- The redesigned small crossover gets bigger, roomier, more powerful, and slightly more expensive
- AWD costs more on SV versions than on the base S or top SR trims
- 2025 Kicks SR AWD tops the lineup at $29,070, but a Premium package nudges the price over $30,000
The redesigned 2025 Nissan Kicks arrives at dealers now with a starting price of $23,220, including a $1,390 destination fee, Nissan announced Tuesday.
The second-generation small crossover costs $490 more than the 2024 Kicks, but it will now serve as the entry point to the brand, alongside the Sentra, with the planned discontinuation of the Nissan Versa subcompact car. The swan song for the Versa follows the last dance of the Kia Rio and the chimeric end of the Mitsubishi Mirage, leaving, for the U.S. market, no new cars priced under $20,000.
Automakers such as Nissan have followed market preferences by ditching affordable but less popular subcompact cars and hatchbacks for small crossovers, such as the Nissan Kicks and the 2025 Chevy Trax. At $21,495, the Trax steps up as the cheapest new car and the best budget car we tested in 2024.
The updated 2025 Kicks leaps past the Trax with a feature the Chevy lacks: available all-wheel drive. Larger, roomier, more stylish, and more powerful for 2025, the new Kicks comes with a 2.0-liter inline-4 that makes 141 hp and 140 lb-ft of torque. It pairs with a CVT driving the front wheels. AWD is available for $1,500 on S and SR trims, though it’s $1,650 on the most popular SV trim.
Nissan swaps out a twist beam axle for a multilink rear suspension on AWD models that should handle lateral and vertical movements better. It also grows up and out, with significantly more ground clearance (8.4 inches) versus its predecessor (7.0 inches), and it’s 2.7 inches longer with a wheelbase that’s grown 1.5 inches. It’s wider and taller, too, and the changes increase both passenger and cargo volume.
Every Kicks comes well equipped with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitors, lane-departure warnings, and automatic high beams. Its 3-year/36,000-mile warranty is supplemented by complimentary scheduled maintenance for two years or 24,000 miles.
Standard convenience features on the $23,200 Kicks S include two 7.0-inch screens, one USB-A port, cloth seats, keyless start, and 16-inch steel wheels.
Opting for the SV will cost $25,070, but the upgrades will feel more modern with a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Other features include Bluetooth pairing, a wireless smartphone charger, and automatic locks. An SV Premium package is available for $1,500 that offers heated front seats, a panoramic sunroof, roof rails, and a few other features. It rolls on 17-inch steel wheels.
The 2025 Kicks SR tops the lineup at $27,560 ($29,070 with AWD). It has accent stitching on synthetic leather upholstery, ambient lighting, automatic climate control, 17-inch alloy wheels, a surround-view camera system, and a limited hands-free driving system. It also comes with adaptive cruise control, and can be upgraded with a $1,950 SR Premium package that adds to the SV Premium package a heated steering wheel, Bose audio, and remote start.
Made in Mexico, the 2025 Kicks is on sale now.