2018 Nissan Kicks SR

 
 

For this week’s review we’ve gotten our hands on the all new 2018 Nissan Kicks in North America. This is Nissan’s 6th crossover in their line up. It is also the smallest and least expensive.

Disclosure: Nissan Canada provided me with the 2018 Nissan Kicks for a week to test drive, and photograph. All photos in this blog post was taken by me. #NissanKicks

ACCELERATION: 7.25/10

  • 1.6L I4 - 125 HP @ 5800 & 115 lb-ft @ 4000

  • Continuously Variable Automatic Transmission

  • 9.7 second 0-100 km/hr

BRAKING: 7/10

  • Stopping distance from 100-0 is really good. 129 ft.

  • In the ST trim you’ll have better brakes, and larger wheels improving the stopping distance to 108 ft!

HANDLING: 8/10

  • Low curb weight make it very confident in turns

RIDE: 7.25/10

  • Suspensions are on the stiffer end but not as punishing as the CX3. While I enjoyed the road feel of the kicks my passengers felt the ride was too rough.

ECONOMY: 10/10

  • 31/36/33- City/Highway/Combined

  • Class leading fuel economy

CABIN NOISE: 8/10

  • Road and wind noise is controlled well but the engine noise is pretty noticeable when getting up to speed.

EXTERIOR: 7.5/10

  • Instantly recognisable as a Nissan with the U shape grill

  • Offers up to 5 two-tone paint schemes

INTERIOR FOR DRIVER: 8.5/10

  • Seats are comfy for it’s class but there are no power adjust controls

  • Overall styling is very appealing and different from what I’m use to seeing from Nissan

  • Nice feeling steering wheel with sport grips and flat bottoms.

  • Great visibility for the driver when checking the blind spot and rear.

INTERIOR FOR PASSENGERS: 8.5/10

  • Rear leg and head room is good, and nearly at the top of it’s class.

INTERIOR STORAGE: 9/10

  • Seats fold down as a 60/40 style

  • Beats the HRV for trunk capacity, formerly the best in this segment.

  • Seats don’t fold perfectly flat

INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM: 7.5/10

  • Don’t really mind the system but could use a face lift to modernise the graphics to match the young and stylish interior.

  • Supports Apple Car Play & Android Auto for mid and upper level trims.

  • No map system in my tester. Although I could use my smart phone, if I drove to an area where I didn’t have data then I’d be out of luck.

OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE 2018 Nissan Kicks:

Nissan’s 2018 Kicks is an urban vehicle that offers a lot of features for a very reasonable price. The class leading economy is a great bonus and the roomy specs make it easy to pass as a family vehicle.

Car enthusiast will complain it doesn’t come in AWD and not considered a true cross over but in reality, most people who buy vehicles in this segment get the FWD option. I’ve personally driven FWD only vehicles for 15+ years in Toronto where we receive tons of snow and have never felt it was dangerous to be driving in snowy roads. With a decent set of winter tires you’ll be fine in the city.

For an entry level vehicle I was impressed by the quality of the materials offered. The premium sound system was a nice surprise. Nissan hit their target demographic by offering a vehicle loaded with features and styled to appeal to the younger buyers at a comfortable price.

Nissan deserves a lot of credit for fitting a lot into the Kicks at a very small price. It looks a lot more expensive than it is.

 
 
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