2025 Nissan Kicks SR FWD First Test Review: Skipping AWD Has Never Been Easier

Motor Trend

09-05-2025

Pros Pleasant on-road manners
Much quicker than AWD model
Well equipped at price point Cons Troubling panic stop behavior
So-so fuel economy
Coarse-sounding engine
Anyone else getting tired of gimmicks? Cars have gotten so good that automakers have had to resort to frivolities like massive screens that can play video games, light shows as you approach, and meditation chambers just to make their cars stand out against the competition. But what if all it takes to stand out is to be great at being completely normal and affordable? Enter the humble 2025 Nissan Kicks SR FWD.
FWD or AWD?
The 2025 Kicks sees the model transition to its second generation and benefit from a larger-displacement engine with vastly improved output. Power and torque are rated at 141 hp and 140 lb-ft over the prior model's 122 hp and 114 lb-ft. Weight is up, too; this front-wheel-drive model tips our scales at 3,133 pounds, whereas the old Kicks was a featherweight at 2,768 pounds. Still, the 2025 Kicks SR only has to haul around 22.2 pounds per horsepower while the old Kicks pulled 22.7, a marginal improvement but an improvement nonetheless. All-wheel-drive models are heavier, our last weighing 3,312 pounds.
This translates to improved performance when launching the Kicks from a standstill. The 0–60-mph sprint takes 8.7 seconds. While not a scorching time, it beats the old model's 10.1-second best. The addition of the optional all-wheel drive slows the 2025 Kicks down, however. In our testing, the AWD model requires 10.4 seconds to accelerate to 60 mph—dragging the model backwards in performance.
While the FWD Kicks is quicker (and cheaper!) than the all-wheel-drive variant, it performs slightly worse in other metrics. Braking is a weak spot. Around-town pedal feel is accurate with decent bite at the top of travel, but things get hairy under panic stopping. Medium to heavy use of the brakes causes the Kicks' rear to wobble left and right, with the torsion-beam rear suspension working hard to keep the small SUV from pitching forward.
This bad behavior is due in part to 63 percent of the vehicle's mass being located up front, with only 37 percent in the rear. Slam on the brakes at 60 mph, and you'll come to a stop in 130 feet, which is poor performance for such a small vehicle. All-wheel-drive versions of the Kicks use independent rear suspension and work with a more balanced 61 percent front/39 percent rear weight distribution. Stopping distances improve to 127 feet, despite the weight gain from the AWD system, but more significant, the AWD Kicks merely teakettles forward rather than wiggling under braking.
Differences on our figure-eight test circuit are marginal. This 2025 Nissan Kicks SR FWD runs the one-third-mile route in 28.1 seconds while the AWD variant needs 28.0 seconds.
From a subjective perspective, the Kicks is fun to drive and handles well. Steering is direct, and it's easy to place the wheels where you want them. The SUV's lightweight body is nimble, exhibiting slight but well-controlled roll in the corners. If you like getting up to a bit of mischief on a twisty road, stability control is easy to disable and lets you drive this subcompact like it's an old-school front-drive hatchback.
In day-to-day driving, the Kicks SR FWD can keep up with traffic from stoplight to stoplight and is quicker than before, but it still isn't what anyone would describe as powerful. You need to keep your foot in the throttle to get up to speed when merging onto a highway.
Even though the engine lacks grunt, it likes to rev and happily stays in the powerband with the help of the Kicks' standard CVT. It makes a tinny racket while working hard, but once you've reached cruising speed, the four-banger quiets down. Suspension tuning is compliant over city streets, even without rear independent suspension, though the little crossover tends to struggle damping out the imperfections of a coarse road surface or quietly absorbing larger impacts.
Underscoring the experience of driving the 2025 Nissan Kicks SR is its general ease of use. Although it's larger than its predecessor, a tight turning radius and good visibility give you the confidence to maneuver the small SUV through traffic. It's easy to parallel park the Kicks or squeeze the Nissan into a tight spot. Its performance doesn't excite, but its cheerful and pleasant demeanor takes some of the edge out of the daily commute.
Is the 2025 Nissan Kicks SR FWD Good for Everyday Life?
Essentially a high-riding hatchback, the redesigned Kicks wears a decidedly contemporary styling free of cartoonish accents like the ubiquitous unibrow lightbar that has permeated so much of today's automotive designs. Inside the cabin, the no-nonsense interior of our SR test car has a couple sporty accents like an orange garnish around the shifter, orange contrast stitching, and black leatherette seats with orange-patterned cloth inlays.
Atop the Kicks SR's dashboard, there are two right-sized 12.3-inch screens perched atop a shelf of a soft material decorated with a pattern resembling carbon fiber. The displays are easy to navigate with clearly defined menus. We love that Nissan's user interface has togglable audio feedback that sounds like the classic Windows mouse click, a small delight for nerds like us.
You still get lots of useful tech with the top-level SR trim. Wireless Apple CarPlay works seamlessly, and a charging pocket under the infotainment touchscreen lets you go cord free. A 360-degree camera view, enabled in reverse or at the touch of a button located next to the volume knob, shows a sharp overhead image of the Kicks for low-speed maneuvering precision.
Our Kicks SR builds on the Nissan Safety Shield 360 suite with adaptive cruise control and hands-on ProPilot Assist 1.0 lane following support. As the 1.0 version of Nissan's highway driving assistance, ProPilot Assist maintains distance well between the Kicks and the vehicle ahead, but we've had to correct the steering through tighter curves at highway speeds. The rest of the equipment works as advertised. Notably, the passive lane keeping assistant isn't overeager to step in when you're driving manually, a rarity in modern cars. We usually get so annoyed by lane keeping that we disable it altogether, but we left it on in the Kicks because it's helpful rather than intrusive.
Instead of relying on frippery to make a jaw-dropping first impression, the Kicks is equipped with features that make life easier over the course of ownership. Buyers and lessees are sure to like the cleverly designed trunk, which has a two-stage cargo floor that can either make the storage space deeper or flush with the rear seat backs when they're folded flat.
That very same cargo floor piece has a hinge in the center that folds up, allowing quick access to a secondary storage area that's large enough for the optional spare tire or several duffels. On the upper lip of the right and left side of the trunk space, there are hooks for hanging shopping bags so they don't flop around when you're driving home from the store. Side pockets can hold smaller items you don't want to be loose in the trunk.
The trade-off is that the trunk isn't offered with a self-opening motor, so you must operate the hatch the old-fashioned way. We appreciate that Nissan places a small button that can lock and unlock the doors next to the trunk release.
Our test car is equipped with the Premium package, which adds a bundle of upscale features like a panoramic moonroof, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, heated mirrors, rear floor heater ducts, remote engine start, and rain-sensing wipers. This suite is the only way to get the Kicks' flashiest option, a 10-speaker audio system from Bose with in-headrest speakers for the driver and passenger. The stereo is no gimmick; these speakers are high-quality and expose you to aspects of your favorite songs you may never have heard before. Consider the Premium package a worthwhile investment if you're considering the purchase of a Kicks.
Sounds Good! How Much?
This well-equipped Kicks has been accessorized with splash guards for $250, carpeted floormats and underfloor protection for $200, and two-tone Arctic Ice Blue Metallic and Super Black paint for $800, and the Premium package adds $1,950. In total, our test car stickers for $30,835, $1,500 less than it would with all-wheel drive. This price represents good value given the high level of equipment provided; buyers shouldn't feel like they're missing out on much when driving a 2025 Kicks.
The top-level Kicks SR undercuts its rivals by a good margin. Starting at $27,570, the Kicks SR FWD also compares favorably to the nicest front-wheel-drive Honda HR-V, which begins at $30,895. Other rivals are even pricier. A top-level Kona Limited starts at $32,100, and the Volkswagen Taos SE Black, the most expensive trim available with FWD, starts at $32,025. These competitors have more second-row legroom and feel a smidge more upscale, but you save money and get near-equivalent features if you stick with Nissan's subcompact offering.
Making a small, affordable car appealing to shoppers is a tough balancing act, but Nissan has done a great job doing just that with the 2025 Kicks SR FWD. As it turns out, a product designed to meet the needs of its buyers doesn't need gimmicks to shine.