The 2025 Nissan Kicks isn’t just turning heads—it’s racking up accolades. Fresh off winning the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) 2024 Top Safety Pick Award and snagging CarBuzz’s 2025 Best Budget Car Award, this subcompact SUV proves you don’t need to sacrifice safety for affordability. Let’s break down what makes the Kicks a double threat in its class.
CarBuzz’s 2025 Best Budget Car: Affordable, But Never Basic
Starting at $21,830, the 2025 Kicks won over CarBuzz’s experts by delivering exceptional value in a sea of overpriced rivals. Reviewers praised Nissan for loading even the base S trim with surprises like a standard eight-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and adaptive cruise control—features often upsold elsewhere. But the real kicker? Its 35 MPG combined fuel economy, courtesy of a retuned 1.6L engine and lightweight design, means fewer stops at the pump and more cash in your wallet in the Bay Shore area.
CarBuzz also highlighted the new Midnight Edition package (available on SV and SR trims), which adds blacked-out accents, heated front seats, and a premium Bose sound system—all for under $26,000. As one editor noted, "The Kicks doesn’t feel like a compromise." It’s proof that budget can still mean smart buy.
IIHS 2024 Top Safety Pick: Safety You Can Trust
While the 2025 model turns heads, it’s the Kicks' 2024 IIHS Top Safety Pick Award that reassures buyers. To earn this honor, the Kicks aced all six crashworthiness tests, including the notoriously tough updated side-impact evaluation, and earned a "Good" rating for its standard LED headlights.
Every 2025 Kicks comes equipped with Nissan Safety Shield® 360, a suite of driver aids that includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot warnings, and rear cross-traffic alert. For 2025, Nissan also enhanced the SUV’s rearview camera resolution and added lane departure prevention as standard—a move the IIHS applauded for making safety accessible across all trims.
Why Drivers Are Choosing the Kicks
In a market flooded with options like the Hyundai Venue and Chevrolet Trailblazer, the Kicks stands out by blending playful design (two-tone roof options!) with practicality. Its spacious cabin defies its compact footprint, offering 32.3 inches of rear legroom—enough for adults to stretch out—and a 25.3 cubic-foot cargo area that swallows weekend gear.
But let’s get personal: The Kicks isn’t just about specs. It’s for the college grad navigating their first commute, the parent who wants peace of mind without a luxury price tag, or the urban explorer craving a zippy, fuel-sipping ride. As CarBuzz put it, "This is the car you recommend to your friend who’s tired of compromising."
Explore the 2025 Nissan Kicks at Nissan of Bay Shore
The 2025 Nissan Kicks didn’t just win awards—it earned them by listening to what real drivers want: safety that’s standard, tech that’s intuitive, and a price that doesn’t induce panic. Whether you’re drawn to its IIHS-backed confidence or CarBuzz-certified value, the Kicks is a reminder that smart choices don’t have to be boring.
If you’re shopping for a subcompact SUV that balances thrift with trust, the 2025 Kicks deserves a spot at the top of your list. After all, when safety and savings shake hands, everyone wins. Feel free to shop this vehicle and its trim levels at Nissan of Bay Shore today.