Compare the2025 Nissan KicksVS 2024 Dodge Hornet

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Kicks have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Dodge Hornet doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Kicks are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Hornet doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Kicks has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Hornet doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Kicks SR offers an optional front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Hornet doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Kicks and the Hornet have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kicks for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Nissan will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Dodge doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Hornet.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Dodge vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 135 more problems per 100 vehicles, Dodge is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Dodge vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 4 places higher in reliability than Dodge.

On the EPA test cycle the Kicks gets better mileage than the Hornet running its gasoline engine:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Nissan Kicks uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Hornet requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Kicks has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Hornet doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Kicks has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Hornet doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Kicks has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Hornet doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Kicks’ wheelbase is .8 inches longer than on the Hornet (104.6 inches vs. 103.8 inches). The Kicks AWD’s wheelbase is 1.1 inches longer than on the Hornet (104.9 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better maneuverability, the Kicks’ turning circle is 3.1 feet tighter than the Hornet R/T’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.9 feet). The Kicks’ turning circle is 3.2 feet tighter than the Hornet GT’s (34.8 feet vs. 38 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Kicks has a 2.3 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Hornet R/T (8.4 vs. 6.1 inches), allowing the Kicks to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Kicks’ minimum ground clearance is .3 inch higher than on the Hornet GT (8.4 vs. 8.1 inches).

The Nissan Kicks may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 750 to 900 pounds less than the Dodge Hornet.

The Kicks is 6.1 inches shorter than the Hornet, making the Kicks easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Kicks has .9 inches more front headroom, 1 inch more front legroom and .3 inches more rear headroom than the Hornet.

The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Hornet with its rear seat up (30 vs. 27 cubic feet). The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Hornet with its rear seat folded (60 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Kicks easier. The Kicks’ cargo hatch lift-over height is 27.9 inches, while the Hornet’s liftover is 31.8 inches.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Kicks has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Hornet only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Kicks is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Hornet doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Nissan Kicks outsold the Dodge Hornet by over seven to one during 2023.