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.
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.
