Many folks buy crossover SUVs because they want a high seating position and a roomy cargo hold. They don’t need the off-road image or all-wheel-drive capability that the segment was built upon. The first-generation Nissan Kicks subcompact crossover, for example, was sold only with front-wheel drive. The same goes for several of its leading competitors, including the perenially popular Kia Soul and the hot-selling new Chevrolet Trax.
But plenty of other people do want all-wheel drive. And the second-generation Nissan Kicks, which just hit dealerships as a 2025 model, introduces an AWD option. The all-new 2025 Kicks also brings a more powerful engine, more sophisticated styling, and more advanced infotainment. For this review, we just spent a week testing the redesigned 2025 Nissan Kicks to see how it stacks up against rival front- and all-wheel-drive competitors. Keep reading to learn more about its pros and cons to see if it’s the right small crossover for you.
"The all-new 2025 Nissan Kicks expands its appeal with an AWD option, a more powerful engine, and sophisticated styling, making it a serious contender in the small crossover market."
Prices Stayed Reasonable
The bigger, fancier, and more powerful Kicks could have gotten expensive. But that would have undercut much of its appeal. Wisely, Nissan kept prices reasonable. The 2025 Kicks starts at $21,830, which means it’s still one of the least expensive vehicles sold in America – SUV or otherwise.
The base S model comes packed with safety and driver-assistance features: front and rear automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control. We wish the small, simple 7-inch infotainment touchscreen supported Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, though. While that capability was standard on last year’s Kicks, it’s reserved for the next-up SV, $23,680, on its big 12.3-inch touchscreen. The SV’s exterior also gets dressed up with body-colored mirrors and door handles instead of the S’s plastic, and SV AWD models get alloy wheels instead of plastic wheelcovers. The top SR like our test vehicle – which starts from $26,180 – has upgraded upholstery, automatic climate control, a surround-view parking camera, and six speakers instead of the other trims’ four (another feature that had previously ocme standard on every Kicks).
All-wheel drive costs $1,650 extra on each trim level, and a mandatory destination charge comes to $1,390. Our SR AWD test vehicle also included the $1,950 Premium Package – a panoramic moonoroof, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a central front airbag, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and a 10-speaker Bose stereo – plus $605 for 19-inch wheels, plus a couple of smaller items that brought its total to $32,065. But by sticking with the basics, you can still get the Kicks at a more reasonable price.
All-New Style, Slightly Bigger Body
The redesigned Kicks has grown about 3 inches longer, 1.5 inches wider, and an inch taller than its predecessor. This size increase – combined with this year’s other changes – helps the Kicks sub in for the discontinued Nissan Rogue Sport, which used to sit one rung higher in the Nissan lineup.
The new Kicks also looks more expensive than before. The previous Kicks embraced a “cheap and cheerful” vibe – not dull, but more cheeky than sophisticated. For 2025, Nissan made it blockier and chunkier, with handsome bulging flanks and intricately detailed headlights and taillights. The front and rear ends also have a more upright, purposeful look than last year’s gentler slopes, though the roofline itself still isn’t boxy. Overall, the new Kicks is bigger and takes itself more seriously than before.
"The 2025 Nissan Kicks is bigger, bolder, and more sophisticated, shedding its 'cheap and cheerful' vibe for a design that takes itself more seriously."
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Advanced New Interior
This more advanced, sophisticated vibe carries over into the new Kicks’s interior. Last year’s was all business, with a simple shape, a small 7- or 8-inch touchscreen, and a cluster of buttons and knobs.
The 2025 Kicks adopts the trendy scheme of a single panel that includes both a digital gauge cluster and the central touchscreen. Nissan develops that theme into a classy, rectangular dashboard. It’s not poshly finished, but it looks modern and respectable. And the big 12.3-inch infotainment system has attractive graphics and is well configured. We like how its homescreen can display lots of different information simultaneously, without wasting as much space as some rival systems. If that feels too cluttered, you can also fill the screen with a single view, like audio information.
The S and SV models have a 7-inch digital gauge cluster, while the SR like our test vehicle has a 12.3-inch cluster that can emulate traditional dials. The SR’s automatic climate controls adopt sleek-looking touch-sensitive controls that we found much fussier to use than the other trims’ simple knobs and buttons. To us, even with the smaller gauge cluster, the SV hits the sweet spot between technology and ease of use.
Compact Cabin
The Kicks is bigger than before, but it’s still a subcompact vehicle. The front seats are on the narrow side, and the center console armrest and bin are narrow. Adults can fit into the backseat, but there isn’t a ton of extra knee clearance. It’s not as pinched as the extra-wee Hyundai Venue, but there’s a little more breathing room in the Kia Soul and Chevrolet Trax.
For comfort, every Kicks has manually adjustable front seats and cloth upholstery. Most competitors offer power adjustability and optional leather or leatherette; last year’s Kicks SR had leatherette upholstery, while the 2025 model has only a mix of leatherette and fabric. The Kicks SV and SR are both available with heated front seats and a heated steering wheel.
More Cargo Capacity, With an Asterisk
The bigger new Kicks boasts more cargo capacity than last year’s equivalent models. The 2024 Kicks had 25 cubic feet of cargo room behind its rear seat and 53 cubic feet with its rear seat folded down, already decent for a subcompact crossover. The 2025 model punches above its size class with 29 cubic feet and 59 cubic feet, respectively (and an extra cube on the base S model) – with front-wheel drive, anyway.
The optional AWD system pushes the cargo floor higher, cutting into the space. The AWD Kicks has a little less cargo room than last year’s front-wheel-drive-only version – 24 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 50 cubic feet with the seat folded down. If you’re not sure you need AWD, consider this cargo constraint. Whichever drivetrain you choose, you may also need to slide the front seats forward or remove the rear head restraints to fold the Kicks’s rear seat.
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Extra Size, Extra Power
With the Kicks’s size increase and AWD option comes a new engine. Last year’s Kicks used a tiny 1.6-liter four-cylinder making just 122 horsepower and 114 lb-ft of torque, which it borrowed from the Nissan Versa subcompact sedan. That made the old Kicks among the least powerful vehicles sold in the U.S.
Now the Kicks uses the 2.0-liter four from the one-size-up Nissan Sentra sedan (and the discontinued Rogue Sport). Don’t expect miracles, though. This engine makes a still-modest 141 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque. And it must move a Kicks that weighs at least 2,987 pounds in its lightest form and 3,252 pounds in the tested SR AWD configuration – up from last year’s range of 2,629 to 2,724 pounds.
The result is that the Kicks’s acceleration remains on the slow side – especially with AWD. What’s more, we found that the 2025 Kicks has a touchy throttle (it jumps off the line with even a gentle press on the gas) and drones loudly even when you’re not going too fast. The old Kicks would also run out of steam at higher speeds, but it felt more natural and eager around town. The Kicks’s extra weight helps it feel more settled on the highway, and it’s still more agile than most SUVs, but its ride isn’t cushy-smooth – especially with our test vehicle’s optional oversized 19-inch wheels. Its turning radius remains tight at 34.8 feet.