Nissan has revealed the new Kicks ahead of its official New York Motor Show 2024 debut. The SUV is slightly bigger in all dimensions and has a lot in common with the Mitsubishi XForce SUV that's sold in markets like Indonesia.
- Kicks to be based on one platform globally
- Gets 12.3-inch infotainment and ADAS
New Nissan Kicks will be a global SUV
The outgoing Kicks SUV had two different platforms depending on the market, although both versions had a similar design. The Indian model sat on the B0 platform shared with other Renault and Nissan SUVs like the Duster and Captur, while North America and ASEAN regions were based on the V platform. This version shared its platform with the Nissan Micra and Sunny sedan.
The second-gen Kicks now sits on a single platform for all markets, and shares its platform, body panels (with some design tweaks), interior bits and a few other mechanical components with the ASEAN market Mitsubishi XForce. The Mitsubishi is based on the GS Platform that has been around for a long time, and apart from the aforementioned SUVs, it also underpins the Xpander and Nissan Livina MPVs in Indonesia.
The Kicks will be sold in left- and right-hand drive markets, and serve as Nissan's entry-level SUV in markets like North America.
New Nissan Kicks styling and features
Some of the body panels of the new Kicks, including the doors and roof, are common with the XForce SUV. It also gets a similar glasshouse with a smart coupe-like tapering roofline. It gets chunky-looking wheel arches with matte black body cladding all around, and top variants get huge 19-inch alloy wheels that look straight out of a concept car. Up front, the new Kick gets horizontal LEDs seamlessly integrated within a large black area surrounding the grille. At the rear, uniquely shaped LED tail-lamps blend with a black trim that runs across the width of the tailgate.
On the inside, Nissan says the new Kicks gets more premium materials than before, with the 12.3-inch infotainment being the centre of attraction. The dashboard has a double-layered look like the Xforce, but the quality of materials seem to be better than its Mitsubishi counterpart. Some of the highlight features on the new Kicks include touch-sensitive controls for the HVAC, four USB-C ports, a wireless charging pad, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, panoramic sunroof and headrest-mounted BOSE speakers on some variants.
The Kicks gets an ADAS suite, which includes intelligent cruise control as standard, with top variants getting ProPILOT Assist system as an upgrade, which is Nissan speak for lane keep assist.
New Nissan Kicks: will it come to India?
While the outgoing Kicks was sold in India for a few years, it was a sales disaster for Nissan. The brand has been surviving on a single model, the Magnite compact SUV, ever since. Nissan is focused on bringing in a Renault Triber-based MPV and a Nissan-badged Renault Duster. However, as both these launches are some time away, we don’t expect the new Kicks to launch here anytime soon.