2025 Nissan Kicks Review and Test Drive

Greater practicality and sharper style make for a more appealing Kicks.

James Riswick | 

Feb 6, 2025 | 6 min read

Nissan offers the 2025 Kicks in S, SV, and SR trim levels. Base prices range from the low $20,000s to the high $20,000s, including the destination charge to ship the SUV to your dealership from the Aguascalientes, Mexico, factory that builds it.

For this Kicks review, I test-drove the range-topping SR with front-wheel drive (FWD) in Southern California. It had the Premium package, which includes a panoramic moonroof, a 10-speaker Bose sound system, rain-sensing wipers, and various heated features (front seats, steering wheel, mirrors). The manufacturer's suggested retail price was $30,705, including the $1,350 destination charge. Nissan provided the vehicle for evaluation.

James Riswick

Is the 2025 Nissan Kicks a Good SUV?

The 2025 Nissan Kicks is a good value choice, especially if you prioritize interior space and versatility. My SR test vehicle's interior quality, modern technology, and design details also elevated it beyond practicality. It's one of the better budget buys on the market — another is the Chevrolet Trax— and its well-rounded nature makes it a must-look in the subcompact SUV segment.

The Sharp New Design Is a Game Changer

The old Kicks was a solid choice in a budget SUV, but I didn't find it much to look at. The new 2025 Kicks, however, has a bold face with trendy LED accent lighting, chunky fenders, and a chiseled rear end. It's actually pretty cool. The SR's big wheels and available black roof add an extra touch of flair, and my test vehicle's Arctic Ice Blue paint drew lots of positive comments, too.

The interior's overhaul isn't quite as significant, but big screens and clean, horizontal lines create a handsome, modern appearance. The SR trim is the new Kicks' best foot forward, as Nissan lines most of the dashboard, door panels, and center console in padded simulated leather with colorful stitching. It looks and feels like a richer environment than I've seen in many of its rivals.

James Riswick

Controls are where you expect them to be, although the SR's touch-sensitive climate panel may not be as user friendly as the buttons and knobs in other trim levels. Thankfully, the 12.3-inch touchscreen's functions are pretty much kept to the infotainment variety, so there's no need to dive into it distractedly.

Interior storage is stingy for odds and ends, but Nissan offers a comically deep center cupholder, and I discovered that a 25-ounce water bottle fits into all four door panel holders. I appreciated the angled smartphone cubby. Unfortunately, the wireless charger quickly caused my phone to overheat on a cool day.

Space for people is generally good. Taller drivers will likely want more front-seat adjustment, but everyone else should find the Kicks surprisingly spacious. The back seat is mounted higher than the fronts, providing a stadium-seating view and ample under-leg support. At 6-foot-3, I could sit back-to-front with myself on the passenger side.

James Riswick

The Kicks has an exceptional 29.2 cubic-feet of cargo space behind the back seat. During my evaluation, it swallowed two check-in suitcases, three pieces of carry-on luggage, and one duffel bag. In my testing, few SUVs in its segment have matched that.

Choosing the AWD option, however, reduces capacity to 23.9 cu-ft. I have not evaluated a Kicks with AWD, but I suspect the difference is that the cargo floor is higher and lacks the FWD model's versatile dual-level cargo floor.

Pretty Screens and Advanced Driver Assistance

My Kicks SR test vehicle had the larger 12.3-inch display, which featured vibrant graphics and technology that was easy to figure out. Lower trim levels get a 7.0-inch unit. Menu icons stay permanently on the infotainment touchscreen to ease switching between functions, especially to and from the Apple or Android phone-connectivity features.

Speaking of which, the base Kicks S lacks both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but in other versions of the SUV, they're standard with wireless connectivity. Setting CarPlay up was easy per usual, although Google Maps repeatedly froze. I'm unsure if that was a problem with the Kicks, my phone, or the app.

James Riswick

Nissan, thankfully, hasn't tried to be fancy and reinvent radio controls. You can still see your favorites list, song info, and album art on one screen. My test car also included the SR Premium package's 10-speaker Bose sound system. Four of those speakers are in the front headrests, creating a much fuller soundscape than expected at this price. They also helped drown out the excessive road noise.

The Kicks SR features Nissan's ProPilot Assist technology, which provides hands-on semi-autonomous driver-assistance tech by pairing this trim level's standard adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assist. During testing, the lane-centering system was not quite as centered as it could be, and the tech's smallest gap to the vehicle ahead was too big, resulting in lots of swoop-ins from other motorists.

In general, though, I've found that Nissan's driver-assistance systems work better than most. The lane-keeping assist has three intervention settings, and during my test drive, the lowest setting did its job without false alarms or excessive beeping. The blind-spot warning system was similarly well done, and I never heard a peep from the driver-inattention warning system (good on me, I suppose, but no false alarms, either).

James Riswick

It's Easier to Get Your Kicks in the Kicks

For 2025, the Nissan Kicks gained 19 horsepower and a significant 26 pound-feet of torque, the result of a bigger engine that produces 141 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque. Just as important, though, are improved throttle response and a continuously variable transmission (CVT) tuned to make the Kicks feel energetic around town. From zero to 45 mph under typical acceleration, it actually feels pretty quick.

Really step on it, however, or go beyond 45 mph as you merge onto the highway, and that perkiness disappears. There's lots of noise, and the Kicks suddenly feels pretty slow. However, I appreciated that the transmission simulates gear shifts to avoid the droning and engine-rev yo-yoing of other CVTs.

James Riswick

The Kicks' consistently weighted steering and controlled body motions and the SR's big, 19-inch wheels resulted in handling that exceeded my expectations on my mountain-road evaluation route. The small dimensions also helped it flick between tight corners.

Those big wheels hamper ride quality, though, as I felt every sharp bump and experienced a nervous, jittery feel on concrete highway surfaces. This handling and ride tradeoff might make the SV and its 17-inch wheels more appealing from behind the wheel.

The Kicks SR was also very noisy, especially on the highway. Those 19-inch wheels and low-profile tires may contribute to that, but it's hard to imagine that any version of the Kicks has a hushed interior.

James Riswick

The 2025 Nissan Kicks SR certainly isn't perfect, but nothing in its segment is. I appreciated the Kicks' space and versatility, the powertrain that feels quicker than it is, and the high-quality interior with user-friendly tech. For those seeking a cost-effective runabout, I recommend checking the Kicks out.

James Riswick

James Riswick has been testing cars and writing about them for more than 20 years. He was the senior reviews editor for Autoblog and previously served multiple editor roles at Edmunds. He has also contributed to Autotrader, Car and Driver, Hagerty, J.D. Power, and Autoguide Magazine. He has been interested in cars forever; his mom took him to the Toronto Auto Show when he was 18 months old and he has attended at least one every year since (OK, except in 2020). When he's not testing the latest cars, he has a babied 1998 BMW Z3 in James Bond blue, a 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 Wagon, and a 2023 Kia Niro EV.