[Nalin1]

Originally Posted by landmaster18

I absolutely loved the new Kicks. My brother took a test drive and the ride was rock solid. It was gobbling up craters on the road like it was the most easiest thing for it.
I wish for an automatic version though :-(

I am sure the Auto is on the way as a facelift sometime in the future. But if it is not a must for you, the manual is not at all cumbersome to drive in general. In fact the gear ratios are so well spread out and shifts are so beautiful that you will miss the manual transmission !

The Kicks is an out and out driver's car!. Its outstanding ride quality means that you just will not want to get away from the driver's seat. Be prepared for some competition if you are on a long drive with 4 other 'drivers'!.

The Duster is an absolute hit as a compact SUV. But even the die hard Duster fans/owners will agree that its interior quality and lack of some bling (read features) left a lot to be desired. What the Kicks does is include all of the Duster's positives (with even better NVH levels), much improved interior quality and plenty of features!

Some owners here have said that the Duster's parts are quite expensive. But remember the Kicks is only built on the same platform and uses the same engine (which in itself is a crackerjack). Rest of the parts in the car have nothing to do with Renault and Nissan's maintenance is also very reasonable!

[landmaster18]

Originally Posted by Nalin1

I am sure the Auto is on the way as a facelift sometime in the future. But if it is not a must for you, the manual is not at all cumbersome to drive in general. In fact the gear ratios are so well spread out and shifts are so beautiful that you will miss the manual transmission

My problem is that I have never driven or ridden a vehicle with gears at all in my life. So I have a bit of a psychological block there I think. Perhaps I should join a driving school now at 35 years of age I am much looking forward to owning a car though, and somehow the Kicks ticks all the boxes. Especially the blue coloured one with the roof rails on it, they call it the deep pearl blue I suppose.

[Karthik Chandra]

I had checked out the Kicks in Lakshmi Nissan, Ambattur, Chennai.





Kicks is a quality product and is evident from the interiors. But there are a few things that goes against which will affect volumes.

Kicks starts of at the back-foot mainly because of the badge in front, Nissan, and its hatchback like design. The dimensions and the size of the car is masked by the design.





I drove the diesel Kicks. It gets the familiar K9K engine known for its robustness. Turbo lag kills the fun in city. The lag coupled with the HPS makes city driving (bumper to bumper) a cumbersome affair. Out on the expressway is where you'll enjoy the Kicks. It is surefooted, thanks to the lower height and squat stance, and can be a fantastic cruiser with enough power to back up. The handling is fantastic, as I threw it around in the bypass, it held its line and doesn't cause nervousness. I felt the gear shift to be a little rubbery and isn't as slick as in Creta.

The other positive aspect about the Kicks is its ride quality. It softens the bumps and dismisses potholes with disdain. I was very comfortable riding the car around the Ambattur estate & Nolambur which aren't known for smooth tarmac. The handling & ride quality is where Kicks actually kicks the Creta out of water.

The seating position in the Kicks is lower than other compact SUVs but its a comfortable place to be in. The rear seats doesn't have enough thigh support and is set lower to the floor as a result of which anyone above 5'10" will be sitting with his/her knees pointing upwards.
Against the well established Creta, Kicks doesn't stand a chance despite being a quality product. Nissan is to be blamed here as they haven't equipped it well enough to get the market to consider Kicks as an alternative.

Don't get me wrong, when I say Nissan hasn't equipped the Kicks, its not wrt features, it is wrt to what might attract the market. The compact SUV market is growing and the Kicks would have had a better chance to crack the segment if Nissan had launched it with

1. Petrol AT
2. Diesel AT
3. Sunroof (this currently is one of the biggest selling point to the extent that this alone can bring in few hundred units)
4. more attractive pricing - considerably lower pricing than the Creta even if it meant tight & lean profit margins. It would have given customers enough incentive to opt for Kicks. Nissan can always increase prices once the product gets a foot hold in the market.

As things stand today, Kicks doesn't have a chance against the segment leader and might sell in 3 digits only. The product on its merit is fantastic but as a package it doesn't seem to cut it. If one does a lot of highway driving and can live with Nissan service, then its the Kicks that makes more sense (than Creta) in terms of driving pleasure.

The dealer - Lakshmi Nissan's showroom location doesn't do any good to them as it is located diagonally opposite FPL Hyundai.
Clicked these at the service station in Guindy industrial estate

[sdaityari]

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

As things stand today, Kicks doesn't have a chance against the segment leader and might sell in 3 digits only.

Your prediction was spot on. One month on, and the sales numbers of kicks has dropped to half.

Discounts not far away for Kicks?

[volkman10]

The ageing Renault Duster sells more than the 'Newly launched' Nissan Kicks. Sales trend similar to Renault's 'Captur'!

March -19 dispatches,

Renault Duster (877) >Nissan Kicks (701) >Renault Captur (343)

Source:Auto Punditz

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by jeganatu

Got my Nissan Kicks diesel XV Orange color. Complelety satisfied with the overall product.

Soon will post complete review.

Congratulations on the new car! Looks fabulous! Any update on that review?

I think, till now, you're the one and only BHPian to own the Kicks, hence please do start an initial ownership thread. I doubt if the official review would be coming out any time soon.

[jeganatu]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Congratulations on the new car! Looks fabulous! Any update on that review?

I think, till now, you're the one and only BHPian to own the Kicks, hence please do start an initial ownership thread. I doubt if the official review would be coming out any time soon.

Hey, Thanks for your greet.
Am enjoying driving my kicks and done 4.5k kms already which were mostly on 4 lanes (say about 4.1k on hw) . Right now held up with business work and very soon I will be writing an 5k Km review. Am taking more time understanding about my machine and IMO any review in short term is not considered perfect.

[McLaren Rulez]

Any idea if an official review will be coming out soon? With appropriate discounts, this might be a good deal after all!

[motorworks]

However good the Kicks as a car is, market does not seem to take a liking to it, purely because the brand Nissan has not struck a connection with the consumers. They failed to keep the market excited with frequent launches and also good quality products. The Micra and the Sunny were relevant in 2012, not in 2019.

Once you have lost that connect with the consumers and with dealers themselves downsizing showrooms and even shutting a few down, its difficult to sell a decent product like the Kicks.

And to make it worse, apart from the Kicks, Nissan seems to have no new launches for the next 1-2 years at least.
Maybe some rebadged Renaults, but nothing indigenous. I guess eventually Nissan will exit India leaving Renault to represent the group in India. It makes no sense for both companies to be present when neither of them are doing well.

[tarik.arora]

Originally Posted by motorworks

However good the Kicks as a car is, market does not seem to take a liking to it, purely because the brand Nissan has not struck a connection with the consumers. They failed to keep the market excited with frequent launches and also good quality products. The Micra and the Sunny were relevant in 2012, not in 2019.

And to make it worse, apart from the Kicks, Nissan seems to have no new launches for the next 1-2 years at least.

Absolutely right! No one wants to buy a Nissan now, no matter how good the product is. They have spoilt the brand by not offering any decent product in the last 4-5 years. Micra, Sunny, and Teranno were dragged for so long that they scarred the brand.

On their existence strategy, one of my source tells that the focus is now on Datsun to drive volumes. 2-3 Datsun products lined up for 2020-21. Nissan will only focus on niche products like EVs, Halo SUVs and ofcourse Kicks.

[Nalin1]

This is what Renault Nissan Automotive India’s MD says:

https://www.thehindu.com/business/In...?homepage=true

[Nalin1]

At last got a chance to sit inside the Kicks and get a feel of the car.

Walked into the Surya Nissan showroom while waiting at their SC next door to take a look at Kicks. Both the diesel and petrol are available for test drive.

The top end was displayed inside for demo. Looks absolutely beautiful at the outset as many have pointed out as well. Looks bigger than the Duster and Terrano. But appeared a little cramped inside when compared to its cousins. But the interior quality is far superior to the Duster and Terrano!. Fully loaded to the grill and with its massive tyres and ground clearance looks the best crossover in the market today!.

[dgogold]

Hi All! Has any discount kicked in for the Kicks in Bangalore?

[porsche_guy]

Originally Posted by landmaster18

I absolutely loved the new Kicks. My brother took a test drive and the ride was rock solid. It was gobbling up craters on the road like it was the most easiest thing for it.

I wish for an automatic version though :-(

Since it's based on the Duster platform, it is bound to have amazing ride quality.

I don't think an AT is planned for the near future. Also, I have a feeling they might just exit the market in a couple of years or so

[dgogold]

I am more or less convinced that Nissan has no plan for their future in India. They might wind up their business sooner than the 2 year mark as mentioned earlier.



Called up Surya Nissan (on ORR) to schedule a test drive for tomorrow for the XV Pre Option. And to my surprise, they do not have a diesel car for TD!! I was told to take a TD in their petrol vehicle and they have no idea when they will have the diesel version available.


If this is how Nissan is running their business around, it will really be a good riddance once they leave the country. In these days of information sharing and connectivity if this is their attitude pre-sales, I really find it very scary what will happen after sales.



On another note, called up Trident Hyundai and Nissan should take a note on how to treat a prospect. All information asked for was provided and it was followed up by a text of the person who will attend us tomorrow for a TD of Creta. Not a single follow up from Nissan yet! Sad