2025 Nissan Kicks

Nissan’s varied lineup of SUVs, pickup trucks, and EVs usually perform well in our road tests, but their Overall Scores suffer because of up-and-down reliability and average to below-average owner satisfaction. Inconsistent quality across the brand means some Nissans are a better choice than others. Many of its gasoline vehicles use small turbocharged engines and continuously variable transmissions to give owners both competitive fuel economy and sporty performance. Most new Nissans come standard with a full suite of active safety and driver assist systems. It’s also one of the few remaining brands that sells a sub-compact sedan, the Versa. The compact Sentra, a mainstay within Nissan’s lineup, earned a high score in our road test and is recommended. Nissan was an early EV trailblazer with the Leaf hatchback, and now sells larger five-passenger EV SUVs. Used Nissans have average reliability according to our surveys.

The redesigned 2025 Kicks is larger, more powerful, and for the first time, offered with all-wheel drive. Its length increased by 3 inches, and nearly every other dimension has expanded by 2 inches, to the benefit of passengers and cargo space. All versions pack a 141-hp, 2.0-liter inline-four engine with a continuously variable transmission. Each trim is available in front- or all-wheel drive. The trim walks from a rather basic S, to a nicely equipped SV, and on to the sporty-looking SR. Due to its evolution, the Kicks is now competing among subcompact SUVs. It stands tall there with a robust suite of active safety and driver assistance features as standard equipment. ProPilot Assist is available, adding steering assistance and lane centering to ease some driving stress on the highway and in traffic jams.