The used Nissan Kicks worth buying in mid October 2026 depends on your budget: a 2018-2024 first-gen car is the cheap, front-drive, 1.6-liter commuter, while the 2025-on redesign adds a 2.0-liter, optional AWD, and more room for more money. Both use a CVT. Whichever you pick, run the VIN for open recalls (the 2021 steering campaign was issued twice) and read the ownership history closely, because a lot of Kicks started life in rental and fleet lots.
MotorTrend's Kicks review dates the model to the 2018 model year and calls the 2025 car the first full redesign. One wrinkle trips up shoppers: Nissan kept selling the old body for 2025 as the Kicks Play, a single S-spec car, per MotorTrend, and Car and Driver confirms the last-gen model lives on under that name. So a "2025 Kicks" ad could describe either generation. Check the engine size and whether it has a 12.3-inch screen before you assume which one you are looking at.
First gen vs second gen, in plain numbers
The 2018-2024 Kicks runs a 1.6-liter four with 122 hp and 114 lb-ft, front-wheel drive only, and MotorTrend clocked it at 10.1 seconds to 60 mph. It is a light, simple car, which is why it was cheap new and why fleets liked it. Cargo space was 25.3 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 53.1 with it folded. Do not expect much refinement either; MotorTrend described the old car as a lifted hatchback with dull driving manners.
The 2025 redesign moved to a 2.0-liter with 141 hp and 140 lb-ft, still through a CVT. Car and Driver says AWD models also get a multilink rear suspension in place of the front-driver's torsion beam, plus a Snow mode, and their AWD test car hit 60 mph in 9.0 seconds. The EPA rates the front-drive car at 28 city / 35 highway, and AWD costs about 1 mpg per cycle. MotorTrend's testing also turned up a real negative. They called out troubling panic-stop behavior on front-drive cars, and they measured the AWD version slower and thirstier than the old Kicks. Nissan's 2025 Kicks pricing release listed MSRPs from $21,830 for an S FWD to $27,680 for an SR AWD before destination, which gives you a ceiling for what a lightly used one should cost.
Trim matters more on the new car than the old one. The base S on the 2025-on Kicks has a 7.0-inch screen with no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, per both review sites, while SV and SR step up to a 12.3-inch screen with wireless phone mirroring. If phone projection is a must, skip the S.
The CVT and what to check on a test drive
Every U.S. Kicks has a continuously variable automatic, so treat the transmission as the first thing to judge on a drive. Listen for whine under light throttle, feel for shudder pulling away from a stop, and watch for the revs climbing without the car speeding up. Ask for fluid service records, since a car with 70,000 miles and no record of transmission service is a negotiating point at minimum. If you are cross-shopping a bigger Nissan, our used Nissan Rogue buying guide covers the compact SUV, which had AWD available long before the Kicks did.
Kicks recalls to clear by VIN
We pulled NHTSA recall data for 2018 through 2026 Kicks this morning, October 15, 2026. On the first pass the 2020 and 2022 requests errored; the retry came back with zero campaigns for both years. The one we would push hardest on is the 2021 steering problem. Campaign 22V693000 covers certain 2021 Kicks and Versa models with an intermittent electrical connection in the power steering torque sensor that can kill power assist. Nissan then issued 23V496000 for the same condition, and NHTSA's remedy notes say cars inspected under 22V-693 that did not get a new steering column need to be reinspected. So a 2021 Kicks that shows the first recall as done may still owe a visit.
Other campaigns: 19V654000 covers 2018-2019 Kicks in a large multi-model rearview camera recall. Campaign 24V154000 covers some 2023-2024 Kicks whose driver air bag inflator can absorb moisture and deploy improperly, which is not a recall you want left open. The redesign has picked up several already: 24V969000 (2025 shift-to-Park warning may not sound), 25V188000 (2025 certification label printed with wrong weight ratings), 25V324000 (2025 screen may go blank in reverse), 26V331000 (2025-2026 instrument cluster may go blank), plus 26V023000 for door strikers and 26V145000 for front seat frame welds on 2026 cars. Start with the NHTSA recalls feed for the 2021 Kicks, change the year, and then use our Nissan recall check by VIN walkthrough to confirm completion on the exact car.
Rental history, title, and the report
Honestly, the rental question is bigger for a Kicks than for most cars. Low price, good mpg, and front drive made it a natural fit for rental and fleet buyers. A former rental is not automatically bad, but it usually means many drivers and no one babying the CVT, so price it accordingly. Our piece on rental car history on CARFAX explains how that shows up on a report. Match the VIN on the dash, door, and title, and decode it with NHTSA's vPIC tool or our Nissan VIN decoder to confirm model year and engine.
On cost, a CARFAX through us is about $5.50 as a guest or $4.50 as a member, and a CARFAX plus AutoCheck bundle is about $6.75, while retail sits around $39.99 to $44.99 as of mid October 2026. Confirm at checkout. We are a licensed reseller, not affiliated with CARFAX, AutoCheck, or Experian. One blunt warning: be wary of "$1 trial" report sites that roll into a monthly charge, and never accept a seller's PDF as proof. A real CARFAX report pulled on the VIN yourself takes a minute.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!
Log in to leave a comment.