2018 Nissan Kicks Is the New King of Affordable Crossovers

With no much build up Nissan revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show last night the all-new 2018 Nissan Kicks. this compact crossover will hit the U.S. market in June next year with a starting price of well under $19,000. That, and what the Kicks has to offer, already puts it at the top of the crossover game. 

Unlike most of the other choices in this class, 2018 Nissan Kicks does not look like it’s been made out of reject parts from a hatchback project. The car has its own personality, and it looks quite cool and funky as well. Nissan has given this baby SUV design features usually reserved for much bigger cars – features such as V-Motion grille, boomerang headlights and taillights, and a floating roof with a “wrap-around visor” look. As befits a small urban crossover, the Kicks comes in lively and fun colors, including personalizable two-tone shades.

Inside the cabin the Kicks is designed to appeal to tech savvy customers, since most of its buyers are going to be young people with a social media fixation. 7.0-inch full color display housing a comprehensive infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bose Personal Plus sound system with a pair of lightweight 2.5-inch Bose UltraNearfield neodymium speakers (depending on the trim), and Intelligent Around View Monitor (I-AVM) are among the main tech highlights.

Performance-wise, 2018 Nissan Kicks has only one engine option: a 1.6-liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder with Continuous Variable Valve Timing Control System (CVTCS) rated at  125 horsepower and 115 lb-ft of torque returning 33 mpg combined. It’s nothing to write home about, but as we said the people who will buy this car don’t really care about performance. As long as the car moves at a steady pace and has a socket for charging phones, they will be happy.