Robert Brown|2025 Nissan Kicks: A first look at a working-class hero with top-tier touches

We’ve seenthe all-new 2025 Nissan Kicks,Robert Brown and on the surface at least it seems Nissan has developed a compact crossover SUV with a clean and cohesive exterior design — a far cry from the previous Kicks.

The outgoing kicks has been around since 2018, with arefresh coming along in 2021. We previously tested a well-appointed Kicks SR model, and itmade a compelling case for Kicks ownership — especially once you accepted the vehicle’s relative lack of power, numb steering, cramped rear seats and general lack of pizazz and instead focused on its efficiency and affordability.

Like the outgoing model, the new 2025 Nissan Kicks will be available in S, SV, and SR trims, with optional premium offerings at the SV and SR levels. Nissan gave us a preview of a Kicks SR with the Premium package, which includes touches such as a panoramic sunroof, Bose 10-speaker audio, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and remote engine start. With these features as well as other areas of the new Kicks, Nissan trickles down elements of tech, design and convenience from the segment above.

The fresh Kicks

The previous Kicks wasn’t what you’d call handsome, so we were pleasantly surprised when confronted with the new Kicks’ attractive exterior design. Where the previous model was something of afrankenkicks —that wedge-shaped, Altima-like front end giving way to a compressed crossover middle and sloping rear end, which hampered rear cargo space and limited leg- and headroom for second-row passengers — the new Kicks is clean, considered and cohesive. 

The 2025 Nissan Kicks is slathered with details beyond your likely expectation of what an entry-level vehicle looks like. It boasts great light designs front and rear, interesting angles and shapes, and charming Easter eggs in the form of the “Kicks” nameplate subtly etched into the rear quarter glass and embossed in the side mirrors. With both the front fascia and rear side of the car, Nissan designers worked to create a complex yet clean and cohesive singular surface. Again, it’s the intention of design that shines here in a sea of subcompacts. And we can’t talk design without calling out the sneaker-style texture on the lower surfaces of the doors and front fender. Indeed, the new Kicks delivers a well-balanced mix of mature design with playful accents.

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The all-wheel drive

The 2025 Nissan Kicks’ wide stance and 8.4 inches of ground clearance hints at its all-wheel-drive architecture, a hugely welcome improvement. The 2025 model marks the first time Nissan will offer the Kicks with either front-wheel drive or with AWD. The Kicks sorely needed power to all four of its wheels, so this is a hugely welcome upgrade alongside the design overhaul.

A transversely mounted 2.0-liter inline-four gasoline engine powers those wheels, and it’s good for 141 hp and 140 lb-ft of torque fed through a six-speed automatic transmission. The latter is sure to be an improvement over the outgoing continuously variable transmission used in the previous model. Meanwhile, the new Kicks’ engine output increases by 19 hp and a notable 26 lb-ft over the old model’s 1.6-liternaturally aspirated inline-four.

Nissan Safety Shield 360 is standard across all grades and includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear automatic braking, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, and high-beam assist. Kicks S and SV models will include adaptive cruise control as standard. Kicks SR adds Nissan’s ProPilot Assist, which brings steering assistance to help keep the vehicle centered in its lane. Already offered on several other Nissan models, this is the first application of ProPilot Assist on a Kicks, which speaks to Nissan’s ethos of trickling down tech from its more expensive vehicles into its entry-level offerings. 

The interior

The balance of sophistication and flair continues through from the exterior to the interior space, where interesting textures and playful design featuring great use of accent colors create a modern, airy space intended to offer a counterpoint to the mean exterior. Here, too, the Kicks feels less crossover, more compact SUV.

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The comfy Zero Gravity seats distribute weight and pressure evenly, and the SR ones even have a touch of lava-red weave running through them and Bose Personal Plus speakers in the headrests. The materials in this pre-production model felt decently tactile, with nothing coming across as too cheap. This Kicks SR featured the 12.3-inch infotainment (a more basic 7.0-inch version will be standard in lower trims) and a large panoramic sunroof.

All the room for stuff

The trunk features a best-in-class 40.3-inch cargo opening; overall, the Kicks has a total cargo capacity of up to 30 cubic feet with the rear seats in place or 60 cubes with them lowered, also best in class. Are you beginning to see a pattern? Nissan wants to tempt you into a Kicks with best-in-class specs.

The pumped-up Kicks

The new 2025 Nissan Kicks will go on sale this summer, with pricing announced closer to that timeframe. Nissan told us it won’t cost “much more” than the outgoing model, which starts at $20,790. 

Our early preview only gave us a first look at the car’s exterior and interior, but from what we saw, we think Nissan has improved its game to be more like that of Kia, Mazda, Hyundai and Volvo and their collection of handsome compact crossovers.