Nissan Kicks SUV confirmed for India; To challenge Mahindra XUV & Jeep Compass

Nissan will launch a new compact SUV in India next year. The SUV will be called the Kicks, and it is already on sale in South American markets. In price terms, it will compete with the Renault Captur, Mahindra XUV500 and Jeep Compass and will be priced slightly above the Nissan Terrano.

The Kicks offers 5 seats, measures 4,295 mm in length, 1,760 mm in width and 1,590 mm in height, and has a 2,610 mm wheelbase. For the Indian market, the Kicks has been codenamed PB1D. The SUV will use the same platform as the Duster, Terrano and Captur, the B-Zero (B0).

This makes the new SUV the fifth vehicle to be based on this platform considering the fact that the Lodgy also uses this platform. Nissan is using this platform-sharing strategy to keep costs low. The Kicks will be built at the Renault-Nissan factory in Oragadam, Chennai. The SUV will be produced alongside the Duster, Terrano and Captur by using a lot of common parts.

By common parts, we mean engines and transmissions also. The Kicks will be offered with petrol and diesel engines,the same ones seen on the Duster and Terrano. The petrol engine will be the 1.5 liter non turbo unit with 104 Bhp and 145 Nm. The diesel engine will be a 1.5 liter K9K turbocharged unit with 108 Bhp and 248 Nm.

The Kicks is a monocoque SUV with a front wheel drive layout. The petrol engine will get a 5 speed manual transmission while the diesel will get a 6 speed unit. Nissan may also offer a CVT automatic transmission on the petrol powered Kicks.

The international-spec Kicks gets modern interiors and infotainment system, which makes it feel much more modern than the Nissan Terrano (which uses a dated design based on the Duster’s insides). The same kind of interiors are expected to be offered on the Indian version of the Kicks. Prices of the Kicks are expected to start from Rs. 10 lakhs. The new compact SUV is expected to be showcased at the 2018 Indian Auto Expo in February next year.

Via ACI