Volvo Introduces the 2025 EX30
Volvo’s 2025 EX30 might just be the bite-size electric crossover that catapults Volvo’s sales into new territory. In addition to a trove of pictures and details, we also have the…
The 2023 Nissan Kicks may not be as cool as the Juke that it replaced here in the U.S., but it offers a solid mix of style and substance for the price. No all-wheel drive, but you shouldn’t take the Kicks too far off the pavement anyway considering it’s only working with 122 horsepower and a CVT. For just under $26k, however, you get a lot out of features and room for four average-sized adults. Without offering AWD, however, is it any better than a true hatchback?
The Kicks received a refresh for the 2021 model year that brought along a more familial V-Motion grille and a obligatory light bar accent across the rear hatch (it doesn’t actually illuminate, though). My tester was a fully-loaded SR trim with the two-tone blue body/black roof and the $495 accessory black 16″ wheels. It also came with the ‘Exterior Package’ – roof rail crossbars and the single chrome exhaust, both factory-installed. Like the Chevy Trailblazer, these elements give it extra visual flair that other competitors don’t even bother attempting to exude. The Kicks wears its size well, too, with short overhangs front and rear.
With 7″ of ground clearance, the Kicks is actually higher off the ground than some much larger crossovers. It is a narrow vehicle with narrow tires (205 mm), but the proportions work. The SR trim has full-LED headlights, LED amber turn signals, and LED fog lights, while the taillights keep the incandescent turn signals from lower trims. The subcompact crossover is in a really large category, and size-wise the Kicks falls pretty much right in the middle. There are smaller entries like the Hyundai Venue, similar-sized ones like the Honda HR-V, and larger ones like the Subaru Crosstrek. Thanks to the Kicks’ tall-hatchback shape, cargo and passenger space is not penalized too drastically.
The Kicks SR with the SR Premium package has a decent roster of features for the price, but interior materials do not get much better than the base model. This package enhances the tangible look and feel where it matters most, though: synthetic leather seats that are heated up front, a heated steering wheel, plus the NissanConnect infotainment services and the excellent Bose Personal Plus sound system. This Bose-branded system isn’t as good as the CenterPoint variant found in the latest Mazdas, but it’s still one of the best in this segment out of the box. The speaker in the driver’s head rest allows you to increase the size of the sound stage of the eight total speakers (essentially the area of space around you that’s filled by the audio mix), and it’s more than a gimmicky feature. It really gives the driver a unique listening experience, one that only they will be able to experience.
In the cold Detroit winter, it was nice having the heated steering wheel and heated seats. They all fire up pretty rapidly, as does the single-zone automatic climate control. The dashboard has a synthetic leather wrapping up top with orange accent stitching. The start button positioned on the center console north of the shifter ups the sporty vibe, though the lingering circular molding on the steering column where the ignition switch on lesser trims usually lives is a polite reminder that you’re still driving one of Nissan’s least expensive models.
Then you see the partial-LCD instrument cluster and snappy infotainment screen, reminding you that when tech becomes mainstream, it ends up trickling down to lower-cost models. Not only that, but the Kicks offers features that other competitors simply don’t. You won’t find an instrument cluster that big or a 360-degree camera on any 2024 Subaru Crosstrek, for example.
Interior space benefits from the Kicks’ tall shape, so front and rear head room are commendable for me at 5′ 9″. Rear leg room is also usable for the outboard positions, and Nissan gives you two USB-c charge ports. You could like still fit the largest child seats back there no problem. There are no rear air vents, but that’s to be expected. When you get around to the trunk you’ll find 25.3 cubic-feet of space with the seats up, 53.1 with them folded. That’s very competitive with models that are larger on the outside, even besting the new Crosstrek behind the second row. When the second row is folded, there is about of foot of elevation separating the floor behind the seat and the seat backs themselves.
The Kicks is powered solely by a 122-horsepower 1.6L naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder, front-wheel drive, and a CVT transmission. Thanks to the car’s low curb weight of 2,685 pounds, fuel economy is pretty commendable at 31 mpg city, 36 highway, and 33 combined. There aren’t any direct competitors that offer hybrid or electric powertrains, so these numbers remain competitive. If you’re looking for four-wheel traction, you’ll need to step all the way up to a Rogue, as Nissan no longer offers the Rogue Sport in America.
In my 0-60 mph testing of the Kicks, it managed a respectable 9.77 seconds. These days the Mitsubishi Mirage is really the only thing slower, but the era of double-digit acceleration times in new vehicles is quickly coming to an end. Normally, I’d say the CVT here is the elephant in the room, but bringing into mind the competitive set, it is actually nothing to complain about. Nissan’s tuning of the transmission works better with this low-output engine than with the VC-Turbo in the Altima. In that car, the transmission couldn’t decide whether to drone like a typical CVT or simulate gear shifts, causing major inconsistencies with power delivery. Here, it’s always doing the correct things to get you up to speed as quickly as possible, then settles back down for better fuel efficiency.
The Kicks is a 2,800-pound vehicle riding on 205-mm-wide tires. As such, while you shouldn’t push it too hard in the corners, it actually does a decent job at braking and maintaining traction in wetter conditions (thank the rubber for that). It took them 135 feet to get the car from 60 mph back to 0, all while feeling very solid and linear, never mushy, with no dead space – the key pillars of sound brakes. I don’t think it’s necessary for me to dwell on handling too much because that’s not exactly the mission of this car. You can find the Kicks’ limits in no time, exposing its lack of sportiness, but that shouldn’t pull your attention away from the rest of the car’s value. Nothing at this size and price drives like a Porsche.
Let’s talk about ride quality. It’s actually really good in the Kicks, especially out on the highway where I spend a lot of my time driving in Detroit. The suspension is quite compliant, even with the short wheelbase. It exhibits no distracting levels of pitch or bounce, while staying planted and stable at highway speeds. A passing crosswind or a passing large vehicle will cause the Kicks’ body to shake a bit, but that’s because this is a tiny car that isn’t very heavy. The new Honda HRV feels pretty comparable to this, and I didn’t think that model felt any faster than this. The Kicks definitely feels more sorted than the Jeep offerings like the Compass and Renegade, though.
Cabin noise at 50 mph came in at a pretty reasonable 61 decibels. That is a lot lower than I was expecting, but this is still a somewhat noisy vehicle. The Bose premium audio system is excellent and utilizes a speaker in the driver’s headrest to increase the size of the cabin sound stage, and I think it does a very convincing job. In my fuel economy test loop, I managed 31 miles per gallon, but that was with a mix of highway and city roads. At the end of the week the average had dropped down to 26 mpg. Keep in mind that there is no sport mode or any way to reduce fuel economy other than loading the vehicle’s payload. If you’re expecting Prius-like fuel economy, you’re just not going to find it here. There is no hybrid version and that is a shame because overseas in Europe and Japan and everywhere else in Asia, you’ll find cars like this with hybrid powertrains. The last time we got something like that here in the U.S. was when the Toyota Prius C was available.
I actually really enjoyed my time with the Nissan Kicks. I think its combination of creature comforts and comfortable ride for a bargain price make it feel like a bigger success story than the more expensive things coming out these days. Aside from the front seats, I had no problem getting back into this car every day. Like the 10+ second 0-60 mph times, gone are the days of the lowest end of the market forcing you into a penalty box. Nissan continues to demonstrate its stronghold over the economical end of the market with this model. Most people who find themselves behind the wheel of a Kicks are going to be very satisfied with what it brings to the table, especially the younger new-car shoppers.
The Kicks starts at a very reasonable $21,755 (including destination) with standard features like automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, rear automatic braking, and a 7″ infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. My tester was a fully-loaded SR trim, which starts right at $23,000 but can be optioned up to $27,00 if you choose the most expensive two-tone paint, the black wheels and the SR Premium package. That package adds the Bose Personal Plus sound system, synthetic leather seats with orange accents and stitching (heated up front), a heated steering wheel, and the NissanConnect infotainment services. This car also came with the ‘Exterior Package’ ($435).which brings the roof rail crossbars and the single chrome exhaust, both factory-installed. All-in cost – $26,665; but even without those packages, the SR trim already gives you things like LED headlights, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a 360-degree surround-view camera, and LED fog lights.
