2025 Nissan Kicks Up Close: Maturing, But Not Too Much
Cheap cars are increasingly all the rage these days, as automakers start to realize that with the continuing high interest rates and price hikes on everything, affordability is a serious concern for new buyers. Seeing Nissan send its entry-level Kicks SUV some love and attention is a great thing for buyers, as it has been one of the more affordable sub-$30,000 entries on the market for some time. For the 2025 model year, the Nissan Kicks grows up a bit — and out — and gains a bit of weight. But the changes we saw in person on the floor of the 2024 New York International Auto Show are necessary to keep the Kicks competitive with new arrivals on the scene like the outstanding Chevrolet Trax and Buick Envista, both of which can be had loaded for less than thirty grand.
Sexy Lookin’ Sneaks
The styling update to the Kicks is frankly fantastic. It went from being an oddly proportioned, kinda dumpy-looking tall-wagon thing to now being what legitimately looks like a proper SUV. Taller, wider and longer, the Kicks has more space both underneath (with an 8.4-inch ride height) and inside (with an inch more rear legroom for backseat passengers).
The exterior styling looks more sophisticated and mature, and in the case of the top SR trim, more interesting as well with the red-painted roof and mirror caps. The 19-inch wheels are also 2 inches larger than the outgoing model’s biggest wheels, but in my experience, big wheels on a cheap car with a basic suspension just tend to make for a bouncy, unpleasant ride on rough surfaces. We’ll have to see how well the Kicks handles the streets later this year. It certainly looks good, though.
Just a Tad Bigger on the Inside
The upgrades over the old Kicks continue to the interior as well, making it a lot nicer than the outgoing model. It’ll come in three trim levels: S, SV and the top SR. The lower two trim levels get a black cloth interior, but this SR model gets a mix of faux black leather and red cloth inserts, which looks fantastic. The red accents abound in there, from the shifter surround to the stitching, and it really makes the whole place pop. Materials quality is a dramatic step up, at least in the top SR, easily besting many competitors.
New and noteworthy is the screen setup: The top option combines a big 12.3-inch instrument panel screen with a 12.3-inch touchscreen running Nissan’s latest multimedia system. The S and SV versions get a 7-inch cluster screen, while the S also gets a 7-inch touchscreen. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come with the SV and SR trims.
There’s a bit less room in the front seat than in the outgoing Kicks, but there’s plenty of headroom thanks to the taller roof. Even with the optional panoramic moonroof, there was plenty of space between the top of my head and the headliner. The second row is acceptable, not as huge as some like the Trax or Envision, but it should be okay for shorter rides. Cargo room is up, too, by nearly 5 cubic feet with the rear seats up, according to Nissan’s measurements, so there’s more room for people and stuff in the Kicks.
Finally a Proper SUV, Too
We’ve always been kind of loath to include the Kicks among other actual SUVs when we do multi-vehicle testing or at awards time, because until now, it’s always just been front-wheel drive only. All-wheel drive has always been our determinant of a “tall wagon” versus an actual SUV. That changes with the 2025 model, as AWD is now an option.
Other mechanical changes include a new, larger engine: a 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 141 horsepower and 140 pounds-feet of torque. No, that’s not a lot, and while it might’ve provided a performance boost to the old Kicks, the new one is up to more than 500 pounds heavier than the outgoing model, so your power-to-weight ratio really isn’t any different. And the engine is still mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission, which likely nobody is happy about, so we’re not expecting the Kicks’ performance to be any better than the old one. We’re just hoping the added weight includes more sound insulation, because the last Kicks would rev its heart out on acceleration, and it was never a pleasant sound.
We don’t have pricing yet for the new Kicks, as that’ll come closer to the on-sale date later this summer, but given that the field of affordable cars is only getting more competitive, it’s a safe bet that the Kicks isn’t going to see its price go up by too much. It’s a much more appealing product now than it was, and we’ll be eager to put it up against the hot sellers from other brands later this year.
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