Top Safety PickTop Safety Pick criteria

2018 Nissan Kicks

small car / 4-door hatchback

Award applies only to vehicles with specific headlights

2018 Nissan Kicks 4-door hatchback

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system
Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2018-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 Nissan Kicks SR 4-door

The Nissan Kicks was introduced in the 2018 model year as a replacement for the Nissan Juke.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Despite intrusion of the door hinge pillar, risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1807
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 14
Footrest (cm) 5
Left toepan (cm) 3
Brake pedal (cm) 3
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 5
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 1
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 7
Upper dash (cm) 10
Lower instrument panel (cm) 10

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1807
Head
HIC-15 108
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 7
Maximum Nij 0.25
Chest maximum compression (mm) 25
Femur (kN)
Left 1.4
Right 0.5
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 4
Right 2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.42
Right 0.37
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.8
Right 0.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 50
Right 40

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2018-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 Nissan Kicks SV 4-door

The Nissan Kicks was introduced in the 2018 model year as a replacement for the Nissan Juke. Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID VTP1821
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 17
Footrest (cm) 7
Right toepan (cm) 4
Center toepan (cm) 4
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 3
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 9
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 12
Upper dash (cm) 13
Right lower dash (cm) 11

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTP1821
Head
HIC-15 155
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 23
Maximum Nij 0.35
Chest maximum compression (mm) 20
Femur (kN)
Left 2.5
Right 3.9
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 4
Right 13
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 1
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.58
Right 1.02
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.2
Right 1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 46
Right 83

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTP1821
Head
HIC-15 81
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm) 17
Maximum Nij 0.17
Chest maximum compression (mm) 28
Femur (kN)
Left 0.2
Right 0.5
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 1
Right 2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.25
Right 0.27
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.2
Right 0.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 20
Right 45

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2018-19 models

Tested vehicle: 2020 Nissan Kicks SV 4-door

The Nissan Kicks was introduced in the 2018 model year as a replacement for the Nissan Juke. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1821
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 4
Left (cm) 6
Center (cm) 10
Right (cm) 7
Brake pedal (cm) 4
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 3
Right (cm) 8
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 1
Rearward (cm) 5
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1821
Head
HIC-15 342
Peak gs at hard contact 78
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm) 31
Maximum Nij 0.27
Chest maximum compression (mm) 31
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.7
Femur force - right (kN) 0.8
Knee displacement - left (mm) 3
Knee displacement - right (mm) 2
Maximum tibia index - left 0.41
Maximum tibia index - right 0.32
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.9
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 1.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 43
Right 61

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2018-19 models built after May 2018

Tested vehicle: 2018 Nissan Kicks SR 4-door

The Nissan Kicks was introduced in the 2018 model year as a replacement for the Nissan Juke. Beginning with 2018 models built after May 2018, design changes were made to the rear door trim to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

Two tests of the Kicks were conducted, one built before the rear door trim was modified and one built afterward by Nissan. These vehicles are rated separately, except that the structure, head protection, and driver injury ratings for both vehicles are based on both tests.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1819 VTS1818
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -12.0 -13.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1819 VTS1818
Head HIC-15 365 260
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6 1.1
Compression (kN) 0.3 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 28 19
Lateral force (kN) 1.4 1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 34 30
Average deflection (mm) 32 27
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 4.29 3.54
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.57 0.42
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 3.1 2.0
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.1 1.7
Combined force (kN) 4.8 3.4
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.8 0.9
L-M moment (Nm) 87 104
A-P moment (Nm) -23 43

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1819
Head HIC-15 147
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.3
Compression (kN) 0.8
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 41
Lateral force (kN) 1.7
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 26
Average deflection (mm) 20
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.08
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.22
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.3
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.0
Combined force (kN) 1.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 2.4
L-M moment (Nm) 241
A-P moment (Nm) 32

Rating applies to 2018 models built before June 2018

Tested vehicle: 2018 Nissan Kicks SV 4-door

The Nissan Kicks was introduced in the 2018 model year as a replacement for the Nissan Juke. Beginning with 2018 models built after May 2018, design changes were made to the rear door trim to improve occupant protection in side impact crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

Two tests of the Kicks were conducted, one built before the rear door trim was modified and one built afterward by Nissan. These vehicles are rated separately, except that the structure, head protection, and driver injury ratings for both vehicles are based on both tests.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1818 VTS1819
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -13.0 -12.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1818 VTS1819
Head HIC-15 260 365
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1 1.6
Compression (kN) 0.2 0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 19 28
Lateral force (kN) 1.2 1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 30 34
Average deflection (mm) 27 32
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.54 4.29
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.42 0.57
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 2.0 3.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.7 2.1
Combined force (kN) 3.4 4.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.9 0.8
L-M moment (Nm) 104 87
A-P moment (Nm) 43 -23

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1818
Head HIC-15 200
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.4
Compression (kN) 0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 47
Lateral force (kN) 1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 31
Average deflection (mm) 23
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.24
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.29
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.3
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.5
Combined force (kN) 0.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 2.8
L-M moment (Nm) 340
A-P moment (Nm) -75

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2018-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 Nissan Kicks S 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight2,611 lbs
Peak force11,530 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio4.42

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 21
Distance below top of head (mm) 37
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 11.6
Head contact time (ms) 59
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 32
Max neck tension (N) 519

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

  • SR trim
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeHalogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination Some glare

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves, fair on the sharp left curve and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual right and gradual left curves and fair on the sharp right and sharp left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • SR trim
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2018-20 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 113.2 m 6.0%
Straightaway left edge 56.3 m 6.0%
250m radius right curve, right edge 69.3 m 16.0%
250m radius left curve, right edge 54.8 m 26.3%
150m radius right curve, right edge 61.0 m 15.3%
150m radius left curve, right edge 54.4 m 72.0%
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 163.2 m
Straightaway left edge 110.7 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 84.3 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 79.6 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 63.6 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 61.7 m

Trim level(s)

  • S trim
  • SV trim
Low-beam headlight typeHalogen reflector
High-beam headlight typeHalogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • S trim
  • SV trim
Low-beam headlight type Halogen reflector
High-beam headlight type Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2018-20 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 47.6 m None
Straightaway left edge 26.6 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 39.1 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 30.5 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 33.3 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 29.2 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 144.2 m
Straightaway left edge 114.7 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 63.8 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 61.7 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 51.6 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 48.7 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Standard Autonomous Emergency Braking

Package name

  • Standard S CVT

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2018-19 models

Superior
Superior
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 13 mph.

About the original front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2018-20 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimS
Seat type cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimS
Seat type cloth
1 2 3
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 0-2
Force (lbs) 8
Clearance angle (degrees) 82
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 0-2
Force (lbs) 21
Clearance angle (degrees) 78
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 0-2
Force (lbs) 30
Clearance angle (degrees) 78
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 0-2
Force (lbs) 33
Clearance angle (degrees) 84
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation