[Godzilla]

Highway performance update
Odo reading: 3345 kms

This is an update on Ikran. I had to drop my mother in my hometown who got stuck in Chennai due to the lockdown and I had the opportunity to drive from Chennai to Coimbatore and back again the next day. I obtained the e-pass to travel. The good thing about this drive is that I drove solo the way back and I was able to fully test the vehicle's highway performance and not to mention the traffic was 20% of the usual traffic you see on highways due to Covid-19 lockdown.





The machine is definitely a mile-muncher.

Incredible ride quality
Rough roads, bridge joints, no roads all done. At times, the car felt like sailing, dampening all the undulations on the road. The ride quality is the best of all cars I have driven. Period.

There is minimal road noise that seeps in. The engine noise is well suppressed and the cabin is reasonably quiet. AC works really well even during this hot weather in May.


Ability to maintain 3 digit speed with ease.

I was on 6th gear mostly and if I needed a quick overtake dropped to 5th and it will do the job. The speedo can climb easily to 160 if there was a decent straight.

I was doing a high speed turn and I had to do a mild braking due to vehicles in front and I could feel the ESP kicking in and made it more stable by braking individual wheels differently and this adds to the driving confidence. I felt safe. More info on how it is done below.

Brakes are sufficient.

Steering & Handling

The steering weighs up nicely at high speeds. It gives good confidence and it is precise enough and well-weighted. There is not much steering feedback, I am wondering if different tyres could improve this.

Between 125-130 there is a mild steering twitch and then it disappears (could be just my vehicle, I am suspecting the tyres as during the last alignment they mentioned that the tyres have mild wobble.)

The body roll is well contained. I felt the need to slow on high speed corners only if there are uneven surfaces.

Seat Comfort

I have mentioned earlier that I found it difficult to find the correct seat position. However during this trip I was comfortable and I would say it is fine, I think I got used to it. I didn’t have any aches or the need to change the seating position this time.

I am not that tired after this 1000 km trip which shows how capable this vehicle is. It was comfortable, enjoyable, and engaging. I know it is not a sports car but was happy with its performance.

Potential improvements for Nissan especially now we have the 156 BHP Turbo Petrol:

If I were to improve the highway performance of this vehicle I would reduce the ride height by 10-20 mm and make the suspension stiffer. I guess this will spoil the superb ride quality.

Improve the brakes, maybe rear discs would make it better.

Change the tyres. I feel my vehicle would feel much better on grippier and better tyres.

General information on how ESP works. This time I was able to feel how the braking was slightly stronger in one of the wheels based on the steering position and speed. Please share in the comments if you have ever felt ESP working.

ESP enhances driving safety by providing the following assets:

• Enhanced vehicle stability; the system keeps the vehicle on track and improves directional stability under all operating
  conditions, including emergency stops, standard braking maneuvers, coasting, acceleration, trailing throttle (overrun), and load shift
• Increased vehicle stability at the limits of traction, such as during sharp steering maneuvers (panic response), to reduce the danger of skidding or breakaway.
• In a variety of different situations, further improvements in the exploitation of traction potential when ABS and TCS come
  into action, and when engine drag torque control is active, by automatically increasing engine speed to inhibit excessive engine
  braking. The ultimate effects are shorter braking distances and greater traction along with enhanced stability and higher
  levels of steering response.

[krish3]

That's a good summary for the highway drive and a welcome break from the lockdown blues in a blue vehicle. Good going mate.

[Godzilla]

Update:

Odo reading: 4407 kms

• Seat shape is comfortable. I have initially mentioned in the review that getting a comfortable driving position was difficult. I was wrong, it was just a matter of finding the right position and getting used to it.
  
• Sportiness
  This is not a sporty SUV especially inside the city. The turbo lag dampens the fun. In good highways it is different though. When I tried to drive aggressive inside the city during early morning hours, it felt like trying to ride a Royal Enfield sporty, it is possible but it is not an R15. Kicks diesel feels much better if driven smoothly. The new 1.3 Turbo petrol may be different.
  
• The rear wheel alloy caps in the center fell off. Not sure of the reason. I have to replace them. There are no other issues, touch wood. The car’s cabin is quiet and makes no unusual noises.
  
• Space is excellent. I had the opportunity to drive with 4 adults in the back seat for a few kms in a traffic-free rural road. Space for 3 is ample at the rear. Also was able to fit a full sized cycle easily inside by folding the seats.
  

[starke]

Kicks impressed me a lot with the features and the space it offered. Reminds me when I took a Kicks through Zoomcar to shift to my house.
Almost everything tugged in (gas cylinder, stove, a big computer table etc.) and the only downside was the less impressive petrol motor.

As new one is off my budget, might check for a good deal on a used one in the market in the coming years.

[vikrantshete]

I had not paid much attention to the kick on it's launch but lately seeing a few reviews it felt like a very good package. The ride quality is invariably praised by everyone writing about it. The only downside was the not so sporty engine (petrol or diesel). Now with the launch of 1.3 turbo, I think it is a great option. I don't know if there is any other SUV in the segment, except duster, which offers that kind of ride quality, features and performance at an equivalent price. (My opinion of ride quality is based on what I hear and read every where. Never had a chance to sit in the duster or the Kick.)

[RomanPearce]

Congratulations, Godzilla, on your precious possession Ikran. Whole lot of good times await for both of you!
The Kicks feels nostalgically familiar to our Duster in terms of engine and gearbox and ride and handling which was best in class in the first place really.


Here is a picture of our new car.

[sahil624]

Originally Posted by RomanPearce

The Kicks feels nostalgically familiar to our Duster in terms of engine and gearbox and ride and handling which was best in class in the first place really.

Congratulations on your new car, hope you munch many happy miles with it. Since you are coming from Duster, how did you find the ride quality of the Kicks as compared to the Duster?
Also, did you buy the 1.3 turbo Petrol version of Kicks? Manual or CVT? Would love to hear about the 1.3 turbo Petrol engine performance.
Thanks.

[RomanPearce]

Originally Posted by sahil624

Congratulations on your new car, hope you munch many happy miles with it. Since you are coming from Duster, how did you find the ride quality of the Kicks as compared to the Duster?
Also, did you buy the 1.3 turbo Petrol version of Kicks? Manual or CVT? Would love to hear about the 1.3 turbo Petrol engine performance.
Thanks.

Thank you sahil624. Our Duster was a reliable workhorse that had run 1,60,000 kms without any issue and since the Kicks is the Duster's groomed and well dressed cousin, we are confident it will deliver a similarly stress free ownership.

The low speed ride quality(<25kmph) of our Kicks is noticably stiffer with more horizontal movement observed in the cabin compared to the Duster. I think this is because of the larger 17 inch tyres compared to the 16's. As the pace picks up though, road undulations and potholes seem smaller than they actually. The suspension dismisses them silently and confidently. Also, it handles mid-corner bumps a lot better than the duster, there is some steering kickback but it's not violent like in the Duster. The Kicks is one of the best riding cars in the segment, only second to the Duster IMO.

[Godzilla]

I want to share a salvage situation at home with the community.

In my parents place at my hometown, the entry gate for parking is quite tight (around 8 feet wide). I usually park outside as there is sufficient space outside and it is a dead end of the road.

In our family we were discussing about potential construction of another floor and I told my dad that entry gate has to be widened so that we could park the car inside. The civil engineer who visited the site convinced my dad that the car can be easily parked in with an 8 feet wide gate and there is no need to spend money on a wider gate.

I came home that evening and my father measured the gate and the car and said may be you should try to park inside. I was not very sure but I was curious to give a try. I am a risk taker

Obviously if the car can be driven straight into the gate, there should not be a problem. However, the road is not wide enough to approach the gate straight. I had to come inside at an angle, the other problem is that in the parking slot there is a wall that does not suit the approach angle. Retrospectively there is brighter chance to park if I would have approach the gate from the opposite side.

The coming in part was fine, however there was stuff in the parking area which blocked my manuverability and I tried to reverse outside and that when things quicksanded. All of sudden I realised that the car touched the wall. At the moment I realized there is no room to maneuver the car out of this situation.

I put the parking brake and came out of the car in despair. Shit what have I done? I cursed myself for my stupidity

I took my time to think, instead of acting more foolish (for which I pat myself in the back). My dad asked If he can find some one near who could expertly maneuver it outside, but I knew it is impossible task and If that someone scratched my car I would be heart broken and angry as well.

I tried to squeeze my brain to find someway to salvage with minimal damage. My dad and I tried to push the rear of the car away from the wall, it didnt move a millimeter. Tried to lift the rear (like Tamil actor Sarathkumar) LOL, it did not work obviously with just two people.

Then, my father was talking about using the jack to lift one wheel and use a crow bar in the other tire to move it away from the wall, even if we could move it say 2 inches, I can try again to reverse without scratching.

That brilliant moment. We lifted one of the wheels using a jack and I got a idea of putting something slippery under the wheel and try to push it to the other side. I found plastic packaging of pillows threw some oil and liquid soap and placed below both the wheels. When we lifted the other wheel I placed some cardboard packing on the side of the wall as lifting the wheel caused the car to lean on the wall more. We lifted the other wheel only slightly just to have enough space to slide the plastic cover with soap/oil.

Now, with plastic cover under both the rear wheels, we pushed the car with full force. The rear of the car moved like a charm sufficient enough for me to reverse outside safely. I know this may not sound like a extraordinary salvage story, but I felt awesome recovering the car with a tiny scratch. Things could have gone worse if I didnt deal the situation with patience and sanity.

Things I learnt

• Dont push until the last moment, if you know the situation could worsen take a moment before acting under pressure.
• Patience and thinking is the key. I even searched Teambhp/google to find a way to recover the car without scratching.
• Dont try risky things when you are tired or hungry.

The plastic package that was used to rescue, filled it with a good squirts of oil and liquid soap.


As you can see approaching from the left, the wall in the front pushed me to turn the car sharper moving it closer to the gate.

[Nalin1]

he he he that was a great escape .

Lesson for you to not try anything if not 100% sure!.

[jsamba]

Congrats on your IKRAN. I own a 110ps, 2wd, RxS duster. Bought in Apr 2018. Great to drive on highways though quite cumbersome in the city though.
I did face the injector issue on the Trichy hwy near Tindivanam. Got my vehicle towed to Renault-Pondy and got them replaced under warranty.
I heard subsequently Renault/Nissan has resolved this injector issues.

Good luck and have fun driving

[Tgo]

Quite an interesting rescue procedure. I learnt something new today.

[Godzilla]

Odo:5545 Kms

Update: Went for general check to Nissan service @Coimbatore at 5300 Kms. It was a free check up. I heard from service personnel that Nissan has checklist of things to check and fix if needed during this check up such as lubricating joints etc,.

Issues fixed: Hub caps from rear wheels fell off. I replaced them costed Rs. 175 each. One of the wiper sprayers got blocked and it was fixed free of cost. I somehow hit the underside near the fog lamp and it fog lamp assembly become loose and it was also fixed free of cost (service personnel pushed it back into the clamps). Happy with the service.

[NT56]

Thank you for this very informative thread. It's a must read for anyone considering the kicks.

I was going through some reviews online and found some owners complaining about water seeping in during monsoons and also wind noise at high speeds inside the cabin.

Do you face any such issues in your kicks?

[quasarlogic]

Great ownership report!

Was wondering you opted for the three year extended warranty when you opted for the Kicks XVD and how much did it cost you when you availed of it?

Thanks