Nissan Kicks: a car I never would have thought to look at.

[Anonymous]

I never thought I'd come to DCUM just to write a car review, but here I am.

I'm just back from a week's vacation where my rental car was a Nissan Kicks. It's not a car I would ever have thought to look at, but I thought I'd report in in case it might be a good match for someone here. It's a small crossover, comparable to my 10yo Forester in size (smaller than newer Foresters), and it seems to retail for around $20k. I was really impressed with what it offered in that price range. What impressed me:

Very comfortable driving position—high in relation the dash, but the vehicle isn't so high you have to climb up into it. (I'm 5' 5" and old enough to be getting creaky.) For my own car, I'd want electronic seat adjustment, which it didn't have, but I was able to get very comfortable given the limits of manual adjustment.

Excellent visibility. Huge windshield, no obvious blind spots, and great visibility out the back hatch. A *lot* like my old Forester in that respect. Easy to park.

Thoughtfully implemented safety system. The blind spot warning, in particular, was intuitive and effective. The backup camera is excellent.

Drove just fine for what it is. It definitely drove better than the Hyundai Tucson (another recent rental of a similar type), which I found floaty and disconnected. I felt confident on the highway. It had enough pickup for freeway merges.

In sum, if I were looking for a cheap car with really good safety features for a newish driver, or a basic+ car for running around town that would hold plenty of stuff in the wayback, I'd put this on the to-look-at list.

[Anonymous]

thanks Op!

[Anonymous]

I'm actually planning to get a Kick so thanks.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, OP, I'm the market for that type of car.

[Anonymous]

Lol Nissan. They make the worst cars.

[Anonymous]

Fwiw I just tried one on my way to buying a forester and I think the Kicks is significantly smaller. It’s closer to the Crosstrek. Or an HRV. Etc.
iirc the Rogue was in the same size category as the forester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fwiw I just tried one on my way to buying a forester and I think the Kicks is significantly smaller. It’s closer to the Crosstrek. Or an HRV. Etc.
iirc the Rogue was in the same size category as the forester.

OP here. Yes, as I said, similar to my Forester from 10-11 years ago. The Forester has gotten significantly bigger over the years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, OP, I'm the market for that type of car.

Early PPs: glad this was helpful! -OP

[Anonymous]

Does it come with all wheel drive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it come with all wheel drive?

From the Nissan website, looks like it does.

[Anonymous]

We rented a brand new Nissan Jinx. Anyone heard of it? Small SUV size of Honda HRV. We were supposed to get a RAV 4 but of course Enterprise rental switched out.

Sounds like the Kick.

While driving around hood popped open and kept doing that. No pickup on the highway. Inside was bare min, no power anything. No Car Play. Air worked well. Great gas millage for sure, that was only redeeming quality.

Would never buy it. Piece of junk.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t purchase a Nissan anything right now until the brand redeems itself.

They used to be neck in neck w/Honda + Toyota, until about 10-12 yrs. ago when their transmissions started dying.