The Nissan Kicks is a cheap automobile, however it’s not low-cost. Updated for 2021, this likable subcompact crossover affords a great deal of high-end options and loads of inside house, all at a bargain-basement worth. This refreshed five-door advantages from extra commonplace know-how, some minor inside adjustments and, maybe most importantly, enhanced exterior styling. New wheel designs are supplied, plus SV and SR trims achieve rear disc brakes. At each ends, the Kicks’ bumpers are reworked and there is a new, way more rugged-looking grille that dispenses with the outgoing mannequin’s cheeky cuteness. This automobile’s new face is far hardier than earlier than, extra in step with the remainder of Nissan’s utility-vehicle lineup. Top-shelf SR fashions additionally include high-tech trying multireflector LED headlights.Keeping issues attention-grabbing, seven exterior paint colours are supplied, together with three new hues. The Kicks can also be out there with 5 two-tone combos, together with Electric Blue with a Super Black roof, which is what you see right here. It’s a sharp-looking coloration scheme and I applaud Nissan for providing two-tone paintjobs on its autos.
This crossover’s inside is a no-nonsense affair, with a simple dashboard format. The local weather controls really feel good and are easy to function, plus each the entrance and rear seats are supportive and comfortably elevated so it does not really feel such as you’re plopped on the ground. Yes, there’s loads of laborious plastic within the Kicks, however none of it’s gross-looking or fragile. Its fuzzy headliner is about the one inside element that is tacky.Gussying issues up, the optionally available Premium Package contains engaging vinyl seating surfaces. Not solely do they really feel good, they appear good, too, accentuated with contrast-color stitching. Aside from that, this package deal additionally brings a heated steering wheel and heated entrance seats to the desk, in addition to an upscale Bose sound system with eight audio system, together with some within the driver’s seat headrest. This is a stable providing and I really like these headrest-mounted sound emitters. They actually assist present an immersive listening expertise.
Despite its affordability, the Kicks’ inside is sturdy, cheerful and spacious.
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Up entrance, slightly extra space for storing could be good as the middle console is kind of small, however there’s a stunning quantity of cargo room with the rear backrests up. Fold them down and also you get a hell of much more junk-hauling house even when the load ground is way from flat.
Despite its small dimensions and inexpensive worth, this Nissan comes commonplace with all types of helpful know-how together with rear automated braking, lane-departure warning and blind-spot monitoring. Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear cross-traffic alert and even automated excessive beams are included at no additional value as properly. Handy satellite tv for pc audio controls on the steering wheel and even Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are baked proper into each single variant.Beyond that commonplace tools, my top-trim SR take a look at mannequin is fitted with some premium options, like specific up and down entrance home windows, keyless entry with push-button begin, automated brake maintain and adaptive cruise management. (Unfortunately, Nissan’s glorious ProPilot Assist adaptive cruise with lane centering isn’t supplied.) It even has an important 360-degree digicam system that is higher than what you get in lots of much-more-expensive Toyotas today, and it has one roof-mounted seize deal with at every outboard seating place. This final merchandise might not sound necessary, however it’s a pleasant contact, particularly in a low-cost automobile.It’s not very potent, however at the least this 1.6-liter engine is environment friendly.
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As for speeds and feeds, the Base S mannequin comes with a 7-inch touchscreen show, however the SV and SR variants characteristic a barely extra expansive 8-incher. This panel is residence to an infotainment system that is merely sufficient. Visually, it appears fairly outdated, however it will get the job executed, plus, if you are going to use CarPlay or Android Auto, it does not actually matter. Just plug your telephone into one of many three commonplace USB type-A ports (a type-C outlet is obtainable in SV and SR fashions) and do not look again. SV and SR fashions additionally include a useful driver-information middle within the instrument cluster. With a 7-inch display screen, it is easy to learn and kid’s play to reconfigure. The out there Premium Package talked about earlier additionally provides a number of high-tech goodies, together with over-the-air updates for the top unit and an in-vehicle Wi-Fi hotspot.Nestled behind the Kicks’ more-aggressive grille is a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. With such small displacement and no pressured induction, it’s, not surprisingly, somewhat anemic. Horsepower measures 122 whereas torque clocks in at simply 114 pound-feet, in all probability about as a lot as you get in low gear on a Huffy bike. As earlier than, a repeatedly variable transmission sends these items solely to the entrance tires since all-wheel drive isn’t supplied.Relatively easy and quiet, this engine is nonetheless overmatched. Yes, it will get the job executed, that CVT maximizing its meager output, however by no means does it make the Kicks really feel agile or responsive. Merging and passing maneuvers have to be deliberate properly prematurely — or prevented altogether — as there’s treasured little efficiency in reserve. But hey, what this scrappy crossover lacks in outright giddy-up is greater than made up for in effectivity. The Kicks ought to return 31 miles per gallon within the metropolis and 36 mpg on freeway drives. Expect 33 mpg mixed, a determine I had no bother matching in real-world testing.This Nissan’s experience high quality in all fairness refined, although do not anticipate it to soak up and digest bumps like a Rolls-Royce. Impact harshness is low and the suspension irons out a lot of the highway’s grittiness, although the experience is usually a little bit uneven at occasions, seemingly due to the quick, 103.1-inch wheelbase. You might do lots worse than the Nissan Kicks… like shopping for a Ford EcoSport, as an illustration.
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Toss the Kicks right into a nook and it responds with a bit extra physique roll than I’m used to today. It’s not horrifying, however it does often really feel tippy. Unfortunately, the steering is just too gentle and completely synthesized.But the refreshed Kicks is as soon as once more an important worth. The base S mannequin begins at $20,595, together with $1,095 in supply charges. That’s a rise of simply 430 bucks in comparison with the same 2020 model. Full pricing might be introduced nearer to its on-sale date, which is predicted to be in February, although even a loaded-up SR variant needs to be extraordinarily inexpensive, seemingly topping out within the mid-20s.While removed from a driver’s automobile, the Nissan Kicks nonetheless impresses due to its beneficiant commonplace tools, out there tech and customarily nice inside. If you are purchasing for a subcompact crossover just like the Honda HR-V, Toyota C-HR or Chevy Trax, try the Kicks, it would simply shock you.