Subcompact Nissan Kicks Coming to North America

Nissan is finally bringing the Kicks to North America after being available in Brazil, Mexico, and China. The little crossover made its debut at the 2017 L.A. Auto Show.

This is the first new nameplate that Nissan has launched in eight years and the small crossover falls just under the Rogue Sport in size, bringing the total number of SUV and CUV models to six. The Kicks is slated to compete against the Honda HR-V and the Mazda CX-3. There were rumors that this would be the replacement for the Juke, but a Nissan executive confirmed that it will be produced alongside it.

The Kicks will be powered by a third-generation 1.6-liter non-turbo four-cylinder engine that makes 125 horsepower and 115 pound-feet of torque that is mated to a CVT sending power to the front wheels only. A manual transmission or AWD will not be offered and fuel economy is expected to be 33 mpg combined.

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Seven exterior colors will be offered, including five two-tone combinations. You can have a black roof combined with a white, orange or red, orange roof with grey body, and white roof with blue body.

Total interior volume is 110 cubic feet, with 25 cubic feet behind the second row for cargo space. A seven-inch infotainment display is situated in the center of the “Gliding Wing” dashboard and will support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. High trim models will feature a Bose Personal Plus sound system with 2.5-inch speakers located inside the driver’s the headrest. Despite having a coupe-like roofline, it offers one of the largest loading areas in its class.

Nissan says that safety is a huge priority and the Kicks will come standard with forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, automatic adaptive headlights, as well as seven airbags.

The 2018 Nissan Kicks will be offered in three well-equipped models – Kicks S, Kicks SV and Kicks SR. Expected to start at well under $19,000, it will hit showrooms in the June 2018.