• Auto123 gets in a first drive of the 2025 Nissan Kicks.
Santa Barbara, CA - Our first opportunity to drive the almost-all-new 2025 Kicks might have taken place in the U.S., but the fact remains that the small SUV is much more important for Nissan Canada than it is for its American counterpart. So the arrival of all-wheel drive makes sense and instantly becomes a big selling point for the Japanese automaker here. But that’s not the only change come to the littlest SUV in the brand’s lineup.
2025 Nissan Kicks – What’s new?
Besides power now coming to all four wheels (front-wheel drive is still the default configuration on the lower models), the Kicks has – shockingly – grown in size, but there’s a good reason here in that with the larger sub-compact-+ Qashqai gone from the North American lineup, the Kicks now fills that role, sitting as the entry-level SUV just below the Rogue compact SUV.
Beyond that, styling is updated, the architecture is updated, tech is updated, the powertrain and its output are updated, the interior is updated. It’s a festival of updated-ness. More specifically:
Design of the 2025 Nissan Kicks - 8.0/10
This is a bigger and more confident-looking Kicks we were given to drive in beautiful southern California. The new model is longer, taller and wider than before, and it has more ground clearance (by 214.2 mm) to give it more of a presence on the road and more confidence off it (a little).
Overall we find a boxier shape, even if the edges remain quite rounded. The stance is wider and from the front this is a bolder Kicks, no doubt about it. The back end is as well, with its LED lighting spanning the vehicle’s width and discreet spoiler up top.
Buyers can choose between a monotone or dual-tone exterior colour finish.
Interior
The new dimensions obviously create a roomier interior, not least in the second row. The graduation from subcompact to subcompact+ status will make life more pleasant for back-row passengers, no doubt. Behind them, cargo space is also increased, to 849.5 litres in the front-wheel-drive model (up 134 compared to before). Know that the AWD configuration (which adds a multi-link rear suspension) cuts fairly substantially into that cargo space, reducing available volume to 676.8 litres.
Up front, the zero gravity seats Nissan is rightly renowned for provide a good level of comfort and while our drive time was too short to truly test those in a road-trip context, the seats have proven their worth in other models. This is the first time the Kicks features those seats both front and back (middle seat excepted). The new steering wheel is flat-bottomed and together with the new screens, it all feels much less budget-conscious in its details and finishing.
There are certain features absent – power front seats, for example – that are clearly part of Nissan’s desire to hold the line on pricing and keep the model competitive. Most buyers in this segment would probably agree with that strategy.
There is an optional panoramic moonroof available on the SV trim, and included in the SR Premium.
Technology in the 2025 Nissan Kicks - 8.0/10
The new dual 12.3-inch digital display is the same as found in the latest Pathfinder and Rogue editions. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is included standard, as is the Safety Shield 360 system. New to the Kicks is the optional ProPilot Assist system, which provides additional (and more intrusive) drive assist functions, among them lane departure prevention and blind spot intervention.
The top SR Premium edition gets a 360-degree Around View monitor feature giving a bird’s view in the screen and with motion detection - exclusive in the segment, Nissan says. That SR Premium also gets a 10-speaker audio system featuring two speakers in each of the front headrests.
Powertrain of the 2025 Nissan Kicks – 7.0/10
The very modest 1.6L engine that drove the previous Kicks is gone, replaced by a 2.0L engine that brings with it a boost in output, from 122 hp and 114 lb-ft of torque to 141 and 140, respectively. The new engine gets an upgraded xTronic CVT to work with as well. Nissan promises the new setup translates into better acceleration, both off the line and when highway passing.
Driving the 2025 Nissan Kicks - 7.0/10
Thing is, though, new CVT or no, and more output or no, the Kicks still did not seem in its most flattering element on the occasionally hilly Route 101 that runs up and down the coast of California. It was frankly easy to make the engine feel like it was straining to give you what you wanted. This isn’t to say that highway passing is a stressful experience. It’s more that it’s a loud one.
Increased ground clearance, meanwhile, means the Kicks is just slightly less of a road hugger, and when making that engine scream on curves on a rise you can feel some bit of roll. As well, we were riding on the optional larger 19-inch wheel of the SR Premium version, and we actually suspect the standard 17-inch wheels would likely suit the model better, in terms of handling and but also noise levels.
All that said, in its more natural environment, on city streets, the SUV is pleasurable to drive, quick and nimble. The pedal is reactive and the steering also.
As for the intelligent AWD system now available (for the first time in the Kicks, naturally), that will be more important for many Canadian customers than the 0-100 km/h times and the straining of the engine to respond to aggression on the accelerator pedal. Obviously we had zero time on this day in snowy or even wet-road conditions, but we expect that when we do have occasion to put the vehicle on the road back home, we’ll confirm that this function makes of the Kicks a much better driving partner in our part of the continent. And yes, the Kicks with AWD has a Snow mode.
With AWD comes that new rear multi-link suspension that improves comfort, and while the smooth roads of southern California don’t provide the sternest test, we expect a comfier ride even on rougher Canadian roads. To be confirmed.
Fuel consumption
Kicks FWD
8.1L/100 km city
6.6L/100 km highway
7.4L/100 km combined
Kicks AWD
8.4L/100 km
6.9L/100 km
7.7L/100 km
2025 Nissan Kicks pricing in Canada
- - 2025 Kicks S FWD - $27,199 CAD
- - 2025 Kicks S AWD - $29,199
- - 2025 Kicks SV FWD - $28,749
- - 2025 Kicks SV AWD - $30,749
- - 2025 Kicks SR Premium AWD - $34,899
The last of those can be had with an $800 Sport Wheel package.
Prices are MSRPs and don’t include the $2,030 in added freight and PDI.
The final word
The revision of the little Kicks for its second generation is part of a wholesale renewal of Nissan’s (and Infiniti's) SUV lineups. The Rogue got its refresh for 2024, the overhauled 2025 QX80 has just debuted for Infiniti, and before the end of the year we’ll be introduced to very new editions of the Murano and Armada SUVs, coming for model-year 2025.
For many Canadian consumers, though – especially for city and suburb dwellers – the Kicks is probably the most important model and an update was essential. The addition of all-wheel drive is a welcome move, for sure, as is the larger, more comfortable interior. No one will complain either about the boost in horses from the new 2.0L engine, even if the powertrain of the new Kicks doesn’t kick particularly hard. This small SUV remains a primarily urban creature.
It’s a good thing Nissan has managed to (more or less) hold the line on pricing, because there is stiff and plentiful competition in the segment. Note that the base-model price of the previous Kicks was $22,098, so the increase is not insignificant for the equivalent in 2025. But nor is the increase in size, in tech features and other upgrades. The Kicks is all grown up, it seems.
Competitors of the 2025 Nissan Kicks
- - Chevrolet Trax / Trailblazer
- - Honda HR-V
- - Hyundai Venue / Kona
- - Kia Seltos
- - Mazda CX-30
- - Subaru Crosstrek
- - Toyota Corolla Cross
- - Volkswagen Taos
