“Get your kicks on route 66”
The Nissan Kicks is a practical, compact SUV from the B-segment. Ideal for Europe, you would think, and yet the new Kicks is not coming our way yet. The new Nissan Kicks is presented in, yes, North America.
“Get your Kicks, on Route 66,” the song goes. That is literally possible in the case of the Nissan Kicks. The fact that this car is available in the US is quite special, because compact B-segment SUVs hardly exist in North America. Exactly 0 of the Renault Captur, Opel Crossland, Peugeot 2008 and Volkswagen T-Cross are available on the North American market, while Honda presents ‘our’ ZR-V there as HR-V to disguise the fact that it is actually is a much bigger car. However, there are a few small SUVs that have made it to the American market. This applies, for example, to the Ford Ecosport and the Mazda CX-3, but since 2016 also to the Nissan Kicks. That car was launched in South America, but made its way north shortly afterwards. That was a while ago and that explains why there is now a completely new Kicks on your screen.
Thanks to the Canadians, who unlike Americans do not measure everything in hamburgers, we know that the new Kicks is 4.37 meters long, 1.80 meters wide and 1.63 meters high. That is clearly larger than a Captur, which measures 4.22×1.78×1.58 on the LxWxH scale. The European equivalent of the Kicks is of course the Nissan Juke, but due to its size (4.21 meters) and shape it is clearly less focused on practicality. If an Opel Crossland can coexist next to an Opel Mokka, this should certainly also apply to a Kicks next to a Juke. The new Kicks looks much more modern than its somewhat ‘growth market-like’ predecessor and complements its sleek body with a similarly sleek dashboard.
You can immediately see from the engine that the version shown will not come to Europe in any case. Under the hood is not a turbocharged three-cylinder engine, but a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 140 hp and 190 Nm. The Kicks is only available with an Xtronic CVT, i.e. an automatic transmission with a continuously variable transmission. For the first time, you can choose an AWD version with four-wheel drive, which is nice if it often snows in your area. That is not the case in the Netherlands, but as mentioned, that is not relevant.
Would you see these Nissan Kicks, with or without a different engine, as a European addition to or even a replacement for the Juke? Let us know, maybe the importer will read along!
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl