Experienced by Adrian McQueen
Photography by Adrenaline Lifestyles
We are living in a time that our normal way of life is altered from the daily commutes, events and social life. As the world is being encouraged to socially distance, we did just that when we received the 2020 Nissan Kicks for a week to review. This week we were able to ride around and just explore. No real agenda lined up but just to get out and enjoy the Kicks.
The Nissan Kicks is a subcompact crossover SUV that was initially introduced as a concept car under the same name and was premiered at the 2014 São Paulo International Motor Show. The car was designed collaboratively by Nissan’s design headquarters in Atsugi, Japan, Nissan Design America (NDA) in San Diego, California, and Nissan Design America Rio de Janeiro. The Kicks entered the United States and Canada in 2018 to replace the Juke as the subcompact crossover.
Nissan has given the Kicks a nice two-toned paint design with body colored heated outside mirrors and body colored outside door handles. The Kicks has a sleek style, with the Nissan badge placed prominently on the grille. This little beauty sits on 17” black alloy wheels. There isn’t a lot of the flair or sporty curves to the kicks but it is still pleasing to the eyes.
The Kicks has seating for up to five people. There are two comfortable rows that can be upgraded to include synthetic leather upholstery, heated front seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. There is a fair amount of cargo space with the rear seats folded down. There is a cool Interior Electronics package that includes 20 color interior ambient lighting, door pocket light and a frameless auto-dimming mirror with universal remote.
The infotainment system in the Kicks comes with a lot of cool features. It comes with a 7.0-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity, Siri Eyes Free, onboard Wi-Fi and three USB ports. The Nissan Connect infotainment system also comes with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, satellite radio and an upgraded Rockford Fosgate audio system. The upgraded sound system helped pass the time as we were cruising around.
The Nissan Kicks is not a speedy vehicle. With only 122-horsepower from the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine and continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), the Kicks has just enough power to be a great commuter vehicle. The four-cylinder engine can be bit noisy when really pushing it limits on the highway but it great for darting around town and has excellent mileage. The EPA rates the Kicks at 31 mpg city, 36 mpg on the highway and 33 mpg combined. Unfortunately, the Kicks lacks All Wheel Drive. There is enough cargo and passenger space to tote the family around and do all the fun things that have been planned for the outing.
Nissan takes safety serious and provides automated emergency braking, forward-collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, a rearview camera, lane departure warning, pedestrian detection, high-beam assist, rear cross traffic alert, a surround-view parking camera system, driver drowsiness monitoring and rear parking sensors. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) called the Kicks SR a Top Safety Pick. The crash-test scores were rated as good, headlights rated “Acceptable,” and automatic emergency braking that the IIHS rated as “Superior” at avoiding forward crashes. As a father of two young children the installation of child safety seats is important to me. There are two complete sets of LATCH connectors for the rear outboard seats and an upper tether for the middle seat. I found the LATCH system is easy to use in the Nissan Kicks.
There is a growing demand for the Nissan Kicks as it sits in a competitive subcompact car class. Competitors such as the Mazda CX-3, Toyota C-HR, Chevrolet Trax, Kia Soul, Hyundai Kona , Honda HR-V, Kia Seltos and the Hyundai Venue. The 2020 Nissan Kicks SV CVT that we reviewed comes in at $24,810.00. Currently there are some great running deals and incentives on the 2020 Nissan Kicks. The Lease Deal is $285 per month for 36 months with $1,999 due at signing (Expires: 09/08/20). The Finance Deal is 0% financing for 36 months plus up to $500 bonus cash (Expires: 09/08/20). The Cash Back Deal is $2,000 cash back (Expires: 09/08/20).
Nissan offers a decent warranty package including a Limited warranty covers three years or 36,000 miles and a Powertrain warranty covers five years or 60,000 miles. No complimentary scheduled maintenance is offered at this time. The 2020 Nissan Kicks is a great value vehicle with excellent fuel economy. The Kicks has a nimble feel but I wouldn’t consider it an adrenaline filled ride. It is a nice vehicle to take the kids to school and sports practices. Commuting back and forth to work would be a breeze. I know all of that is difficult to see now, but as the world is slowly and safely getting back to normal, rest assured that the Nissan Kicks will be around to make those tasks easier to accomplish. Please enjoy the photo gallery.
