SHARP Drives: Ride Along Inside the 2025 Nissan Kicks
What better way to get to know a car than to cruise down the coast, with an open road in front of you, palm trees above and the sparkling blue of the ocean alongside? Honestly, none we can think of, so it was very apropos that we recently headed down to sunny Santa Barbara, California, to be one of the first to get behind the wheel of the all-new, next-generation 2025 Nissan Kicks. The freshly redesigned Kicks is the brand’s statement-making entry-level compact crossover designed ideally for the city driver.
Getting a glow-up from the previous generation, the new Nissan Kicks features a nice, exciting exterior. The street-smart design was inspired by high-end sneakers’ agility, toughness, vibrancy and energy, which acted as a starting point when working on the design. The parametric pattern on the front grille was directly inspired by the sole of sneakers, which, combined with the front fascia, creates a visually striking impression. With the squared-off full-width LED taillights, the eye is naturally carried along the sweeping body line from front to rear, landing on the subtle roof spoiler. The 2025 model is also 2.8 inches longer than the previous generation, 0.9 inches taller, and 1.6 inches wider. The ground clearance is up 1.4 inches from 7 to 8.4 inches, giving the vehicle a more robust and impressive appearance and adding interior space.
The interior of the 2025 Kicks has also been improved and beefed up with a significant upgrade in available tech. Featuring a 12.3-inch instrument panel and touchscreen infotainment system, which offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The top model, Kicks SR Premium, comes with a 10-speaker Bose audio system, with speakers in the driver and passenger seat headrests. All this helps to deliver a crisp, clean and lifelike sound throughout the cabin.
The rest of the interior has also been vamped up, with improved materials and a design that offers contemporary and stylish touches. An ambient light bar runs through the door panels and dashboard, a panoramic moonroof, an option not often seen in this class, a wireless charging pad, and some two-cup holders big enough for your Stanley Cup to fit in. Another first for the Kicks is that both rows of seats now use Nissan’s Zero Gravity seating design, which helps distribute weight and pressure across the bodies for a more comfortable seating position.
Employing a 2.0-liter inline-four engine rated for 141 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque, coupled with the latest generation of Nissan’s Xtronic transmission. This is also the first time Intelligent All-Wheel Drive has been offered in the Kicks. With the AWD comes the “Snow” driving mode that adjusts the logic of the all-wheel drive with specific tuning for slippery surfaces. The Yaw control uses targeted brake application when cornering in snow or ice.
Safety is also a primary feature in the Kicks with the Nissan Safety Shield, which includes Intelligent Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Rear Automatic Braking, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Departure Warning, and High Beam Assist.
All that is great, but we were here for some California cruising, and that’s what we did. We could see how the new Kicks performed by driving up through the winding roads, into the hills high above the coast and weaving around the area before circling back along the beach. Nissan has made the Kicks a smoother, quieter ride with improved front suspension stiffness, a thicker carpet area for sound absorption, higher wheels, and an added rear fender liner for higher absorption. It also features increased insulation intended for engine noise reduction during acceleration. This works best when travelling around 50kph or driving in the city. This tends to diminish significantly once you hit speed on the highway, as you can hear and feel the road as you go.
The 0-60kph isn’t the best time, but it isn’t the worst. But it does take some getting used to before you’re comfortable with highway passing. The handling is good, and corners are easy if you stay in the Kicks comfort zone, which, as mentioned before, is around the 40-60kph range. This reinforced that the Kicks is a great city car and an excellent step into the crossover line of automobiles. With its size and price tag (do you want to put that in), this is the best entry-level compact crossover for all your city driving.
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