LIKES
- Priced right
- Comprehensive standard safety features
- Good touchscreen
- Fresh looks
DISLIKES
- Sluggish transmission
- Lacks passing power
- Stiff rear seats
- Lots of wind noise
BUYING TIP
The 2022 Nissan Kicks hatchback packs features and value into its small footprint, but it’s not very quick.
What kind of vehicle is the 2022 Nissan Kicks? What does it compare to?
Nissan calls the Kicks hatchback its entry-level SUV, even though it lacks all-wheel drive. It’s not the only five-door fudging the crossover facts: so do rivals like the Hyundai Venue.
Is the 2022 Nissan Kicks a good car?
The Kicks grabs attention with its wedgy shape, but it doesn’t have much power, and seat comfort varies for different body types. We give it a TCC Rating of 5.3 out of 10.
What's new for the 2022 Nissan Kicks?
Not a thing. It carries over with no changes, after a 2021 refresh that adopted a deeper twin V-shaped grille and LED taillights. The Kicks does a lot with its stubby body: its wedge shape, blacked-out roof pillars, and arrow-shaped taillights jazz up what could be a run-of-the-mill tall hatchback. The interior’s more straightforward, but a big digital instrument cluster and central touchscreen elevate its tech quotient above its rivals.
Short seat bottoms and narrow backrests limit comfort in the Kicks; cloth seats can be upgraded with heating and synthetic leather upholstery. The back bench can tote two medium-sized passengers, but taller riders won’t have enough knee or head room to get comfortable. Cargo space totals 32.3 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down, but they don’t go completely flat.
Nissan fits every Kicks with standard automatic emergency braking, but the NHTSA gives it a four-star overall rating. Mid-grade models add adaptive cruise control, while the Kicks SR gains a surround-view camera system.
How much does the 2022 Nissan Kicks cost?
The $20,875 Kicks S gets 16-inch wheels, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a 7.0-inch touchscreen, along with a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty. We like the $22,725 Kicks SV and its 17-inch wheels, 8.0-inch touchscreen, and adaptive cruise control.
Where is the 2022 Nissan Kicks made?
In Mexico.
Styling
The Kicks remixes hot-hatch cues for a fresh look.
Is the Nissan Kicks a good-looking car?
We like the interesting shape Nissan assigns to the Kicks, even if the interior’s more traditional. We give it a 6 for styling.
Though it has a tall-wagon body, the Kicks resists most of the typical SUV styling clichés. It wears a big V-shaped grille flanked by vertical slits that look like air intakes, but don’t function that way. Black cladding rims its round wheel arches and lines its rocker panels. Most of the visual appeal comes from the rear end, where angular lines frame its cargo space and pointy LED taillights rise up to lend it a wedgy stance. Kicks S hatchbacks ride on 16-inch steelies, while the SV and SR sit on 17-inch alloy wheels.
Performance
The Kicks puts efficiency before power and handling.
With a thin stream of power from its 4-cylinder engine and CVT, the Kicks has limited performance appeal. It drops below average for weak acceleration, for a 4 here.
Is the Nissan Kicks 4WD?
All Kicks crossovers are front-wheel drive.
The Kicks taps a 1.6-liter inline-4 for power. It builds up 122 hp and 114 lb-ft of torque, and it weighs only about 2,700 lb. With quick throttle tuning it steps off from stoplights quickly, but strains to keep up with power demands as speeds build from urban streets to interstate highways. A 65-mph cruise demands a heavy foot and planning to pass; the tachometer bounces from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm, its belt-and-pulley CVT changes ratios to extract every bit of power possible, but the Kicks just doesn’t have enough in the performance tank to make anything happen quickly. What it does best is deliver 33-mpg EPA combined fuel economy.
The Kicks has a basic front strut and rear torsion-beam suspension. It’s tuned for leisurely cornering, despite the message sent by the flat-bottomed steering wheel. The ride motions get quelled well enough by 16- or 17-inch wheels and all-season tires, but the Kicks leans plenty into corners and doesn’t offer much steering feedback.
Comfort & Quality
The Kicks has good cargo space, but seat comfort comes up short.
We give the Kicks a 4 for comfort and utility. It’s long on cubic feet for cargo, but the seats need more and better padding.
The Kicks’ manual-adjustable front seats come covered in cloth on all but the top model, which can be fitted with synthetic leather and heaters. The seats themselves have narrow backrests and short bottom cushions, which renders it uncomfortable on long trips for larger passengers. Nissan fits an armrest console to the Kicks SV and SR; there’s also an available wireless smartphone charging pad that sits among the quart-bottle cup holders. It’s a budget-friendly vehicle, with a budget-friendly interior.
In the back, the Kicks offers a high, stiff bench seat that’s broad enough for two medium-sized passengers. It has 33.2 inches of rear leg room, so 6-footers will rub their knees on the front seatbacks. The split rear seatbacks can fold to boost the Kicks’ 25.3 cubic feet of cargo space to 32.3 cubic feet—but the seatbacks don’t fold completely flat.
Safety
The Kicks’ safety gear is stronger than its crash-test scores.
How safe is the Nissan Kicks?
It scores OK in IIHS testing, where it’s rated “Good” in crash tests but doesn’t earn a Top Safety Pick award due to weak headlights. The NHTSA gives it four stars overall, which costs a point; it earns it back with standard automatic emergency braking. It’s a 5 here.
Every Kicks comes with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, and automatic high beams. Adaptive cruise control comes with the Kicks SV, and the Kicks SR gets a surround-view camera system; it’s useful since the view to the rear can be obscured by seats and roof structure.
Features
Pick the Kicks SV for the best value.
The Kicks earns a 7 here, with a point above average for a good set of standard features and for swell infotainment.
The base $20,875 Kicks S has power features, 6-speaker audio, 16-inch wheels, cruise control, and a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and three USB ports. The standard warranty of 3 years/36,000 miles is just average.
Which Nissan Kicks should I buy?
How much is a fully loaded Nissan Kicks?
The top $23,415 Kicks SR adds LED headlights and LED foglights, a surround-view camera system, a rear spoiler, and options for synthetic leather upholstery, Bose audio, and heated front seats.
Fuel Economy
Gas mileage is one of the Kicks’ standout traits.
Is the Nissan Kicks good on gas?
Yes, thanks to a 1.6-liter inline-4 and an efficient CVT. The EPA rates it at 31 mpg city, 36 highway, 33 combined, which earns a 6 here. That compares with vehicles such as the Hyundai Venue, which tops out at 31 mpg combined.
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