First Drive: 2018 Nissan Kicks Photos

Nissan launched the Kicks back in the summer of 2016 around the frenzy of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

In fact, the initial design work was done at Nissan’s studio in Brazil, with burnishing taking place at Nissan Design America in San Diego and the final work ahead of production done in Japan.

The Kicks is being assembled at Nissan plants in Brazil, China, Malaysia, and Mexico; it’s the Mexico plant that will serve up all North American Kicks.

For all that cross-continental conspiring, the design holds together with plenty of character lines through the sheetmetal, giant taillights reminiscent of the departed-from-America Juke, and lots of interesting color schemes that include two-tone treatments reminiscent of a Mini Cooper or a Star Wars stormtrooper, depending on hue choices.

The Kicks is significantly cheaper than the outgoing Juke that it takes the place of. For those scoring at home, this makes six Nissan-branded SUVs and crossovers we can buy, with the titanic Armada at the high end and the Kicks now anchoring the line at the bottom.

Kicks prices start at $18,965 for the Kicks S. The mainstream SV begins at $20,665, with the top-of-the-line SR at $21,265.

Even the base S includes automated emergency braking and forward-collision warning along with a 7.0-inch touchscreen in the center of the dashboard.

Both the SV and the SR get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, with the SR’s equipment list also including LED headlights and a rear spoiler that better finishes the appearance.

The SR also gets a 360-degree camera system. If you hit a cat while backing this thing up, it’s because you wanted to hit that cat.

Aside from paint color, the only option is a $1000 package on the SR that includes heated front seats and a Bose sound system, which actually seemed pretty good on our brief listen.

For a vehicle that is self-consciously chasing an ideal of “expressive style,” it doesn’t look that self-conscious.

That in mind, this is a very trendy design that may not age well. It may not be destined to become the “PT Loser” of 2024, but timeless it isn’t.

However, Nissan isn’t chasing buyers looking at their last new-car purchase but people making their first.

This is a vehicle that’s 169.1 inches long over a 103.1-inch wheelbase.

That’s less than an inch longer overall than a Mazda CX-3, and the Nissan feels as if it has more practical space.

The Kicks also is 7.8 inches longer overall than the Ford EcoSport and is vastly more comfortable and useful.

In terms of powertrain, the Kicks is mostly Versa. That means it’s a conventional small front-drive box—all-wheel drive isn’t available, which could either scare buyers into the slightly larger Rogue Sport or to another dealership entirely—powered by Nissan’s DOHC, 16-valve HR16DE 1.6-liter inline-four.

Blessed with variable valve timing but lacking the latest direct-injection technology, it runs a soft 9.8:1 compression ratio and makes 125 horsepower at 5800 rpm and 115 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm.