The Nissan Kicks was caught testing on video, somewhere in South India, ahead of its market launch early next year. The Indian-spec Kicks shows its interior for the first time, and when compared to the Brazilian Kicks, there are hardly any differences.
We notice a three-spoke multifunction steering wheel and a touchscreen entertainment system with volume knobs, similar to the 7-inch system found on the Brazilian Kicks. The side AC vents are the same as in the Brazilian model.
While the interior of the Nissan Kicks for India is expected to look similar to its Brazilian counterpart, the similarities end there. The Indian model is based on Dacia’s low-cost B0 platform whereas the Kicks for international markets uses the more modern Nissan V platform. The Renault-Nissan Alliance have already localised the B0 platform in India to a high degree (the localisation on the Renault Duster is 80%+) thanks to products such as the Renault Duster, Renault Lodgy, Renault Captur and Nissan Terrano.
The Nissan Kicks for the Indian market is expected to be slightly larger than the international variant. According to Nissan's design chief, Alfonso Albaisa, the India-spec Kicks looks better because of the size, though he did not divulge by how much engineers have increased the size.
Also read: Next-gen Nissan GT-R will be preceded by a concept car, says Nissan design boss
On the powertrain front, the Nissan Kicks is expected to use the 1.5-liter H4K petrol and the 1.5-liter K9K dCi diesel engine with the drive solely going to the front wheels. An AWD option is not offered on the Kicks internationally, and the Indian-spec version is unlikely to have it. With prices expected to start at the INR 10 lakh mark, ex-Showroom, the Kicks will rival the Hyundai Creta, Maruti S-Cross and Renault Captur.
