Pumped Up Kicks: 2025 Nissan Kicks Gains Square Styling

by Matthew Guy

Published: March 22nd, 2024

pumped up kicks 2025 nissan kicks gains square styling

Leaning into the connection between its name and slang for sneakers, Nissan unveiled the 2025 Kicks in Brooklyn at the opening rounds of this year’s NCAA tourney at Barclays Center.

The compact crossover does move in the right direction in terms of its styling, notably binning the so-called ‘V Motion’ corporate grille in favor of something a great deal more rectilinear. A wider stance and distinct boxiness are a welcome change to these jaundiced eyes, as are the integrated spoiler and hockey stick taillamps which give way to full-width LED lights. Further leaning into an association with sneakers, designers say those three-dimensional accents on the rocker panels are inspired by athletic sneaker soles. Run with it, we say.

Nissan will offer all-wheel drive for the first time on this model, complete with attendant driving modes to help traversing the white stuff. Ground clearance apparently stands at a significant 8.4 inches, which is leagues ahead of most other crossovers of this size. Under the hood we find a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine making 141 horsepower and roughly a like amount of torque. The sole transmission choice is a take-it-or-leave it Xtronic.

Its cabin features dual screens, as do most rigs these days, with the driver cluster measuring 7.0 inches while the center touchscreen is either an 8.0- or 12.3-inch tablet depending on trim level and option selection. Both rows deploy Nissan’s zero-gravity seats, a first at this end of the price pool. In keeping with the target market of this thing, interior storage abounds including bottle holders in the doors which are allegedly large enough to fit a 32-ounce Yeti tumbler. We idly muse if the drinks company paid for that product placement. In a fit of punctuation on just how far this segment has moved, a panoramic sunroof is also available.

Certainly, the Kicks is no slouch in Nissan showrooms. A total of 66,823 of them found homes last year, second only to the Pathfinder and Rogue in terms of crossover volume.

The new Kicks will reach Nissan dealerships later this summer in the U.S. and Canada. Full pricing will be available closer to the on-sale date.

[Images: Nissan]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#Nissan #Kicks #AllWheelDrive #2025

Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

More by Matthew Guy

Comments

Join the conversation

3 of 11 comments

MKizzy on Mar 22, 2024

So now even a crossover as small as this trashy looking Nissan Kicks has a hood tall enough to hide a child or wheelchair bound person from its driver's field of vision. Wonderful.

1 Reply
FreedMike on Mar 22, 2024

I dig it. Can we get a sport version with a real engine and a non-CVT box?

Like Reply
- Varezhka on Mar 23, 2024
  
  Jatco's traditional ATs are just as terrible as their CVTs, though.
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Oberkanone How long do I have to stay in this job before I get a golden parachute?I'd lower the price of the V-Series models. Improve the quality of interiors across the entire line. I'd add a sedan larger then CT5. I'd require a financial review of Celestiq. If it's not a profit center it's gone. Styling updates in the vision of the XLR to existing models. 2+2 sports coupe woutd be added. Performance in the class of AMG GT and Porsche 911 at a price just under $100k. EV models would NOT be subsidized by ICE revenue.
NJRide Let Cadillac be Cadillac, but in the context of 2024. As a new XT5 owner (the Emerald Green got me to buy an old design) I would have happy preferred a Lyriq hybrid. Some who really like the Lyriq's package but don't want an EV will buy another model. Most will go elsewhere. I love the V6 and good but easy to use infotainment. But I know my next car will probably be more electrified w more tech.I don't think anyone is confusing my car for a Blazer but i agree the XT6 is too derivative. Frankly the Enclave looks more prestigious. The Escalade still has got it, though I would love to see the ESV make a comeback. I still think GM missed the boat by not making a Colorado based mini-Blazer and Escalade. I don't get the 2 sedans. I feel a slightly larger and more distinctly Cadillac sedan would sell better. They also need to advertise beyond the Lyriq. I don't feel other luxury players are exactly hitting it out of the park right now so a strengthened Cadillac could regain share.
CM Korecko Cadillacs traditionally have been opulent, brash and leaders in the field; the "Standard of the World".That said, here's how to fix the brand:[list=1][*]Forget German luxury cars ever existed.[/*][*]Get rid of the astromech droid names and bring back Seville, Deville, Eldorado, Fleetwood and Brougham.[/*][*]End the electric crap altogether and make huge, gas guzzling land yachts for the significant portion of the population that would fight for a chance to buy one.[/*][*]Stop making sports cars and make true luxury cars for those of us who don't give a damn about the environment and are willing to swim upstream to get what we really want.[/*][*]Stop messing around with technology and make well-made and luxurious interiors.[/*][*]Watch sales skyrocket as a truly different product distinguishes itself to the delight of the target market and the damnation of the Sierra Club. Hell, there is no such thing as bad publicity and the "bad guy" image would actually have a lot of appeal.[/*][/list=1]
FreedMike Not surprisingly, I have some ideas. What Cadillac needs, I think, is a statement. They don’t really have an identity. They’re trying a statement car with the Celestiq, and while that’s the right idea, it has the wrong styling and a really wrong price tag. So, here’s a first step: instead of a sedan, do a huge, fast, capable and ridiculously smooth and quiet electric touring coupe. If you want an example of what I’m thinking of, check out the magnificent Rolls-Royce Spectre. But this Cadillac coupe would be uniquely American, it’d be named “Eldorado,” and it’d be a lot cheaper than the $450,000 Spectre – call it a buck twenty-five, with a range of bespoke options for prospective buyers that would make each one somewhat unique. Make it 220 inches long, on the same platform as the Celestiq, give it retro ‘60s styling (or you could do a ‘50s or ‘70s throwback, I suppose), and at least 700 horsepower, standard. Why electric? It’s the ultimate throwback to ‘60s powertrains: effortlessly fast, smooth, and quiet, but with a ton more horsepower. It’s the perfect drivetrain for a dignified touring coupe. In fact, I’d skip any mention of environmental responsibility in this car’s marketing – sell it on how it drives, period.  How many would they sell? Not many. But the point of the exercise is to do something that will turn heads and show people what this brand can do.  Second step: give the lineup a mix of electric and gas models, and make Cadillac gas engines bespoke to the brand. If they need to use generic GM engine designs, fine – take those engines and massage them thoroughly into something special to Cadillac, with specific tuning and output. No Cadillac should leave the factory with an engine straight out of a Malibu or a four-banger Silverado. Third step: a complete line-wide interior redo. Stop the cheapness that’s all over the current sedans and crossovers. Just stop it. Use the Lyriq as a blueprint – it’s a big improvement over the current crop and a good first step. I’d also say Cadillac has a good blend of screen-controlled and switch-controlled user interfaces; don’t give into the haptic-touch and wall-to-wall screen thing. (On the subject of Caddy interiors – as much as I bag on the Celestiq, check out the interior on that thing. Wow.)Fourth step: Blackwing All The Things – some gas, others electric. And keep the electric/gas mix so buyers have a choice.Fifth step: be patient. That’s not easy, but if they’re doing a brand reset, it’ll take time. 
NJRide So if GM was serious about selling this why no updates for so long? Or make something truly unique instead of something that looked like a downmarket Altima?