[dhruvritzed]

Just came back from a comprehensive test drive of the 1.3 Turbo Petrol Manual Kicks(around 15-16Km), since I really like turbo petrols and this car had segment breaking power figures, I just had to test drive it.Below are my observations starting from the first interaction:
1.Called up the nearest Nissan showroom Neo Nissan, surprisingly they had a car available and the SA offered to come to my office immediately, again surprising but great.
2.Car came, was a fresh piece done just 250-300kms.Again the engine would open up with time. Opened the doors, not your typical japanese and had good weight to them and the shut lines were good too, I can very well compare them to our Verna in terms of heft.
3.Started driving, didn't stall it, typical Japanese car type of clutch, getting used to was easy.Laura is easier to stall.
4.Found a comfortable driving position rather easily too, good range of height adjustment and lumbar support available, all manual but good nonetheless.The interior plastics feel good too mostly.
5.Drove off, 1st gear isn't great at all, 2nd better and 3rd is where you'd want to be, 3rd has good push, neither too short, neither too tall, just the gear to be in.Can clear the speed breaker test in 2nd where the laura fails.
6.For 70% of the time, drove in 3rd, picked up pace well from around 20 to 125 in 3rd itself.No knocking in case of low speed pick up but there is some lag.The gear lever has some vibrations when driving in gear and moves back and forth.
7.I have driven the Renault Captur too, the Kick's ergonomics seemed much better.
8.The higher gears are just fine and I hit good speeds rather easily.
9.On board fuel economy was obviously appalling given how I drove it, but just for the record it stood at 7.2 Kmpl.
10.Body Roll is much lesser than the previous generation Creta and in the league of the Duster.
11.Touchscreen was slick and sound quality is good for the most part but the audio controls on steering are quite un-intuitive to use.
12.The car has almost all features you'd want but not much of the desirable ones like a sunroof.
13.The sales advisor was quite knowledgeable and informed that there is a 3-4 weeks waiting period mostly that I reason to the current low supplies from almost all manufacturing across India.
14.I drove the XV Pre version which is 2nd from base and the versions above it mainly have leather seats and 360 degree camera as differentiators.
15.The variant naming is really confusing but 14.83 lacs on road delhi seemed a bit high for this version, both versions above this were 16+ on road, again on the higher side.
16.I haven't driven the Seltos turbo petrol yet, but I have a gut feeling I will like it more.
17.Just for reference, I drive a Polo GT TSI and Laura TSI and am not in the market for a compact SUV yet.While the GT TSI is an automatic, it feels a bit faster than the kicks and that I attribute to the light weight and DSG.
About the Laura, well it's way faster and the gearing is taller and gearshift less notchy than the kicks, also the Laura has more lag compared to the kicks but is also better off boost because of the displacement advantage.In hindsight, Laura is the hooligan where the kicks is a smooth operator.
18.The warning beeps at 80 & 120 are not intrusive at all and can be called mild at best.

Hope the review is helpful, I put it up because there is no official review yet, the car is too good to be missing a review on Team BHP honestly, do something Nissan.I do believe a true base model would've given them a much better crack, just imagine a turbo petrol decently sized SUV for 9.99 lacs ex showroom.

[84.monsoon]

Thanks for the nice write-up!

One question- Was there any information on when the Turbo CVT automatic variant will be available for test drives ?

Looks like the manual vehicle has some irritants like mild turbo lag that you mention and lower gears not being well tuned, which should be hopefully masked well by the CVT.

[dhruvritzed]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Thanks for the nice write-up!

One question- Was there any information on when the Turbo CVT automatic variant will be available for test drives ?

Looks like the manual vehicle has some irritants like mild turbo lag that you mention and lower gears not being well tuned, which should be hopefully masked well by the CVT.

The guys were pretty clueless when asked about the CVT and it's stock availability.Since I have 2 CVT's at home, a Baleno CVT and A4 CVT, I can very well tell you that the manual would be better to drive than the CVT in most cases apart from traffic and at low speeds.Though I have heard Nissan CVT'S are good but my experience leads me to believe otherwise. The sales representative will get back to me by Monday regarding the CVT test drive, will update the thread accordingly.
Cheers

[Highh5]

Originally Posted by GBX

Any videos showing this remote engine start in action? It's nice to see it available on a MT car.

AFAIK, this feature is limited to CVT Turbo models only.

[GBX]

Originally Posted by Highh5

AFAIK, this feature is limited to CVT Turbo models only.

It's listed for both MT and CVT in the brochure posted below, unless I'm misreading something.

But yeah, it's one of those things that's quite hard to believe.

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Kicks brochure finally available, looks it has tons of details.

[Highh5]

Originally Posted by GBX

It's listed for both MT and CVT in the brochure posted below, unless I'm misreading something.

You are correct, it is available in Manual variants as well but only for Top two variants, however it is standard in CVT variants.

[ramki.grandhi]

Found this interesting drive review:
It was difficult for me to understand completely, as it is in hindi. But if you know that language, you will like it for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOcHX2gHTLM

[ramki.grandhi]

New version of kicks unveiled in japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qht0Jej9s1s

[Godzilla]

Nissan Kicks Turbo review by Rishabh Arora.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGGPpyN0ZJk&t=377s

[84.monsoon]

A patient reviewer, but he is clearly no Auto expert. One of the biggest blunders is that he assesses the safety of the CAR using Latin NCAP rating of 4 stars! Little does he know that the Kicks that is sold in Latin America is based on an entirely different Micra small car platform while the Kicks sold in India is based on the Duster B0 platform. So, obviously the crash test ratings cannot be compared in any way.

Even such amateur reviewers have a big fan following on Youtube. This video has got 10,000 hits and 100 comments in less than a day! There seems to be a whole new crowd of Auto Enthusiasts and interested parties who are not at a level of awareness/ appreciation or experience of Team BHP members, but having similar interest levels in new launches, power, features etc. It is almost as though a whole herd of youngsters who followed the smartphone market, reviewing every new phone launch and comparing power and features have shifted to automobiles. Maybe because new launches have slowed to a trickle on cellphones but become a flood as far as cars are concerned!

Interesting opportunity to form a community of such next gen emerging enthusiasts, currently content accessed by this community is basically scattered across Youtube, Twitter, Instagram etc. and lacks a coordinating force for the "Kids" such as what Team BHP offers for the "Adults".

[ramki.grandhi]

Guys, i've a genuine question. I want to understand, how auto journalism(i.e. mainstream car reviewers) works? I see tons of videos for new honda city and other cars but not for Kicks?

I understand most of these are paid promotions, why Nissan is not promoting their only product?

Or

These reviewers arent interested in reviewing Kicks? i mean, its slightly questionable...when all of these guys showing no interest in one particular car.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Guys, i've a genuine question. I want to understand, how auto journalism(i.e. mainstream car reviewers) works? I see tons of videos for new honda city and other cars but not for Kicks?

Very interesting question. Couple of possible hypothesis:

1. Nissan is typically slow and may still be organizing the media drive event. Such an event requires a Dozen test cars of top spec in each drive-train to be ready and available to media. Not an easy feat in today's times.

2. Nissan may be waiting for the trump card, the Turbo CVT to be available. There could be import-related delays in obtaining and assembling this transmission. Often car companies want the media to get the best first impression so would rather wait for the top end variant to be available. I have not seen a single video or photo of this variant on any site so it is quite possible it is delayed considerably

3. ARAI and other government clearance- related delays. Similar to what VW is experiencing with the T-Roc. Unless ARAI gives a green signal the car cannot be sold or registered and perhaps not also provided for media (?)

[GBX]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

mainstream car reviewers

Just an IMO, but I don't think this car appeals to the mainstream, hence most mainstream reviewers wouldn't bother covering it.

It's a refresh of a "flop" model by a "flop" brand. And a mileage killing turbo-petrol, at that. You'd have to be a quite eccentric to even consider this.

TBHP is the only place where this car even has some relevance. Hoping for an official review once things ease up.

[shravan2k2]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Guys, i've a genuine question. I want to understand, how auto journalism(i.e. mainstream car reviewers) works? I see tons of videos for new honda city and other cars but not for Kicks?

Well Nissan has no media units for the journalists to review. Probably saving cost. No marketing is actually not a solution.
The same for Datsun brand as well. No media units of any cars at present.

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Guys, i've a genuine question. I want to understand, how auto journalism(i.e. mainstream car reviewers) works? I see tons of videos for new honda city and other cars but not for Kicks?

Have the same question. The 1.3 turbo petrol on the Kicks seems to be a very interesting engine, and I have been waiting to see a review of it for quite some time now. I fail to fathom why the marketing and publicity of Nissan/ Renault is not proactive enough for these reviews to be done and published when the news of the launch is still fresh and in the minds of the consumer. By the time the review comes around, interest on the car may already have waned completely, beyond the already low interest that the car has garnered thus far. Classic case of a potentially competent product let down by poor or non-existent marketing