It's tough to know about every vehicle available for sale in North America. Even if you focus on a few of your favorite manufacturers, it turns out that for every popular model, they have another that few people have heard of. It's understandable when you think about the fact that most car companies nowadays want to cover the popular styles - compact SUV, family SUV, sedan, entry level, pickup trucks, even vans and other commercial-ready vehicles - and then have a range of models and trim levels for each. No wonder we buyers get confused!
Nissan is the same and even as it's revved its lineup and made some significant improvements to the fit, finish, and drive experience over the last few years, there are still a few models that might be new to you. Like the Kicks subcompact SUV. I'm not sure that it's entry level given that this model is $31K out the door, but maybe in the 2025 car market, that is an entry level price. I get to drive a lot of swanky cars as an auto writer, but I'm also interested in vehicles aimed at regular folk with an average paycheck.
When the local Nissan team invited me to spend a week driving the 2025 Nissan Kicks SR AWD I said "yes please" while secretly trying to remember if I'd ever seen a Kicks on the road. It replaced the Juke a few years ago in the Nissan lineup and turns out to be a delightful little subcompact SUV that offers a fun driving experience and great looks, coupled with impressive fuel efficiency. The unit they dropped off was an interesting two-tone color scheme with the rather unimaginative name of "2T Gun Red Roof". Here's the Kicks:
As you can see, it's a very attractive little SUV. It's smaller than either the Toyota RAV-4 or the Mazda CX-5 by a good few inches in all dimensions. Still, it's a comfortable enough vehicle for the driver and front passenger, at least, but I'll talk about space trade-offs in a bit. For now, notice the "SR" badging: "Sports Rally" trim offers some sporty updates to the appearance so it's not just a basic grey box. I found the trim quite attractive, and particularly appreciated the wheels that are borrowed from a Nissan Ariya [read my Ariya review here].
Now, look at the photo and tell me: Do you like the two-tone colors and what they chose to keep grey and make red? To my eye, it's a bit of a mishmash versus a more integrated two-tone design. Anyway...
Swinging into the vehicle, here's the dashboard:
A nice, easily understood design that features a surprisingly big 12.3" infotainment screen and a smartly designed center console with generous cupholders. Notice that the red accent appears on the gear shift and in the seat pattern and stitching.
Speaking of the center console...
A simple, straightforward design with a classic gear shift that even the oldest of fogeys can understand. No new-fangled knobs or buttons or complex shifting patterns to zig-zag so you can get into reverse.
The space behind the gear shift is the Qi wireless charging pad, and it also features two USB-C ports for wired charging and power. The button on the right is drive mode, allowing you to switch to the appropriate mode for road conditions.
The steering wheel controls were basic, with audio and (relatively limited) controls over the main info display on the left, and cruise control and voice interaction on the right. The blue button enables Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC), the Nissan version of adaptive. I found ICC worked well in traffic, one of a long list of additional smarts and safety features included with the Kicks, including pedestrian detection, lane departure warnings, intersection assist, high beam assist, and cross-traffic alerts.
One of the best features of modern entry level vehicles is that all the amazing developments in safety tech are now standard across manufacturer's entire lineups, so all of the Nissan safety tech is standard in the Kicks. That makes modern vehicles considerably safer to drive than the entry level vehicles of even five years ago. Will everything have autonomous driving and chatty on-board AI in a decade? We'll have to see...
Speaking of safety, I was intrigued by the headrest design:
At first I thought the third bar was for added stability, but it turns out to be part of the slick Bose audio system included with the SR trim level. The headrests include what Bose calls UltraNearfield speakers and the intent is to give you a 360ยบ audio experience. The sound was quite good and it's possible that I might have been jammin' some tunes (and singing along) more than once during my drives.
I did find the climate controls a bit spartan in appearance. In particular, adjusting temperature (notice that there's no split temperature option for passengers) was a bit disconnected with the desired temp shown on the infotainment screen, not the climate control area.
On the plus side, the Camera button was easy to find and use, which is a big help when parking. It's hard to understand why automakers haven't figured out that when you're inching into a spot in drive, the camera is just as helpful as if you're using reverse, but consistently, I find I have to find and push the "camera" button when straightening out in a parking spot.
The main gauge display with tachometer on the left and speedometer on the right is a classic design, even if the actual gauges are sleek and modern. It did seem like Nissan didn't really know what to have in the central portion, though, and stepping through all the choices (with the controls on the steering wheel) left me selecting a blank design to declutter the display.
While we're talking about the main display, however, I can report that across my hundreds of miles of driving, ranging from a high-speed-limit tollway around the Denver metro to winding roads in the Rocky Mountains, I averaged 32.7 mpg. The EPA numbers are 27/34 with an expected average of 30mpg. I was pleased.
However, the drive experience at high speed was not so great. I hit about 85 mph at one point and the 2.0L DOHC 4-cylinder engine was definitely being pushed to the point that when I ignored the speedometer and drove at what felt like a good speed for the vehicle, I found I was back down around 78 mph in a few seconds. We don't often need to drive that fast, but it's worth mentioning that, like so many compact vehicles, the Kicks doesn't have much headroom if that's your driving style.
This is also with the 2.0L engine new to this 2025 model year: The previous generation of Kicks had a more modest 1.6L engine that put out 122 horsepower and I imagine would have been even more pushed to the limit on my high speed highway driving. This is just a trade-off that small car drivers have to make: You can't have small, light, high fuel efficiency, and lots of power for those times you want to race pass a truck on the Interstate!
Speaking of trade-offs, the Nissan Kicks has a total vehicle length of a mere 171 inches, so it's no big surprise that the back seat legroom is limited. If you're a tall driver then you should expect complaints from the rear passengers when you slide your seat backward.
Is there space for four adults? Probably, but you'll definitely do better with a car full of tween gymnasts than one full of college-age basketball players, no question! :-)
I liked the rear cargo space capacity and the 60/40 fold-down back seats. With one seat folded down, you can see that there's quite a lot of space for such a compact vehicle. Props to Nissan for also including a tonneau cover for the rear compartment so you can retain a bit of cargo security when parked: Too many other manufacturers make that cover an optional $$ extra.
Finally, I have to admit that I was quite impressed by the Nissan Kicks. It's a cozy little SUV that might be best suited for a single person or couple, perhaps with a wee bairn or two along for the drive, comfortable to drive, offering very good fuel efficiency and a bangin' sound system in the SR premium package. I could probably skip the two-tone paint but if you're in the market for a starter vehicle for a teen or your own affordable all-wheel-drive SUV for days when you can't drive your little convertible, this is definite one to give a test drive and check out.
2025 Nissan Kicks SR AWD CVT in two-tone gun / red roof, powered by a 2.0L DOHC 4-cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission. BASE PRICE: $27,680.00. Options Included: SR AWD Premium Package, Splash Guards, Carpeted Floor Mats, 2-Tone Paint. AS DRIVEN: $31,710.00.
Disclosure: Nissan loaned me the Kicks for a week in return for this candid write-up. This article originally appeared on PlanetDave with the title The Delightful Little 2025 Nissan Kicks SR AWD and is republished with permission.
