I’m a fan of the Nissan Murano, a luxurious mid-size crossover with artsy-fartsy turntable style. It swoops and sweeps over a beautiful interior layered with lush. It’s also expensive; the Platinum edition we just tested was over $57,000. If you’re perhaps a little younger and less financially flush than the typical Murano buyer, but still like all it represents, you might consider the 2026 Nissan Kicks SR AWD.
The Kicks, redesigned for 2025, had tough acts to follow. The Nissan Juke is one of my all-time favorites and the last-generation Kicks was very popular. None of those equaled all the Kicks SR offers.
It definitely has a younger look with horizontal strakes across its face, narrow LED headlamps, and stacks of driving lamps embedded between. Our SR edition adds 19” wheels and two-tone paint with a floating black roof. It’s especially fetching in bright Arctic Ice Blue Metallic paint. Designers deftly disguised tall bodysides with aggressive sills that extend high into the doors. I like the futuristic rear taillamps that arch across the hatch.
As with owners of the larger Murano, having all of the latest style, comforts and technology matter. Like many new cars, the Kicks has a glassy 12.3-inch twin-screen arrangement with crisp digital gauges and touchscreen combined. Devices connect wirelessly via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus charge wirelessly in the console below. Automatic climate control, heated front seats, and a heated steering wheel add luxuries – as do a twin-panel panoramic glass roof and 10-speaker Bose audio system with speakers in the headrests.
Whether indulging in Laufey, Anka or Elvis, it sounded concerto fantastico.
Tap around to realize how posh the Kicks really is. There’s some hard plastic if you tap your fingers, but most surfaces are soft-touch including the gray-and-red stitched panels on the doors, carbon fiber texture on the dash, and French-stitched coverings above. Check the gradient red checks on the seats. Very cool – and comfortable. SR editions add a red-stitched flat-bottom steering wheel, piano black accents, and red around the gear selector.
Go for a drive, however, and you’ll find the Kicks is really just a tall sub-compact car.
On paper, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine producing 141 horsepower and 140 lb.-ft. of torque should give it some, well, kick, but it took a firm foot to convince the continuously variable transmission to whirl power through our vehicle’s optional all-wheel-drive system. Drive modes flick between Normal, Eco, Sport or Snow. There’s nothing sporty about any of the modes, but at least it gets a frugal 27/34-MPG city/highway.
The bumpy suspension will remind you this is a value-priced compact and not a luxury ride, but it’s not as bad as it could be.
Base models come with a torsion beam rear suspension, which is fine for a small car, but our SR steps up with a fully independent arrangement. It’s still pretty harsh over rough city streets, but does a much better job of settling on the highway and provides a more engaging driving experience should you find yourself with curves ahead. As I found on a two-hour drive to see my sister, road noise definitely gets through. Yet, the Kicks is otherwise an acceptable appliance for carrying friends, family, or just your camping gear. Just look for smooth asphalt.
And, it does so safely adaptive cruise with lane centering, blind spot warning, lane keep assist, automatic emergency braking, and rear cross path detection with auto brake. You can’t go hands-off, but Nissan’s ProPilot Assist system features lane-centering for the next best thing.
Is the Kicks a Murano? Nope, but it is pretty cool with its flashy styling, four doors, all-wheel-drive, flip-down rear seats for luggage, and a cabin that feels very upscale. And, the price is considerably nicer starting at just $22,430, rising to $35,515 all-in. Competitors include the Chevy Trax, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, and Subaru Crosstrek.
Storm Forward!
Send comments to Casey at AutoCasey@aol.com; follow him on YouTube @AutoCasey.