2022 Nissan Kicks Review: Leaning Into Affordability

Design | Consolation | Expertise | Efficiency | Security | Effectivity | Value | FAQs

The needle on affordability has moved. Vehicles that after price $30,000 now are available nearer to $40,000, and people $20,000 base fashions have gotten even more durable to search out. The Nissan Kicks stays one in every of only a handful of automobiles that begins at round $20,000 – $21,285 with vacation spot, to be precise. And so far as reasonably priced excellence goes, the Kicks units a excessive bar.

Though it might not be the quickest or most dynamic, the Nissan Kicks provides top-tier gasoline financial system and a great deal of inside house for that very good beginning value. Plus the tech is fairly good for the phase, too.

A car’s rankings are relative solely to its personal phase and never the new-vehicle market as an entire. For extra on how Motor1.com charges automobiles, click on right here.

25 Pictures

• Exterior Coloration: Scarlett Ember / Tremendous Black
• Inside Coloration: Black
• Wheel Measurement: 17 Inches

The Nissan Kicks seems completely common. Though the “Double V-Movement” grille and slim headlights (a part of the 2021 replace) add an excessive amount of face to the small SUV, the general design remains to be pleasing. The Kicks has a pleasant tapered form, a cool two-tone choice (for $645), and blacked-out 17-inch wheels on this SR trim (for $495).

The supplies within the cabin border on under common, even for the category. The cabin is clear and uncluttered with easy black leatherette on many of the surfaces and soft-touch plastics on the sprint. Even the fake aluminum trim items on the steering wheel and shift knob have a pleasant matte end to them, however then once more, there are some low-cost plastics elsewhere.

• Seating Capability: 5
• Seating Configuration: 2 / 3
• Cargo Capability: 25.3 / 53.1 Cubic Ft

The Kicks has a lot room for actions. It is one of many prime canine by way of rear house and is a really comfy place to take a seat to your 6-foot-tall writer. The Kicks nonetheless has the very best cargo house in all the phase, too, boasting a roomy 25.3 cubes behind the again seat.

The entrance seats are form-fitting and really comfy, and despite the fact that you possibly can’t get actual leather-based on the Kicks, the Prima-Tex leatherette is sort of as mushy and supple as the true factor. The again seats are extra conventional by way of a second-row bench, missing some help and cushioning, however the ample house makes up for it.

However like another entry-level crossovers, the Kicks might be loud at freeway speeds. Sound deadening is sub-par and permits an excessive amount of wind and tire noise to enter the cabin at over 50 miles per hour. The powertrain additionally protests fairly aggressively getting as much as these speeds. No less than the Kicks is completely quiet round city.

• Middle Show: 8.0-Inch Touchscreen
• Instrument Cluster Show: 7.0 Inches
• Wi-fi Apple CarPlay / Android Auto: No

Though the bottom Kicks S nonetheless will get a 7.0-inch touchscreen, the mid-range SV or prime SR fashions web you a bigger 8.0-inch touchscreen with an additional USB-C port, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and Nissan’s ubiquitous infotainment system. The graphics nonetheless look a contact dated and contact responsiveness is a bit laggy, but it surely’s a simple system to make use of basically.

This automotive comes with the $1,200 Premium bundle, which provides a Bose eight-speaker audio system with audio system embedded within the headrests. Having that kind of expertise is uncommon at this value level it delivers an superior sound.

• Engine: 1.6-Liter 4-Cylinder
• Output: 125 Horsepower / 115 Pound-Ft
• Transmission: Repeatedly Variable Transmission

As you’d count on, the Kicks is nothing to put in writing dwelling about from a efficiency standpoint. Its 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine sends 125 horsepower and 115 pound-feet of torque to the entrance wheels by way of a constantly variable transmission. It has simply sufficient pep for puttering round city so long as you keep on the throttle, however there’s barely sufficient energy to get the Kicks up to the mark on freeway onramps.

So far as dealing with goes, the Kicks has a comparatively athletic suspension for the category, however there’s nonetheless a number of physique roll. And the numb steering really feel makes it arduous to gauge what the car is doing in corners.

• Driver Help Stage: SAE Stage 1 (Palms-On)
• NHTSA Score: 4 Stars
• IIHS Score: Not TSP / TSP+

Each 2022 Kicks comes customary with Nissan’s Security Defend 360. That features issues like automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, high-beam help, and rear automated emergency braking. Nissan remains to be the one producer to supply rear automated emergency braking on a crossover that begins at round $20,000

Choosing the SR mannequin examined right here provides you entry to extra superior security options like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise management.

• Metropolis: 31 MPG
• Freeway: 36 MPG
• Mixed: 33 MPG

• Base Value: $19,990 + $1,295 Vacation spot
• Trim Base Value: $21,285
• As-Examined Value: $25,930

The Nissan Kicks remains to be one of the crucial reasonably priced crossovers in the marketplace. It begins at $21,285 with the $1,295 vacation spot payment included. Solely the Kia Soul and Hyundai Venue are extra reasonably priced. The highest-of-the-line Kicks SR begins at $23,415 and the car examined right here is available in at $26,185 post-options.

The priciest choice is the $1,200 Premium Bundle, which provides the bangin’ Bose audio system, heated fake leather-based seats, a heated steering wheel, satellite tv for pc radio, and a Wi-Fi hotspot. The 2-tone paint is one other $645, the 17-inch wheels are $495, and the carpeted ground mats are $295.

However even at $26,185 with choices, the Nissan Kicks looks like an absolute steal. A great deal of room, best-in-class gasoline financial system, and upgraded expertise as a part of a 2021 replace make this tiny crossover nonetheless the most effective reasonably priced choices on the market.