Buying a car is essentially voting with your dollar. Whether or not you’ve put much thought into it in the past, manufacturers know how many of their vehicles they’ve sold, and if numbers are lower than usual, then something is wrong. What can make a manufacturer panic is when a competing brand begins to pick up the pieces—perhaps where the downward-heading brand may have faltered. And while modern vehicles are getting pricier, Nissan says otherwise.
I don’t think Nissan gets enough credit sometimes, but that may soon change with the all-new 2025 Nissan Kicks. The 2025 Kicks is more than another model year, being the first in a new generation; it’s also a message to both competing manufacturers and millions of drivers looking for the right vehicle. What is Nissan’s message? To get there, I have to explain a few things to set the scene, so keep reading, and I’ll tell you everything you need to know before you go to your local Nissan dealer.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
It’s not the most surprising concept that concessions are sometimes made for the betterment of the overall product, and I’ve got a great example for you. The 2025 Nissan Kicks doesn’t offer power-adjustable seats. While that may seem upsetting at first glance, hear me out. Having manually adjustable seats and top-notch tech is far better than power-adjustable seats and barebone amenities. I know this from experience.
Let me tell you a story that haunts me to this day. When I was shopping for my first car, I had my eyes on a Toyota Camry. The circumstances were almost too good to be true—a Camry LE for a low price! And only a couple of miles down the road from me? I was ecstatic. The dealership—even the CARFAX report—listed the Camry as an LE, which is one trim above the base.
What purchasing an LE meant for me was that I’d get two notable upgrades over the base Camry, including 11 extra horsepower—hooray—and an 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, the latter of which I was more excited for. I visited the dealership, saw the vehicle in person, sat in the car, and turned on the engine. First mistake: I didn’t test-drive it. Luckily, that didn’t come back to haunt me in the way you’d think. Everything sounded great, so I figured I’d sign up for a loan, sign my name on the dotted line, shake the sales manager’s hand, and be handed the key. And then I sat in the vehicle again…
When I sat in the vehicle, I turned the key in the ignition again and proceeded to adjust my seat. To my surprise, the power-adjustable chair I thought I had purchased turned out to be manually adjustable. This may not sound like a big deal to some of you, but when you spend thousands of dollars on a vehicle and fail to check something as minute as the adjustable controls on your chair, it’s fair to be a tad upset with not only yourself but the business that sold it to you since it was marketed on their website as a Camry LE, a trim that only came with power-adjustable seats that year.
After doing my research, I deduced that the dealership had sold me a base Camry but at the price of a Camry LE. After calling the dealership and explaining the situation, I’ll never forget what the sales manager said to me after explaining that whoever filed the CARFAX report was to blame for the confusion: “Manually-adjustable seats, just set it and forget it.” While I couldn’t help but be annoyed by the possibility that I spent more than I should have on a base-level car, I couldn’t help but replay what he said to me in my head. As much as it pains me to say it… He’s right.
If you don’t purchase a vehicle because it has manually adjustable seats, you may not be looking at the bigger picture. Ever since buying a vehicle with manually adjustable seats, what the sales manager said to me turned out to be true: you set the chair to your liking, and you’ll have no reason to readjust. The only time I adjust my chair now is when I’m grabbing all of the loose change that continuously falls out of my pockets when I step into my car.
So, the 2025 Nissan Kicks has manually adjustable chairs on all trims, even the higher-tier ones, where the seats are crafted with smooth, genuine leather and have heating elements. Don’t sweat the small stuff because, if it’s something you care about, I assure you, you won’t dwell on it when you’re driving a vehicle with amazing features all around.
Millions of Drivers Are Overspending
If you stack the 2025 Kicks against competing subcompact SUVs, you’ll notice that Nissan’s is highly cost-effective. With the 2025 Kicks starting at an MSRP of $21,830, Nissan has crafted an SUV that comes in thousands of dollars cheaper than the Chevy Trailblazer, Honda HR-V, Buick Encore GX, and Jeep Compass. Although some 2025 subcompact models haven’t had official prices revealed yet—like the Ford Bronco Sport and Mazda CX-30—the 2025 Kicks is more than likely sporting a lower price than those if last year’s price tags are anything to go by.
Between the base-level Nissan Kicks and Buick Encore GX, there’s a difference of over $4,000. The Kicks has more horsepower and far better cargo space, and the top-level Kicks trim—the Kicks SR and its MSRP of $26,180—is only $180 more than the 2025 Encore GX’s base trim (the Preferred) with a starting price of $26,000. You may think that since the 2025 Encore GX comes standard with an 11-inch infotainment center, the higher price of the base trim is understandable. Not only does the 2025 Kicks get a majority of features possible with the Encore GX’s infotainment center, like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but the top-end 2025 Kicks trim has an even larger 12.3-inch screen.
The 2025 Buick Encore GX is not the only competing subcompact SUV with a greater price that doesn’t impress in any meaningful manner comparatively, so it’s not a one-off. Another example is the 2025 Chevy Trailblazer, which has a starting price of $24,395—nearly 12% more than the 2025 Kicks’ starting price. The 2025 Trailblazer, like the Encore GX, outputs 137 hp against the 2024 Kicks’ 141 hp and has insufficient cargo space.
I believe that Nissan is placing the Kicks in somewhat of a can’t-lose situation as manufacturers are consistently raising the prices of their automobiles each year; still, Nissan manages to remain the value champion by combining the most affordable automotive lineup—sometimes with features you won’t find even on the pricier opponents out there. Millions of drivers are overspending each year, especially in the realm of tech, cargo space, and reliability, and I admire what Nissan is doing for the more entry-level driving class.
What Is Nissan’s Message?
Nissan is on top of its game with the 2025 lineup, and the Kick is an open letter to manufacturers and consumers everywhere—a message that automakers should not underestimate the power of the modern entry-level automobile. People work hard for their money, and if they can get a ride comparable to the premium brands but save thousands of dollars in the process, manufacturers shouldn’t be surprised if they notice customers jumping ship to a brand like Nissan.
