2018 Nissan Kicks First Drive

Montreal, QC – To say the Nissan Juke was an interesting study is an understatement; on one hand, you had the outlandish styling, punctuated by DRLs that look like they are the actual headlights, and headlights that looked like…well, you get the idea. On the other, you had great tech like AWD, turbocharged power and even NISMO performance versions – two of them, one with a manual transmission option. Say what you want about the Juke, but above all else, it was unique.

A bit too unique, perhaps. Nissan – the king of the crossover and SUV, some would say – axed it for the 2018 model year. 

Of course, because of that “king” stuff, they weren’t just going to let one of their models go without having a quick replacement, and that replacement comes in the form of this: the 2018 Nissan Kicks. 

Only, while it is the Juke’s replacement and occupies the same slot on Nissan’s crossover spectrum, it doesn’t fully do so – not exactly.

Picking up the reigns
On the surface the Kicks really does pick up where the Juke left off: it’s the smallest in Nissan’s six-model CUV/SUV line-up, gets some youth-oriented stylistic flourishes that we’ll discuss in detail in a minute, and has a number of funky interior additions. That’s all about right.

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