2022 Nissan Kicks

2022 Nissan Kicks Review

　　Christian Wardlaw has worked in the automotive industry since 1994. He has written nearly 10,000 car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 2,000 vehicles over the course of his career. Chris is a correspondent at zzdcar and was the first editor-in-chief of zzdcar.com in the 1990s. He has also contributed to Autotrader, CarGurus, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, NADAguides, New York Daily News Autos and WardsAuto. His mom claims that his first word was “car,” and Chris believes that Miata is always the answer.

　　In terms of its size, the 2022 Nissan Kicks is the smallest SUV in the automaker's lineup, slotting in below the Rogue Sport. In terms of its price, the 2022 Kicks is the most affordable of Nissan's SUVs, yet it still offers as standard equipment the infotainment and safety technologies its cash-strapped buyers want most. But in terms of its performance, an underpowered engine and lack of all-wheel drive might make you question whether the Nissan Kicks is an SUV at all.

　　Among its many extra-small SUV rivals, the Kicks is most like the Hyundai Venue and Kia Soul. Those models do offer some advantages over the Kicks in regards to value and power, however. If you have a few grand more to spend, the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Hyundai Kona and Mazda CX-30 are excellent alternatives as well. Be sure to read our full Expert Rating of the Kicks before you make a final decision.

　　zzdcar Expert Rating

　　Our VerdictThe zzdcar Vehicle Testing Team evaluates a fresh batch of vehicles every week, pairing objective assessments at our test track with real-world driving on city streets, freeways and winding roads. The data we gather results in our Expert Ratings. They’re based on 30-plus scores that cover every aspect of the automotive experience.

　　Average

　　7.4

　　out of 10

　　zzdcar TESTED

　　Rated for you by America's best test team.

Performance

　　How does the Kicks drive? Performance isn't the Kicks' forte. Acceleration is leisurely — we measured a 0-60 mph time of 10.7 seconds, which is among the slowest you'll find in this class. The brakes are easy to control so you can stop smoothly, but the pedal action feels a bit squishy and unnatural. In our tests for emergency braking, the Kicks performed adequately.

　　The Kicks, though, has a couple of things going for it. The suspension is responsive and keeps the vehicle composed, so it's kind of fun to drive on a twisty road. We also like the transmission's smooth and responsive gear ratio adjustments in routine driving. It avoids the annoyances commonly associated with continuously variable transmissions.

Comfort

　　How comfortable is the Kicks? It's not unusual for an inexpensive subcompact vehicle to compromise a bit on comfort, but you will want to kick these poor seats — especially the rear bench — to the curb. Depending on your seating position, you'll likely notice the front seats' lack of upper-back support. The rear seatbacks are too upright, and the bench is flat and hard. These are among the least comfortable seats we've encountered.

　　The Kicks can be a little noisy too. Wind noise isn't too bad and only becomes more noticeable at highway speeds. But the Kicks is susceptible to lots of road noise. About the only good thing in this category is the Kicks' compliant ride quality — it smooths out a lot of bumps in the road without being overly floaty.

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