Nissan Kicks Review
Does Nissan kick two fleshy protuberances from the rear with the Kicks?
By Shahzad Sheikh
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Complete the sentence Nissan! I always struggle with this name. I say ‘Nissan Kicks…’ and then it feels as if I’ve abruptly halted in mid-sentence.
They really should have gone all the way and added an extra word or two: ‘Kicks-Butt’, ‘Kicks-Ass’, or okay, even just ‘Kicks-It’. Otherwise it’s as if we’re waiting for the punchline.
But if you were waiting for the punchline from the Juke – this is it. The Kicks effectively replaces that car and also the Tiida and is a, well, hatchback crossover.
Both those cars Kicks-the-bucket (yeah, sorry about that) and you get this cool copper cruiser starting from AED59,000 ($16k). That’s cheaper than the Juke which was AED64k but slightly higher than the Tiida which had a lower list of AED54k.
So Kicks-Off features a 1.6-litre 118bhp engine mated to a new D-Step CVT – which not only aids a thrifty fuel economy figure of just 6.1L/100km, but also finally ups the game when it comes to the Nissan CVT units, programmed to do a decent impersonation of a torque-convertor automatic.
When it comes to kit, the Nissan Kicks-Bottom rather forcefully with the LED headlights, fog lights, 17-inch alloys, leather upholstery, climate control, side and curtain airbags, six-speakers, keyless entry, digital dashboard, 7-inch infotainment screen with satnav and 360-degrees parking camera for this top spec SL, weighing in at AED75,500 ($20k).
And yet bizarrely, despite that excellent array of goodies, you don’t get cruise control. Which is rather odd. Perhaps you need to need to keep your right foot kicking the accelerator because you have to Kicks-With-Your-Foot innit?
Anyway back to the exterior and this car certainly Kicks-it-up-a-gear when it comes to styling, completely blitzing the forgettable Tiida and depolarising the radical frog-face looks of the Juke. This is a handsome and surprisingly sleek looking thing, with some nice assemblage of lines particularly at the rear.
Talking of the rear, boot space is adequate but you’ll find that you are kicking the front seats if you’re on the tall side and asked to sit in the back. Regular humans will be okay and kids will be fine. But they’ll Kicks-Off when they realise there are no USB ports back here nor A/C vents… hand on, I’ve already used ‘Kicks-Off’ haven’t I?
At the front it the top spec trim, soft-touch dashboard and infotainment screen gives it up an upmarket feel. Visibility is good – aided of course by a high seating position and the birds-eye view for parking should you need it.
Kicks-It-In-Gear and it drives as you’d expect. Easy and straight forward with adequate performance and a good ride and handling compromise. Despite it’s high-riding looks, it’s front-wheel drive, so don’t think about point it towards any sand, though it will happily handle a bit of dirt roading and Kicks-Up-Dust. Okay, sorry, I’m done with those.
A great value offering, that’ll feel like a real step-up for Tiida owners and a relief for Juke owners tired of all the jokes. Just try to get the best spec you can.
