The New NISSAN Kicks Debuts at the New York Auto Show, Adding a Four-wheel Drive System

At the recently opened New York Auto Show in the United States, NISSAN unveiled the second generation of Kicks that marks the global debut of the new vehicle. The new generation brings a lot of changes compared to the current model.

In terms of the design, first of all, the new Kick adopts NISSAN's new family-style design, which is different from the previous V-Motion design. The shape of the front headlights is consistent with the front grille, forming a unified design. It makes the front face look thicker and wider and has a stronger overall sense. The new shape makes Kicks look bigger, giving it more of an off-road SUV feel.

The side lines of the body are more stable compared to the current model, which makes it look more mature, while the sidelines of the current model show an upward trend, creating a forward-leaning visual effect and intending to create a youthful feel but the new generation of Kicks didn't do so because the waistline is noticeably flatter, increasing the heaviness of the vehicle. However, from the exhibited model, the new car exaggeratedly adopted a red roof, so youthfulness is still the main design direction of Kicks.

The design of the tail also changed a lot. The tail light group maintains consistency with the headlight group in shape. The new car did not use a through-type tail light design, possibly thinking that such a design is not suitable for an SUV of the Kicks size. Instead, it uses a blackening treatment between the taillights to make the vehicle look heavier and more refined.

Because the new generation of Kicks offers front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions, there are differences in body size, and even in wheelbase. Still, in any case, the new generation of Kicks vehicles is larger than the current one. The specific dimensions of the new car are as follows:

-Length: 4366mm

-Width: 1801mm

-Height: 1626mm (front-wheel drive) / 1631mm (four-wheel drive)

-Wheelbase: 2657mm (two-wheel drive) / 2664mm (four-wheel drive)

-Minimum ground clearance: 213mm (four-wheel drive)

The most noticeable change in the interior of the new generation Kicks is the dual-screen design of the control panel. Judging from the demonstration vehicle, red stitching has been added in many places in the interior, which looks more sporty when paired with the black interior. The shape of the flat-bottom steering wheel has not changed, and the traditional gear lever design is also retained. It is known that the size of the dual screens varies among sub-models, with base models using dual 7-inch screens, while high-end models use dual 12.3-inch screens. At the same time, we see that the air conditioning panel has changed from physical buttons to touch buttons.

In terms of configuration, the new generation Kicks comes standard with the Nissan Safety Shield 360 ADAS driving assistance package, including an intelligent cruising control system, and the top model has the more advanced ProPILOT Assist system. In addition, the new generation Kicks can be optionally equipped with a panoramic sunroof and a 10-speaker BOSE audio system.

As for the power system, the new generation Kicks is equipped with a 2.0L naturally aspirated gasoline engine, with a maximum power of 104kW (141PS) and a peak torque of 190N·m, matched up with a CVT gearbox. The new generation Kicks unveiled at the New York Auto Show does not have an e-POWER system. Of course, the power systems of the Kicks vary in different countries. For example, in the Chinese market, the current Kicks does not have an e-POWER version either but instead comes with a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine, all of which are front-wheel drive models.