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Nissan Kicks XV Diesel

Onroad price-15.4 Lakhs
December 2019 discount-2.6 Lakhs
Onroad price after discount-12.7 Lakhs with 5-year warranty
Current Odometer reading: 2129 Kms.

Likes

• Superb ride quality
• Decent Handling
• Spacious, a proper big car.
• Best in class rear-seat space for 3 adults with AC vents.
• Best in class boot space.
• Frugal diesel engine, got 19.2 kmpl tank fill method for a trip of 700 kms with 80% highway and 20% City with AC on.
• Sufficient Power and Tractability in the city.
• Beast in the Highways, 90-100 kmph at 2000 rpm feels very refined and calm.
• Based on the Renault Duster platform, Chassis and mechanicals are the same.
• Value for Money with BS4 Discounts.
• ESP offered in lower variants.
• Interiors are subtle and good looking.
• Physical buttons for volume control
• No Annoying speed warnings. (I feel speed warnings are good, but should not be annoying)
  

Dislikes

• Only 2 Airbags in mid variant, even the top variant does not offer curtain airbags
• No Automatics offered
• No sun-roof :Frustrati
• Left pulling issue (Solved)
• No dead pedal
• Finding a good seating posture may be tricky with no telescopic adjustment and unusual seat height function.
• Turbo lag is present, however not intrusive
• Slight Steering kickback on rough roads

The Choice

Initial Requirement:

• A family car, This is my first car and my parents owned none. I got married and with the kid growing faster, it was evident that a car purchase is inevitable for safe city commutes and intercity drives.
  
• I love long-distance motorcycling trips, after marriage, it has been sparse. It was time to do trips as a family.

The Classic fight between heart and head.

I started learning about the importance of financial independence and I was making good progress in the area of Personal Finance. I was quite reluctant to spend on a car, which would sit idle most of the time but rob 20-30K/month (EMI+Fuel+Maintenance+Insurance+Toll+Parking) from my pocket which would otherwise be put to good work (Invested in financial instruments to multiply). So, I wanted to limit the damage as much as possible.

• Option 1-Used cars.
  My head wanted to buy the cheapest option. I started looking at used cars and quickly realized getting a good used car takes a lot of time, energy, expertise, and LUCK. Also, personally, I somehow disliked owning a car that is used by someone else and it just didn't feel right to me.
  
• Option 2-Rental cars
  I flirted with the car rental options such as zoom car and local rentals for almost a year. They had quite a good collection of cars and were reasonably priced. It is definitely possible to survive, not owning a car at all. There are a lot of options these days if you are in a metro city Ola/Uber/Zoomcar/Local rentals. However, it was painful for the following reasons
  • The anxious process of securing a good car (you prefer to drive) when you need it. It is impossible to find one on the weekends if you don't book in advance.
  • It is not my car and I cant drive them enthusiastically as I would drive my own car. Funfact:Zoom car restricts speeds to 80kmph. Imagine driving a 400 km trip with restricted speeds.
  • Lack of cleanliness of the rental cars just upsets your holiday mood.
  • Sometimes, you get a car with minor damages and you have to take videos and photos before and after to ensure the rentals don't charge you for the damages made by someone else.
    
    However, on the positive side, it gave me an opportunity to explore the world of cars. I test drove/rented the below cars for the past year, some of the rented cars I was able to drive them for the entire day and I learned about pros and cons of
    
    • Car types (Hatch vs Sedan vs SUV)
    • Transmissions (Manual vs Auto),
      
      Once I rented a VW Polo 1.2 as my parents visited my place and we as a family went around the city for temple visits, shopping, and parks. I actually drove the car for the entire day and was quite tired, but I had to drop my parents on the bus stand and on reaching there we realized that the bus left the spot already. Luckily, for us, there was an option to catch the bus, but I had to drive like 60 kms. After driving for almost 10 hours, I didn't want to stop driving the damn car, it was so much fun. clap: Kudos VW Polo. The driving position was the best of all cars I have driven and German engineering is something to be experienced. The only gripe was the mileage.

Cars Driven

Hatchback

1. Maruti 800 Petrol
2. Maruti Baleno Petrol
3. Maruti Ignis Petrol
4. Maruti Swift Petrol Auto
5. Maruti Swift Diesel
6. Hyundai I20 Diesel
7. VW Polo GT TSI
8. VW Polo Petrol
9. Tata Tiago Petrol
10. Tata Tiago JTP
11. Nissan Micra Diesel
12. Ford Freestyle Diesel

SUV

1. Ford Ecosport Petrol Auto
2. Tata Nexon Diesel
3. Hyundai Venue Diesel
4. Ford Ecosport Diesel
5. Kia Seltos
6. Mahindra XUV 500
7. Maruti Brezza AMT
8. Hyundai Creta
9. Tata Harrier
   

Sedan

1. Honda City
2. Tata Tigor JTP
3. Skoda Rapid Diesel
4. VW Ameo Diesel Auto

Heart's domination

Option 3- A spanking new car

After tasting the Polos and the JTPs, the thirst for a good car took precedence irrespective of the price.

Tata Tigor JTP: (+) One of the best driver's car (-) Fit and Finish is average, dashboard rattles, Poor ASS.
Ford Ecosport: (+) Finest handling Compact SUV, Fabulous Steering and good ride quality. (-)Top-end with ESP is expensive.
Ford Freestyle: (+) ESP, 6 Airbags and sub-10 lakh price. (-) Felt cramped.
Skoda Rapid: (+) German Engineering (-) Heavy Clutch, ASS troubles.
Hyundai Creta: (+) Brilliant well-rounded car (-)High Price
Hyundai Venue: (+) Top-notch refinement levels (-) Space, felt like a hatch
Kia Seltos: (+) Attractive looks (-) low VFM, no ESP in Diesel variants, poor ride quality.

I also wanted a car with ESP, I believe it is important than airbags as it has the potential to avoid a crash in the first place. ESP was made mandatory for all cars in the European Union in 2014.

The cars that I considered seriously

1. Tata Tigor JTP:

My JTP experience

After reading the reviews online, I went to the dealership for a test drive and the Tigor JTP was available. I took it for a short test drive and luckily the test drive route had good corners and there was little traffic. The exhaust note while accelerating was damn good, I could immediately notice that the steering felt super sharp, I slotted the gear in third and pushed the accelerator. It was love at first drive. I was grinning like a mad person throughout the test drive. To be honest no other car has excited me so much.

The steering was precise and had great feedback. The acceleration was mad, the body roll. I loved the car to bits. I came home and was singing praises about the car to my family and wife. My wife asked me to show the pictures and was like 'meh'. It was not aspirational for them, especially the brand name Tata and reminiscent looks of an Indica (at least for the common folks who don't know cars much). I tried my best to convince them that the JTP looks different and better.

I wanted to test drive the Tiago JTP as well, so went to another dealership and I liked it, but not as much as the Tigor. I somehow felt Tigor was better and felt more exciting (not sure what caused this). I was reading Marie Kondo at that time and she says "Discard everything in your life that does not spark Joy" To me, JTP sparked oodles of Joy and wanted to own her badly. It just felt like a perfect car for me. This crush was furthered by reading Mi10's posts. I actually took my wife as well for the Tiago JTP drive and I remember she literally screamed for 5-7 seconds when I pushed the accelerator hard and took a turn. It was quite an experience and she mentioned that the drive was like a roller-coaster.

Reasons for not buying

• Not aspirational (Hatch, Tata brand)
• Niggles (The test drive car dashboard rattled, the dashboard panels under the steering was sticking out as well)
• I wanted a bigger car
• Boot space, I wanted a car that can do (2-week) long trips and can accommodate the luggage for the same.
• My wife didn't like it (Yes, there I said it)

2. Ford Freestyle

Good car with unparalleled safety for the price with 6 airbags, ESP, TC, HHA, ROP. However, I felt slightly cramped in the driver's seat.

I realized that hatches generally don't offer the sort of space I prefer and I have to switch to the Sedan or SUV segment. I was more inclined towards SUVs at some point during this exploration. I use to do motorcycle trips before marriage and I did a Chennai-Leh-New Delhi trip on my TVS Apache in 2012, It was one epic 16-day, 6300 km trip. I was fantasizing about the ability of SUVs to haul my family for such trips.

3. Ford Ecosport S Diesel

Ford Ecosport has one of the best steering feel and feedback. Loved the ability to steer in millimetres, It felt like I can attach a pencil to the front car and draw a picture. It is that precise. I also like the solid feel of the car and the top end had everything sunroof, TPMS, the seats felt comfy as well. I had the opportunity to rent a Ford Ecosport on more than one occasion and I loved the car.

Ford goofed up the variants by removing ESP and other features on mid-variants. If I had to buy an Ecosport, then it was the top end S Diesel. It was around 13.5 Lakhs on-road, at that price I have other bigger options like Creta and Seltos.

At this point, I test drove Nissan Kicks just to check this off of my test-drive Checklist. The car was impressive in the first test drive which made me confused as Nissan Kicks XL D which is a bigger car costed the same as Ecosport S Diesel.

My test drive route consists of 3 km of good 6-lane road and a detour of 3-4 km with a lot of bends, smaller roads, with broken road surfaces, cement roads, speed breakers, a range of potholes of all sizes. To be brief, it is perfect for testing the ride quality and NVH. I test drove the same route with the following cars.

• Hyundai Venue
• Hyundai Creta
• Kia Seltos
• Ford Ecosport (17 Inch wheels)
• Ford Ecosport (16 Inch wheels)
• Nissan Kicks
• Tata Harrier

I really tried to include Jeep Compass in the test drive. I called 5-6 times for a test drive over a period of 2 months, I never got a test-drive. Pathetic sales team, I am wondering how ASS would be.
Observations for the test drive:

Nissan Kicks had the best ride quality overall. Venue had the best NVH. Tata Harrier was unrefined, the engine sound was very audible and it felt like a costly suit made by an average tailor.

I created the below checklist to ensure I don't forget to inspect/observe the different aspects of the test drive car. Also, I rated each line item out of 10 points and then summed to derive the overall score. Please forgive me for the quality of the paper.

Test drive Checklist:



Now, here the Ford Ecosport won by 10 points (I understand this is not the most scientific way to measure lol:) however it is a smaller car and I was debating whether to buy a small car with better features or a big car with only the features I want. Nissan Kicks XL D had all the features I would want in a car including ESP.

Also, you might have noticed that I did not talk about Petrol vs Diesel. I prefer Diesels more than most petrol cars due to the tractability at slow speeds and their frugality. However, I was willing to buy a petrol car if it was sporty enough such as the JTP and had decent mileage above 10 Kmpl. The initial price difference was not a major concern.

December Offers from Nissan: I was informed by the Nissan folks that there is a referral offer going on and XL Diesel was available with 2.5 Lakh discount, so the final price will be 11.2 Lakhs. This offer lured me in, we booked the car and Nissan dealership informed me that Blue color was sold out in XL D variant and only BS 6 variants are currently manufactured. My wife preferred the Blue so we went ahead and upgraded the booking to XV Diesel (Onroad price, 12.7 Lakhs after discount). Major additional features over XL were Hill hold Assist, Keyless Entry, Cruise control, and Projector headlamps.

Compact/Midsize SUV comparison

please note

• All prices are indicative ex-showroom.
• Green highlights indicate the best excluding luxury models.
• Yellow highlight indicate the second-best excluding luxury models.
• Luxury model data is included for reference purposes.
• *Nissan December discounts on BS4 models.
• Performance data gathered from Autocar India Website
• Approx. boot size of Seltos minus the spare wheel should be around 390 litres
• The roll-on figures of Nissan Kicks are better than more powerful Creta, wondering what Seltos would look like.
  

Notice how Nissan Kicks is almost the size of Audi Q3 and only a tiny bit smaller than Jeep Compass. Wheelbase and Ground clearance and boot space are class-leading. Kicks is also wider, taller and longer than most cars.



Nissan Kicks XV Diesel Features

• 17 Inch Alloys
• 215/60 Apollo Tyres
• LED projector headlamps
• Sharkfin antenna
• Auto AC
• Eco-mode
• Rear AC vents
• Cooled glove box with illumination
• Dual horn
• Tilt adjust steering
• Iso-fix child seat mounts
• 8-inch touchscreen
• Keyless entry with card key
• Cruise control
• Push button start
• Electrically adjustable and foldable mirrors (the mirrors however don’t close when I lock the car)
• Vehicle Dynamic Control (ESP)
  

Additional Features in the Top variant

• 360 Degree Camera
• Leather Seats
• 2 Side airbags (Not curtain though)
• Storage console lamp
• Cornering function of the fog lamps
• Rain-sensing wiper
• Follow me home headlamps

Features that would have been nice

• Sunroof
• Auto IRVM
• 6 Airbags
• Traction Control
• TPMS
• Automatic transmission
• Telescopic adjustment of steering (the only feature that I really miss)
• Rear Disc brakes
• Auto headlamps
• Front parking sensor
• Electric seat adjustment
• Heads-up display

Booking and Delivery

They were prompt in all communication and was respectful. Other than that, I was never able to trust them on anything. I had to be following up and ensuring they don't goof up.
When I booked the car they did not check whether the color specified (Blue) while booking is in stock. They checked the stocks only after the full payment. This is just unacceptable, they could have easily done that, it was a heartache when I heard I had to upgrade as the Blue color was out of stock (From the units allocated to December discounted sales). They delayed the delivery date promised by 2 weeks. While delivery, they did not complete the customer delivery checksheet, Instead of giving me a demo and walking through the checklist they simply handed over the checklist and asked me if I have any questions.

To summarise, the experience was average.

Pre-delivery inspection

• The on-road price after the discount was 12.7 Lakhs with a 5-year warranty. This was a really sweet deal. However, it wasn't sweet when I discovered that my vehicle was manufactured 10 months ago during the pre-delivery inspection.
  
• There was bird dropping on the bonnet. I thought it should go away after wash during the inspection, but it did not, it took away the paint as well. :Shockked: I guess the vehicles were made to bask in the sun for a while (months?) in the factory.
  
• I did some basic checks such as looking for scratches, revving the engine, finding the mfg date, panel gaps. I found that the panel under the driver steering was protruding and it was fixed at the delivery, but I had to remind them on the delivery date about the same.
  

Delivery

• I followed the Team-bhp delivery checklist.
• Went with my family, they did the pooja, took photographs.
• I gave some token gifts to the sales advisors, distributed some sweets
• They had washed the vehicle, but I was not satisfied, I was in no mood to fuss about that as we wanted to visit the temple and there wasn't enough time.
  

Pooja at temple next to a BMW

A new chapter

I welcomed Ikran- my blue beast home.

The rationale behind naming him Ikran: This is my first car similar to Jake Sully's first banshee. It was exciting initially and had elated feelings. However, Banshee tried to kill Jake and Ikran broke my heart in the first one month of ownership. More on that later in this thread.










Exterior Shots


Walkaround Video

https://youtu.be/tUANbtD5zCQ











Size compared to Duster


Headlights at Night


Tail lights at Night


Closer look at the headlight




With Hatches

Exterior Indepth

Front
Front view with the massive V-Motion grille, see how the hood lines form a bigger V.


V-motion grille close-up. I wish the grille came in piano black instead of chrome. This would make it look more mean.

One thing I realized is that Humans tend to judge a car's size at a distance using few key things.

1. Grille size: viewed from the front, this is one of the reasons why cars with larger grille's are becoming a fashion. A small car like Venue appears more aggressive with its larger grille.

2. Rear glass panel size: Manufacturers ensure that the smaller cars have wider and larger rear glass to appear larger.



Nissan logo and the black hexagonal plastic surrounds


The front bumper and number plate, see the tow hook access to the left.


The front windshield is huge.


Wipers spindles and the windshield washers are on the bonnet.


Front hood, here you can spot the Ikran's birthmark from a bird dropping.


Fog lamps, top end variant gets cornering function. The fog lamp will light up based on the steering position to aid visibility in corners.




The LED projectors has a black cap which reminds me of DarthVader



DRLs and Highbeam close-up. These DRLs do not turn on or off automatically, you have to manually switch them on and remember to turn-off when you switch-off of the car(more like a pilot lamp). I prefer not to turn on the DRLs in the day.



Doors Opened


Wiper spray in action

https://youtu.be/yLoAKzKJnvY

Indicators in action

https://youtu.be/QaSkKdRLugw

Exterior - Continued

Side

The side profile is most attractive view IMHO



SUVs in India typically stick to the boxy styling, however one of the best SUV on the market the Audi Q8 does not follow this trend. See here a comparison of how Nissan Kicks is similar to the side profile of Q8 here. Having said that, I do like Volvo XC 40 and Kia Seltos design.



Side profile


The Front wheel cladding is massive.



Side indicator in action


Mirrors, see how they are mounted on the door instead of the A-pillar on other cars. Honda Jazz is another car with this style.


Door handles, the Front doors get request sensors. Notice the key-hole on the passenger side, to be used when keyless entry battery dies.


Rear Window does not open all the way.


The two-character lines on the body below the mirrors are interesting. (Fun fact: How to find time to write a TBHP ownership review? Utilize the waiting time when your wife goes shopping and you park the car on the side and click pictures like a mad person :uncontrol)



The functional roof-rail feels solid to hold.


The side cladding


The roof rail from the top


Rear panel


Fuel lid:


Rear



Rear glass window, one thing that manufacturers do to make the vehicle look bigger is to put a huge rear glass on a small car (best example is Hyundai Santro) Kicks does the opposite.



Rear skidplate



Underside, notice the spare wheel and silencer. The spare wheel placement helps if you are on a road trip and you don't have to move your luggage to access the spare tire. However, might be difficult to access.









Sharkfin antenna standard on all variants.



A closer look at the tailamp


Tow point and Nismo badge purchased from Amazon.



Reverse camera


Rear parking sensors and Kicks bagde



Boot opened



Boot lip, the boot scuff plate is a Nissan accessory.

Interiors

Dashboard

Dashboard, the mood lights is an optional accessory from Nissan. I feel this is a subtle and lovely layout. The carbon-fiber trim instead of the leather looks good and feels soft to touch as well. I got compliments that the dash look clean and good. I also love the minimal yet beautiful 8-inch display.




Both the sunshades get mirrors, no light though. Notice how the pillars are dark but the roof liner is a lighter shade.


Chunky Steering wheel, it's leather-wrapped. however, I am assuming this is art leather as it not as grippy as I would like it to be. The horn needs a good push from my thumb. It is a nice-sounding double horn. The silver trim (plastic) on the steering wheel is really nice, wish it is made from brushed aluminum.





Cruise control works perfectly. I was unsure whether we would use this feature in Indian roads, I used it 10% of the time on a short 200 km trip, I guess it will be more useful on longer trips.





The indicator controls are on the left, this needs some getting used to. Also, we tend to use the left hand to shift gears and it is inconvenient to use the same hand to turn the indicators. On the flip side, It is good in a way as it will ensure we drive using both the hands-on wheels.





There is a third stalk. I looks ugly, but this is quite nice to use, especially the rotary button to switch to next song, I dig it. This stalk can be used to toggle between audio sources, attend or cancel phone calls, use in-built voice command to call numbers. The voice commands are restricted to a finite number of commands, I feel it is easier to use Siri.





Rotary switch on the volume control stalk


The floating 8-inch display is simply a superb unit to use. The best thing I love about this is physical controls for the volume. The buttons reek quality with a nice grippy feel. The touch response is fantastic, it has Apple car play/Android auto as standard. The brightness of the display is good for use during the date.

The TPMS display from Sensairy is a third-party accessory. It works well too.






The Camera button on the top-end model gets a 360 view, this one just shows the rear view.



The front AC Vent, love the classic round design with honeycomb pattern internals.





Gearlever: Gear throws are medium throw and feel nice. I would not call them sporty. For reverse we need to pull the collar and use the same action as first gear. No complaints.




AC controls





Speedometer console with warning lights during start up



Manual IRVM



Sunglass/Wallet holder below steering unit


Start-stop button



Cooled and lit glovebox is small but deep.




Fuse point inside the glovebox.


Footwell with no dead pedal. It is not a wide one.





Reading light design looks slightly dated. The display there acts as a seat belt warning. The IRVM is manual, it is of adequate width.



The seat belt reminder and the mirror. There are audible and visual alerts for seat belts for the front occupants.

The seats

Likes
A comfortable and spacious rear bench that can seat 3
The upholstery material is good.
The front seats recline backward completely.

Dislikes
The driver seat has an unusual seat height adjust mechanism. When you increase the seat height only the base of the seat rises and the back rest remains stationary, I don't know who is behind this ingenious BS design. The problem is when you increase the seat height the lower back support reduces almost to the point you are hunching and the seat holds you in the wrong places. When you reduce the seat height the back support is much better but I dont like that position. Nissan should just provide the regular seat mechanism in future models. Please note, this could be a no-problem at all for your body type. if you are considering Kicks please make sure you find the seats comfortable I am exploring third party accessories such as lower back support pillows to improve this. I am quite sure this is fixable.









The AC vents flow can be directed in 4 directions (Up/down/left/right). The Volume of flow can also be adjusted by the rotary switch.

















The armrest is usable and feels good. Please note that the tray near the parking brake is an accessory.

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1





The Floormats used here are a third-party accessory.



This is the front passenger footwell and the white strip is the mood light (Nissan accessory).




These work well, the range of height adjustment is average.

Doors

All doors have bottle holders that can fit 1-liter bottles and have space for other items. They also have wallet/phone holder spaces. One thing I like about Nissan is that all the armrests are lined with cushion and fabric unlike the lower trims from Seltos/Venue where it is hard plastic. Notice all four doors get speakers and the 2 tweeters are on the dashboard. The ingress and egress are comfortable due to the ride height and relatively narrower door sills and there is sufficient space to move your feet in and out.



[/ATTACH]



Nissan Kicks has a lot of quirky features. One is the door, they have designed the door sills thinner for easy egress/ingress. The rubber beading is where the door contacts the body of the car. The negative is that the door part below this beading will get dirty quite easily from water splashes or debris from the road.





The door levers feel premium with satin chrome finish.



The driver window has one up/down touch feature and it also has anti pinch feature detects hand and rolls back.



Grab handles are on all 4 door openings.





The mirrors are sufficiently wide.


Mirrors are India friendly as well.



Rear doors open wide to allow easy access.


The rear door also feature child lock toggles. If this is switched then the rear doors can only be opened from the outside.







Illuminated window controls

Boot and Bonnet

The boot has a thick rubber and makes boot closure feels plush.



The mounting points of the Parcel trays.


The tools are neatly organized in the side compartments in the boot. The tools are secured in place so that they don't move around.





[b]






The anchor points for the child







The boot space with seats down is enormous. It looks like it is possible to put a single mattress (although it is not completely flat) and sleep inside the car (I am yet to try this). Wish there was a panoramic sun-roof it would have been perfect for those Overlanding sleepovers. Please note that the boot mat here is a third party accessory.




The rear-seat passengers can access the boot by opening the tray.

Engine Bay: The bonnet feels solid and heavy. The bonnet also has insulation material on the inside. There is a battery cover, I am assuming it is to prevent heating of the battery.






Engine insulation visible here.


Bonnet open lever is placed right side of the driver under the dashboard. The fuel open lever is at placed under the seat.



MID is not fancy as in some new cars but it does the job. The controls are placed on the right stalk.







Safety

Nissan Kicks has Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC). This is called ESP or ESC by some manufacturers. I can't stress enough why ESP is the most important safety feature more than 6 airbags or a 5 star crash rating. We were on our second highway trip as a family, my wife and kid were in the back seat and I was driving at highway speeds. A bus in front of us (approx 200 meters ahead of us) tried to overtake a vehicle in the front on the top of a bridge. There was a Hyundai i20 coming in the opposite direction. The i20 driver was not able to see the bus in the opposite direction due to the blind spot created by the bridge. The i20 braked hard, the car lost traction and hit the bridge shoulder and hit the bus and crashed in the road ahead of me. I witnessed this freak accident and I slammed the brakes hard and Nissan didn't move an inch sideways, thanks to ABS and ESP, I stopped before 10 meters of the crashed car.

The i20 had 6 airbags all of them worked, it was not able to save the person, we came to know that he died later. The vehicle didn't have ESP, this is the one of the reason why the vehicle went out of control.

At team-bhp, we should not support car manufacturers who rob us of our hard-earned money and give us tin boxes with the least safety possible. I was extremely disappointed to know that Kia do not provide ESP on the diesel variants of Seltos even on the highest trim. This is just beyond me, how an Indian customer paying 20 Lakhs is not offered an essential safety feature like ESP on his vehicle. I feel we Indians are taken for granted. The car brands who prioritize safety are not valued by Indian customers, take Ford as an example, their cars are packed with safety even on their hatches, they are now almost out of India.

"According to the new study, by amending the Motor Vehicle Act and other measures to make ESC mandatory in 2020 could save 42,000 lives lost due to road accidents in India and six more countries."

Source: https://auto-stage.economictimes.ind...-2020/73273531

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TW-9r7rdyA



Hillhold assist: This works well, when you are on an incline and have come to a halt. The car holds the brake for 2-3 seconds, just to give you enough time to press the accelerator. I thought this is not needed at first, but it is very convenient at times especially when there is a vehicle close behind you in traffic on a bridge.

Another thing I prefer to check on a vehicle is the dynamics under hard braking and aggressive steering inputs. The worst car was Hyundai i20, with its soft suspension the car rolled so badly. The best car was Tiago JTP, even with aggressive steering movements the car was super-stable. Nissan kicks being an SUV does roll under steering inputs, but I felt it was better and stable than Creta.

Steering feel: Steering lightness is just perfect for my liking. It is not too light (read Hyundai light) and it gets nice and sufficiently heavy at highway speeds. The feel and feedback is lukewarm at low speeds, It is nowhere near say a Ford Ecosport. However, at highway speeds, it feels much better. I am wondering whether changing the tyres might improve the steering feel and feedback.

Handling: The best handling car I have ever driven was Tigor JTP, I understand that I cannot expect the same from an SUV. The handling is good for an SUV, and it is very predictable. In corners, I found that the body roll was well-contained when you are gentle with steering. I tried to drive sporty and it was not confidence-inspiring for three reasons 1. Ride height 2. Softer suspension 3. Seats don't hold and I have to use my legs against the doors to avoid too much movement. The grip from Apollo Apterra tyres are sufficient but It can be better at high speeds.

Brakes: Brakes are good.

How power is delivered: I felt Ecosport Diesel was the best in power delivery. There was no lag and it was responsive to accelerator inputs at any speed. Kicks does feel laggy at city speeds (under 1800 rpm), once past this there is a surge in power and the engine comes to life. Having said this, the Kicks is very tractable at low speeds, in heavy traffic I just use the second gear in stop and go situations and play with the clutch and accelerator to move. At highways and free roads, Kicks feels just superb. It is a beast in the highways.

Gear Shifts: Shifts are positive, the gear throw is not short or not long. The clutch is light, but the clutch travel is significant. It is good for an SUV.

Ergonomics:

• Seats: The car seat offers poor lower back support at its highest setting due to its design. I am looking at options such as lower back support accessories to fix this. Lower thigh support is average (I am 5 foot 11 and I have long legs though)
• Passenger seat buckle: New passengers in the front seat may ask your help especially if it is dark due to the hand rest position. Not a big deal though as the members of your family will easily get used to this.
• Parking brake: Many in the reviews complained about the parking brake and hand rest. I got used to the handrest position and using the parking brake is easy. This is no issue.
• Dead pedal: There is no dead pedal in Kicks. I realized that I actually dont use the dead pedal when driving the XUV 500 for a day. I tend to retract and place my foot in front of the clutch pedal. This really depends on the seating position as well. If you are in a sporty sedan and stretched out, retracting your legs will be tougher. However, in SUVs, you sit upright and retracting feels much natural. I am curious to know how many teamBHPs find dead pedal useful. This was not an issue.
• Footwell space: The footwell space is slightly less compared to the competition but it is not an issue for me. The reason is I place my right knee on the door pad and naturally, my shins make a V position.
• Headspace: For people with a larger torso and who are above 6 feet check it out. The headspace is similar to Seltos but Creta and Ecosport has loads of it.
• Armrest: Although it is not adjustable, for my seating position I am able to use the left (center arm rest). The right side is not useable for me, if I am holding the steering. I noticed that this becomes a problem with wider and bigger cars such as the Harrier. The panels don't wrap you around and the door panels are further away from you in big cars. This is not an issue but an observation. Ecosport had the best seats and armrests and they wrap around you.
  

AC Power: AC chills the cabin quickly. It is powerful, the fan noise is quite low at low-speed settings and I find the fan noise normal compared to other cars.

Ride quality: Simply the best in this segment One reason why I would recommend this car. It is just terrific at any speed. I feel it will improve even further with better tyres.

Ground Clearance: Best in class ground clearance of 210 mm gives you the confidence of driving on any rough road and potholes.


Lighting: The LED projectors are low beam and high beams are halogen. The low beam throw and coverage is excellent, the high beam range is average and sufficient.

MID: THe MID is basic, it has the odometer, range, fuel used and average mileage.

NVH: The car feels very refined. However, there is tyre noise on certain types of roads, I believe this is normal (it is similar to other cars) and I am assuming this might reduce with a different set of tyres.

"The maximum sound level recorded on SLM (Sound Level Metre) in the Creta stood at 81.1 dB (A), while that of the Kicks stood at 74.4 dB (A). In the FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) vs Time test as well, we found that noise insulation to be mildly better on the Kicks"

Source: https://autotechreview.com/technolog...s-outwit-creta

Noise levels on the Seltos feels better at low speeds, but as far as I have observed the Seltos engine does get louder at higher rpms.

Maintenance costs: The car had a left pulling issue and I noticed it within a week of delivery. I raised a complaint and they sorted it by replacing the right side front knuckle under warranty. They picked and dropped the car which was convenient and I didn't have to spend time visiting service centers. I am happy that it got resolved, but it was a nightmarish first month of ownership as I was anxious about getting this resolved and I was reading some posts which mention that this is unresolvable. I will update this thread later on the details of how this was fixed.

Turning radius: Nissan Kicks has best in class turning radius of 5.2 meters for a big car. (Seltos is 5.3 meters)

Visibility: Overall visibility is pretty good. There are blind spots at the rear due to the thick D pillars. You might need to get used to this.

Speakers: The 4 speaker, 2 tweeter system is better than most cars. It is good for my usage.

Keyless entry: The keyless entry works well, I don't need to take the key outside of my pocket, simply go near the car and place my thumb on the request sensor to open the car. This is a convenient feature.

Interior touch and feel: The car feels solid inside and outside. It is a well-built car. I did not find any of the parts flimsy. The soft dash with carbon fibre look alike trim feels good to touch. The door thuds are not as good as VW or Ford, but better than Maruti may be slightly better than Hyundai.

Overall: An all-rounder: I feel Nissan Kicks is a well built, spacious SUV, a beast on the highways with superb ride quality, terrific mileage, and a powerful engine. If you are someone who does a lot of highway trips this is an awesome car. For someone who might use it more in the city, please note Kicks is good but not great due to its size and power delivery characteristics. Hopefully, this will change with an automatic option in BS6 variants. If you are someone who likes sporty SUV then Ecosport will fit you better, if you are someone who wants a car for the city usage go for the Hyundai Venue Auto. However, both are much smaller cars from a segment below. I would not suggest the Nexon or the Brezza as they don't offer ESP and the XUV 300 is unstable at high speeds (from GTO's post). The real reason IMO why Kicks didn't burn the sales chart is the lack of marketing and pricing disaster when launched. I find that Kicks is well-priced considering the current discounts and offers great VFM especially the Seltos/Creta with similar features is at least 3-4 Lakhs pricier. With the revised pricing you can get a Nissan Kicks at the price of a sub-4 meter SUV with almost the same features as in the top-end of the segment below.

If you like Seltos and have the money (15+ Lakhs) go for Turbo petrol variants with ESP. If you are looking at top end sub-4 meter SUV, do consider Nissan Kicks as you can upgrade a segment for the same price. If you are looking for a VFM Diesel SUV with good space and ESP then there is no other choice than Nissan Kicks.

Other things

The underside: There is an engine cover to protect the engine bay, Full marks to Nissan here. The rear suspension is a torsion beam and the front is Mcpherson strut.









Illuminated Door sills (Nissan Accessory)



The app screen to control mood lights and door sills.



An unusual car Key. This could have looked a bit more premium, However, I still get people asking, Is that a car key? It could be a potential conversation starter.



Key slot inside the glove box.



Sensairy TPMS display (Third party Accessory) works well.



Other items that I keep in the boot:


Reversing camera, It does not get adaptive lines.



Backlit controls





Nissan Connect App: It shows a host of vehicle status including Ignition, seat belt, fuel level, airbag, parking brake, headlight, door open/close, Odometer, Engine temperature,















ICE: The touchscreen is intuitive and easy to use. It connects to my phone without any issues. It is delightful to use physical volume controls and to mute I have simply press the volume button. It is a fantastic unit. It also has equalizer settings and you have the option to increase/decrease the bass.
















Carplay screen: The rotary button on the right side of the ICE can be used to toggle the listed menu or you can simply use touch.



Casual encounter: The underdog and the badass



I tried my best to keep this review neutral. I feel, I have been overtly critical about Ikran (Nissan Kicks) and nitpicked many things for the purpose of this review. Personally, I feel Nissan Kicks is an absolute cracker of a car and most of the dislikes are not a big deal for me.

I know TeamBHP has high standards, please forgive me for any unintentional errors, I intend to improve in future posts, feel free share your comments and feedback. I really wish, I had more time to refine this review further and I also realized how much time it takes to create an ownership review and I take a moment to appreciate all those folks who write the official reviews and ownership reviews, It is hard work.

Thanks to all BHPians who made this an awesome space for all automotive things and this is also one of the most passionate spaces in the universe. I am thankful to the moderators who approved my TeamBHP membership. Proud BHPian

Thread moved from Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section.

A well-detailed review. Thank you for sharing!:thumbs up

Wow. An amazing review. Comprehensive but to the point. Thanks man. Congrats on the car. Your wife was right. Blue looks amazing in pictures.

I did see this color on Kicks just few weeks back coincidentally and it looks great in real life too.

Since you compared both the Ecosport and Kicks diesel, could you let me know how the Ecosport clutch is compared to kicks (or rather which is more easy to drive in city)?

Congratulations for the acquisition of this Fantastic Beast.

This actually is a very exhaustive review and I concur with each and every point you made.
I had an extensive test drive in december, and contemplating to purchase Nissan Kicks. However, I was not able to find anyone for the referral and later on put this purchase on hold due to various reasons.

Paint chip due to bird poop is really unfortunate on a new car. I wish dealer should have done something concrete to remove that.

Small correction, I think it is OBD Port.

Wish you many more happy miles and keep updating the thread.

That's a wonderful detailed review. Showed off the strengths of the Kicks which most people don't know of, including the minor easy to miss things. Good choice of colour as well.

Wish you a happy ownership and miles of fun.