2025 Nissan Kicks SR AWD Review -- Second Time Better Than The First

Regular TTAC readers will know that the Kicks underwent a thorough redesign for 2025, growing longer, wider, and taller. Passenger and cargo volume increase, as well.

It added ground clearance, got a new skin, a reworked cabin, and all-wheel drive finally became available.

Nissan also changed out the engine, swapping a 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder in place of a 1.6-liter four. The 2.0-liter pumps out 141 horsepower and 140 lb-ft of torque. Unfortunately, the sole available transmission remains a continuously-variable automatic.

During our first drive in Southern California, I complained about the Kicks needing more grunt for hilly two-lanes. That's not an issue in urban Chicago -- and the Kicks is primarily setup as a city car. That lack of torque is still annoying when it comes to freeway merging or passing, but for the stoplight-to-stoplight dash, it's fine.

It's a similar story with handling. Nissan's tuning for this model is much, much better than what was seen in the first-gen Kicks, and while this is no sports hatch, you'll be just fine in regular urban and suburban driving.

The new cabin is screen-heavy and uses haptic touch for the climate controls -- but as apprehensive as we can be about the latter, it works well enough in daily use. I don't recall having any difficulty getting the proper setting just right.

There's legroom and headroom aplenty up front, even for taller humans, but the roofline cuts into rear-seat headroom. At least legroom in back is acceptable, and the "Zero Gravity" seats in the front are very comfortable for long stints. I also dug the available Bose in-seat speakers.

Speaking of pricing, the Kicks isn't cheap in SR trim with AWD, but it is reasonable. The base price for this top trim car is $27,680 and that number includes standard features like the all-wheel-drive system, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, intelligent lane intervention, blind-spot warning, blind-spot intervention, high-beam assist, hill-start assist, ProPilot Assist, 360-degree camera, traffic-sign recognition, intersection assist, front parking sensors, keyless entry and starting, leatherette seats, USB-C ports, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, and LED exterior lighting.

Options included the $1,950 AWD Premium Package, which included the Bose audio, panoramic moonroof, heated mirrors, heated steering wheel, heated front seats, remote start, and rain-sensing wipers. Other options included splash guards ($250), crossbars ($355), 19-inch alloy wheels, spare tire ($180), and two-tone paint. Total price, including the $1,390 destination fee, was $32,485.

The second-gen Kicks is most of what the first-gen should've been. A pinch more sport and/or power wouldn't hurt, and you can tell where Nissan sought to cut costs if you look closely. But this generation is better-looking, more engaging to drive, and more comfortable inside. As a bonus for Snow Belters, you can get all-wheel drive.

Nissan set out to replace the Juke and Cube with the first-gen Kicks. It wasn't a total flop, but it didn't fully hit the mark.

That's not the case with the new one -- it's pretty on-target for what it's mission is.

Sometimes, the second chance is necessary.

[Images © 2025 Tim Healey/TTAC.com]

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.