Nissan says it designed its Kicks compact CUV to meet the needs of singles and couples looking for expressive styling, personal technology and advanced safety features at an affordable price.
Mission accomplished on the interior. It’s a standout element of the $23,330 Kicks we judged for the 2019 Wards 10 Best Interiors. The judges were highly impressed, finding plenty of bang for the buck.
In our evaluations, we want to avoid a final list filled with luxury vehicles (although a $275,000 Bentley and some other primo-priced models indeed made the cut).
Quality interiors in affordable vehicles deserve their just due, because the under- $30,000 crowd can offer standout stuff.
The Kicks exemplifies that. Nissan designers used color accents, materials and assorted features to create an awesome interior in a reasonably priced vehicle.
The interior provides ample passenger space throughout the cabin, including best-in-class front legroom. Seats are comfortable and supportive. Most everything is within easy reach.
Kick’s “Gliding Wing” instrument panel design is dominated by a centrally mounted 7-in. (18-cm) color display housing a comprehensive infotainment system. Kicks offers three interface choices – NissanConnect, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Among on-board technology is a monitoring system that uses four cameras to present a virtual composite 360° exterior bird’s-eye view, with split-screen close-ups of the front, rear and curb sides. The system also gives the driver an on-screen heads-up when it detects moving objects near the vehicle. (Driver's head restraint houses Bose speakers, left)
The Bose sound system rocks. It comes with eight speakers to provide all-around sound. We got a kick out of this: A pair of lightweight speakers are built into the driver’s seat head restraint.
In the Kicks we tested, designers used dark orange to accentuate the instrument panel and orange stitching to highlight the seating.
This isn’t Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage, but the orange color scheme also extends to the lighting of some center-stack controls. Volume, tuning and HVAC knobs are ringed in that hue, too.
It’s all funky, fun and functional. And a price that won’t require a lot of greenbacks.
