Sacramento,
California -- Leave it to Nissan to let you get your kicks with something new,
saucy, affordable and loaded with youthful appeal.
This time it's
the Nissan Kicks, an all-new crossover SUV that made its debut as a 2018
model. My tester was the Kicks SR model
with the Premium Package. And while
that's the top-end version among the trim levels, the bottom line was a most
reasonable $22,630.
My Kicks
tester was sporty looking, accented by a sharp-looking "Gun Metallic"
exterior paint job topped by a "Monarch Orange" roof. The sporty feel was continued inside the
cabin with orange stitching throughout.
Interior comfort was fine, and it was surprisingly roomy for a crossover SUV.
I was
surprised by the extensive list of perks, given the bargain price. My ride included heated outside mirrors, a
blind spot-warning feature, rear cross-traffic alert, LED lights, a superior Bose
audio system and heated front seats. I
might expect to see a bottom line of $30,000 on a similarly appointed motor
vehicle.
Also
surprising was the pop delivered by the Kicks on the move. The 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine puts out
a max 125 horsepower, but my ride felt much stronger than that, whether it was
zipping down a freeway on-ramp or dusting off a surface street slowpoke. The Kicks motored uphill nicely but did
produce a fair amount of noise at full song.
Some fellow
auto reviewers have criticized the Kicks for calling itself an SUV and offering
no all-wheel drive system. Frankly, this
didn't trouble my mind during my test runs.
And some of those same reviewers praised the Kicks for its performance
in off-road tests. For the record, the
continuously variable transmission on my front-drive Kicks functioned
flawlessly.
Given all
this, the Kicks stacks up as a near-perfect ride for a young family that might
otherwise assume it can't afford a sport-utility vehicle. Likewise, it's a good choice for suburbanites
who need a trustworthy multi-tasker that also functions as a comfortable ride on long road
trips.
I give it a
solid A-minus grade for a new-to-market ride in an ultra-competitive segment.
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