Nissan has teased the new 2021 Kicks facelift for the US market and full details of the SUV are due to be revealed on 8th December 2020. The new 2021 model was revealed in the Thailand market in May and is powered by a small gasoline engine with an electric drive motor. It is still unclear if hybrid electric powertrain technology will make it to the American market.
But even in the teaser image the new Nissan Kicks for the US market is expected to come with all the features from the Thai-spec model. The Nissan Kicks features a new V-motion grille design with an imposing front fascia, large mesh intakes and thick surrounds. The new bumpers also come with vertical faux intakes with fog lamps, a silver finished skid plate and black claddings on the wheel arches and doors. The headlamps are sleeker and come with LED light technology. The new Kicks also features machine-cut alloy wheels and an updated combination tail lamp.
On the inside, the greenhouse gets minor updates but the infotainment system is larger than before and features the latest generation telematics. The centre console has also been updated and the new car is equipped with a smaller gear selector. The Thai-spec model could be completely different from the one that is sold in the US and the changes to the interiors could be minimum.
In the Indian market, Nissan updated the Kicks to BS6 standards. The SUV is powered by a new 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with a unique cylinder coating technology borrowed from the Nissan GT-R that helps the motor produce 156 PS of power and 254 Nm of torque matched to a manual gearbox as well as an X-Tronic CVT transmission. The engine also comes with a Dual Variable Timing system that improves efficiency also reducing the emissions.
The BS6 Nissan Kicks was introduced in the Indian market in May 2020 around the same month when the Nissan Kicks e-Power facelift was launched in Thailand. The brand is not likely to bring the Nissan Kicks facelift in the Indian market anytime soon, instead, it is currently concentrating its efforts on the Nissan Magnite B-SUV that has been launched recently at the price of INR 4.99 lakh ex-showroom.
