this big panoramic moonroof the Bose personal audio system and heated seats the panoramic moonroof is also available in the SV trim but you can't get the Bose's personal audio system if you choose that SV trim so this is Sr only that big panoramic roof goes to just about the rear passengers lap area and again those rear passengers especially in the middle might be bumping their heads on the back of that track so that's one reason you might want to skip that particular option we have high adjustable shoulder belts for the driver and the front passenger we also have slide to the side sun visors up here we have led map lights and a sunglass holder it's kind of a nice touch there speaking of the Bose audio system that's one big change for 2025 previously only the driver had the surround speakers now the front passenger gets them as well we have contrasting stitching in red and sort of a light gray on the imitation leather portion of this seat it is combination imitation leather and fabric upholstery so we have fabric inserts for the majority of that seat back and almost the entire seat bottom cushion and it has kind of a red accent that's really intriguing so it has red threads in a grid of charcoal giving it definitely a cool look and that's both for the front and the rear seats as you can see the bolstering is a little bit more aggressive than I had expected for such an an expensive vehicle but again keep in mind that lumbar support's also pretty aggressive so certainly spend some time in these seats and decide if they're right for you I personally think they're among the most comfortable in this segment at least for me however moving over to the doors we find a surprising percentage of soft touch materials so an entire upper section right there that's all stitched materials with again that same sort of contrasting stitching below that we also find stitched materials but these have been textured to look more like carbon fiber than I guess you'd say nahide up here we do have hard plastic around that door handle and the door pull and then of course around that bottle holder at the bottom of the door instead of piano black we have kind of a brushed metal theme for the Plastics right there around the window switches I definitely appreciate that uh but uh you know we couldn't escape all the piano black sadly there is still some up here at the top of the dashboard around those air vents I'll show you those on the driver's side in just a bit and then we have bow speakers and the a pillars there as well surprisingly there's also a high percentage of soft touch materials and premium materials on the dashboard so this entire upper section Dash This is actually a stitched component as well as a stitched midsection here using the same materials that we found on the doors that piano black strip runs all the way across hard plastics of course lower on the dashboard big bin style glove compartment you'd definitely be able to fit an 11-in tablet computer inside there the SR trim is the only one that gets this big twin 12.3 in LCD setup in the dashboard although interestingly it's not the only one to get twin LCDs because the base model gets a 7-in cluster and a 7-in infotainment system unfortunately it does not run the same software version that this one does so it doesn't support any sort of smartphone integration at all as you can see this is running the latest Nissan software pretty similar to what we find in the Arya and some other upcoming Nissan products it's definitely Snappy and easy to use in this vehicle it does not support Factory navigation uh but that's actually okay with me because we have that Wireless smartphone integration you can also connect wired if you'd rather use the USB port and that's definitely my personal preference as far as connecting with the system going down from there you can see that same again texture that we saw before and I just forgot one thing it's worth noting if you get the SV trim you get this screen in the middle but you still get the smaller 7-in LCD instrument cluster kind of an interesting twist so this is again the only one with this twin LCD setup with the big LCDs the other ones have twin LCDs just different than the ones you see here now moving down from that LCD we find an access button for the 360° camera system with moving object detection basically borrowed out of other Nissan physical power and volume knob track forward backward hazard light button and then touch controls for the single zone automatic climate control system that we find in this model I am a little bit concerned that that might scratch more easily over time especially if you're the kind of person that likes to change those settings regularly below that we have a pretty big center console here nice big Chi wireless charging mat that can easily accommodate those large smartphones while wireless charging and it will also Wireless charge through thicker cases something I appreciate uh two of the four USBC ports are up here those those two interface with the system the ones on the back of the center console are charge only we have an engine start stop button there electric parking brake auto brake hold nice feature for an inexpensive vehicle drive mode selector right there pretty traditional console shifter drive and B for increased engine braking sport mode that's over there with that drive mode selector the center console as I said is relatively large which means we have some pretty big and pretty deep cup holders that means that if you like big takeout drinks they're definitely going to more easily fit in here than some of the smaller options in this segment moving back from there we find a relatively small Center armrest again that same contrasting stitching and then a teeny tiny little storage bin underneath that one thing I was surprised to see but I appreciate is the fact that the side of the center console is actually wrapped in the same sort of stitched material that we find over there on the door it's definitely giving it more of a premium feel moving up here to the steering wheel we find one of Nissan's flat bottom steering wheel designs it's definitely an attractive look the new Nissan logo right there in the middle some relatively small sport grips up top but a comtable sort of three spoke design these very horizontal Spokes and then the split bottom spoke right there on the top of these spokes we do of course find more of that piano black again I'm a little bit concerned about scratching on that but the rest of the controls are logical and easy laid out uh and they're not touch controls which I appreciate so this controls that multi-function LCD cluster you get basically two looks the dials there or more of a linear theme with those dials horizontal there and if I go over to that home screen you can see that they expand out to some bigger horizontal uh displays there on this side we have the button for the adaptive cruise control system that is standard on every trim and then over here we have the turn signal stocks ref finded of course the headlight switch so they weren't trying to minimalize some of those switch switches like we find in GM's products uh this is the steering assist button heated steering wheel button and a button to disable the auto start stop so yep you can disable that now above that let's take a look at this very shiny piece of piano black uh obviously it's definitely very shiny but the other thing that I noticed is that even though this vehicle has just 572 M on it the piano black actually already shows a few fine scratches from its initial cleaning so that is one thing that I'm a little bit concerned about long term it's a bit difficult to see in the strong light but here you can see just barely the ambient lighting strip that's integrated into the dashboard it's over here flashing because of the refresh rate on the camera actually is a little bit easier to show you where it is uh because it's flashing like that but that's also a nice touch in a relatively inexpensive vehicle keep in mind that the MSRP for this model is under $3,000 including destination all right it's time to get N/A the kicks out on the road when it comes to acceleration there is something you should know about this CVT since I started from a stop the engine's just hanging out right there at 6,000 RPM kind of like a sewing machine that's not what happens if you start from say 5 or 10 mph so say we're already moving now I floor it wait for it wait for it now we're going to get shifts and the shifts are crisper than we've seen in some of of Nissan cvts in the past but it does mean that if you want to go from 0 to 60 the fastest possible you have to stop from a complete standstill then it will take 7.9 seconds that's our preliminary testing down here in Southern California my estimate from 5 mph to 60 MPH indicates that it actually adds about 2/10 of a second to the 0 to 60 time if you want to let it imitate those shifts whether or not that's pleasing to you I will let you decide but let know down there in the comment section because personally I would rather have a CVT just hang out there at a particular RPM not pretend like it's a stepped automatic transmission because that's going to be the most efficient and the quickest 0 to 60 now if you want to have more of a traditional CVT feel you can put the transmission in B for engine braking mode and here it's going to stay right around 4500 RPM and it's not going to do those imitation shifts so you do have a number of options when it comes to the stopping distance we measured 121 ft in our preliminary testing down here in Southern California keep in mind we're not testing on the usual Road surface so that could be a little bit shorter or a little bit longer by the time we get this home also keep in mind this Sr trim has 19-in wheels on it and 225 tires so these are a little bit wider than the tire you find in the base version now putting everything together when the road gets a little bit more winding this is certainly more engaging feeling than the previous generation of the kicks it doesn't seem like it has that much more power but there's a reason reasonable amount more low-end torque and they've really improved the transmission feel in this generation again we have those transmission shifts but they feel more believable more crisp and more like a traditional automatic transmission the combination of the new transmission and the suspension tuning definitely makes this more fun than the outgoing kicks although this is certainly firmer than the old kicks was when we're talking about ride quality you will definitely feel those minor imperfections coming through into the cabin and you will certainly hear more road noise than I had expected coming through into the cabin when the road surface is less than perfectly paved keep in mind of course these are the 19-in wheels with low profile tires so if you get the SV or the srim you're going to have more cushions so expect ride quality to be a little bit better in those models I am surprised however that even though this does not have the independent suspension in the back it's pretty well behaved over broken Pavement in these Corners here it definitely has a good feel to it I was able to drive both the front-wheel drive and the all-wheel drive model and I have to say that even as good as this is I would certainly choose the all-wheel drive model for my personal commute because I drive on fun winding roads all the time and it definitely has the edge when it comes to the suspension tuning the rear suspension does not become as upset over broken pavement again this is really well controlled but you will definitely feel the rear end skip a little bit over broken Pavement in some of these Corners we don't get that feel in the all-wheel drive model also you get better traction now admittedly that's not the biggest thing cuz this road service is not the best if I floor it no fuss no mus really no torque steer going on here because there's just not enough torque coming from the engine to worry about it on the other hand if you live in an area that gets snow ice really rainy area or you live on a gravel road like I do you might want to add all-wheel drive for that extra traction and that extra peace of mind because of course if I were to just pull slightly off the road here there is certainly enough power here to get some slip not a lot of slip mind you on that gravel section of the road but you can get some slip in the system now let's turn left on this highway and see how everything goes together again no drama there's enough power that it doesn't feel like you're going to get rear ended immediately and after a short while here we're already at the speed limit so it's not a big deal to merge onto highways like that now let's talk about the competition and talk about how this Stacks up the Chevy tracks obviously very direct competitive we're talking about the front-wheel drive model it does not have an independent rear suspension but I think it actually has a sportier Vibe than this I love the top end trim with really wide tires that is an awful lot of fun to drive I also appreciate the combination of the three-cylinder turbo and the six-speed automatic transmission I think that combo works really well if you're not a fan of turbos though this is the way to go but you have to have a CVT and cvts are really the norm in this segment you'll find them in just about every other option outside of something like the tracks certain versions of the Trailblazer of course the Mazda cx30 most of the competition however is going to be more expensive than the kicks and that's really the thing to keep in mind is a Hyundai Kona more fun is it faster yes and yes it's also more expensive is something like the Toyota Corolla cross going to be more fuel efficient if you get the hybrid absolutely but it's going to be about $88,000 more than this that's nearly 50% more over a day of mixed driving we've been averaging 282 mil per gallon we've been going up and over a mountain pass between here and Santa Barbara it's about 2200 ft or so so obviously that's going to have a impact on the fuel economy any way you slice it you'll get better fuel economy in a Nero or Corolla cross hybrid but be prepared to pay 7 to $8,000 more for those models and they're not going to be comparably equipped to the kicks those are going to be more expensive and of course if you want all-wheel drive that's available on the all-wheel drive Corolla cross hybrid but not an option at all in the Nero the other hand Nero is going to give you about 50 m per gallon are you ready for something cont Rial let's talk about how this Stacks up against the Mazda cx30 I don't think it's a cut and dry win for the Mazda yes the Mazda has more power yes it has a 2 and2 L turbo but it's also more expensive and in a number of ways it's not as practical it also does not feel as modern or as Tech Laden as this with this big two- screen setup in the dashboard especially considering this model is under $30,000 including destination you can get all-wheel drive in here now big improvement over for the previous generation but also we get much better interior finishes in here and the previous generation definitely couldn't hold a candle to the interior of the Mazda oddly this now can and we have nice touches like the premium surround sound system here the adaptive cruise control that is standard in this model the improved CVT Etc the cx30 I think is a better vehicle but is it better enough to justify the price tag especially given the fact that no version of the Mazda is ever going to have a fully independent rear suspension and no version of the Mazda is really going to have tires that are wider than this either so absolute grip numbers are really not that far off and the rear suspension is no better composed than the model I'm driving here you actually can get the rear suspension of that cx30 upset over broken pavement you will really notice that if driving it back to back to a a Hyundai Kona or a Kia SOS or something along those lines or even an all-wheel drive Nissan kicks now let's get down to Brass tax how much is the N/A new kicks going to cost you well including destination the base version is 23,2 120 it looks very much like the model we're looking at here but there are some things to keep in mind the srim is not going to get the twin LCD setup we see here instead it gets two 7-in LCDs in the dashboard and neither of them supports smartphone projection so if you're a fan of Android auto or apple carplay you're going to have to step up the line into the SV trim and at that point you have some additional decisions to make because the SV in front-wheel drive form is $257 and it's going to be more like what we see here it's going to have the same infotainment system it's going to have the smaller LCD instrument cluster of course and it is going to have smaller Wheels but they're going to be Alloys or for about the same price you could add all-wheel drive to the bass trim 24720 is the least expensive all-wheel drive model for about $300 more you could choose the SV with more stuff but you have to give up the independent suspension and of course the all-wheel drive traction on the other hand you gain the bigger LCD you gain Wireless carplay and wireless Android auto support and you get the alloy wheels as well you also have the option of adding things like a moonroof to the SV trim and heated seats those are not features that are available in the base model but they're still optional in that SV of course if you want an Sr like we're looking at here this is going to be at least $ 27,578 3-in LCD system the 360° camera system and the option to add not just the moonroof which is still optional but also the Bose personal audio system and Allin the most expensive Sr trim possible is going to be just over $331,000 so we're not talking about an enormous price tag and that's the big thing to keep in mind with the kicks this is going to be significantly less expensive than a wide variety of its direct competition if we're simply talking about all-wheel drive as an option you're going to pay about3 $3,000 more for that in something like the Hyundai Kona or in a Chevy Trailblazer so whichever direction you go in all-wheel drive is going to be more expensive also if you want features like the panoramic moon roof that we find in this model or something akin to the Bose personal audio system we find in this topend Sr trim you're certainly going to be spending more than $30,000 for those features and this model as equipped is just under $30,000 you have to choose the all-wheel drive option and the uh particular dual color paint options in order to get this over 31 including destination this is one of a very limited number of new vehicles you can buy for 2025 actually out the door for under $25,000 if you really only have $25,000 to spend average sales tax in the US plus tax title license destination charge Etc this can actually be under 25 will you be able to get all-wheel drive for under 25 no that's going to depend on the state you live in but it's going to be pretty darn close and we know that generally speaking the kicks has sold a little bit below MSRP so if you really want one and you really want the best deal on one you might want to wait about a year after this has been on sale there probably going to be some slightly better discounts on it at that time especially versus something like the HRV or the Toyota Corolla cross and honestly this is one of the best looking entries in this segment now I like this just about as much as I like the kiao I think that really has a distinctive and very practical boxy look but we have a bigger cargo area in the back this cargo area is pretty similarly sized to many compact Crossovers and this is technically in the next category down the subc compact category so you get nearly compact category size inside for a much smaller price tag with honestly very few compromises especially for talking about the very top endms with the twin LCDs and the dashboard Etc the N/A kicks is not the fastest or the most dynamic entry in this segment if you want something like that you're going to have to pay an awful lot more however but it holds its own even when pitted against some of the more classic good driving options like the Mazda cx30 the cx30 is going to be more expensive than this yes it offers a 22 lit turbo but you're going to be paying considerably more for that fully loaded cx30 than this and oddly enough it's not actually going to have an independent suspension in the back something that is offered in the kicks but is not offered at any price in the Mazda 3 let me know what you would pick down there in the comment section below again the value Focus here is what's really the important thing to keep in mind with the kicks it's not the best in the segment but I do think unquestionably it is the best value in the segment and that is exactly what Nissan was going for with the kicks let me know what you think about that down there in the comment section below and if you're shopping for a kicks which model would you pick personally I would skip the base srim it doesn't have Wireless smartphone integration actually doesn't have any smartphone integration at all I would really start with the SV trim which is going to be right around $25,000 or just op for the SR trim fully loaded for about $330,000 all-wheel drive that's up to you there is going to be be a difference in terms of the rear suspension Dynamics but it's not going to be the biggest deal for a lot of shoppers out there and you are going to save not only a little bit of money to buy the vehicle but you'll get one mile per gallon better fuel economy and of course you can still put things like the sunroof and the Bose personal audio system on that front-wheel drive model as well see all of you [Music] later for