Compare the2025 Nissan KicksVS 2025 Subaru Crosstrek

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 Subaru Crosstrek doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 Crosstrek 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 Crosstrek doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Kicks SR has a standard Around View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Crosstrek only offers a rear monitor.

The Kicks has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Crosstrek’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Kicks has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Crosstrek and its not available on the Base.

Both the Kicks and the Crosstrek 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available all wheel drive.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Nissan Kicks is safer than the Crosstrek:

The Nissan Kicks achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Crosstrek last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.

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, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Crosstrek.

There are over 68 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Kicks’ warranty.

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 Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated lower.

On the EPA test cycle the Kicks gets better mileage than the Crosstrek:

The Kicks has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Kicks stops much shorter than the Crosstrek:

The Kicks SR’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Crosstrek Sport/Limited’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Kicks SR has standard 19-inch wheels. The Crosstrek’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

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 Crosstrek 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 Crosstrek doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Kicks SR AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Crosstrek Wilderness pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Kicks SR AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Crosstrek Limited (28 seconds @ .59 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

The Nissan Kicks may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 100 to 300 pounds less than the Subaru Crosstrek.

The Kicks is 4.5 inches shorter than the Crosstrek, making the Kicks easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Crosstrek with its rear seat up (30 vs. 19.9 cubic feet). The Kicks has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Crosstrek 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 Crosstrek’s liftover is 30.7 inches.

The Kicks SV/SR offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Kicks’ front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Crosstrek’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Kicks has a standard Push Button Start that allows you to start the engine without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Crosstrek Premium/Sport/Limited/Wilderness offers Keyless Access and Start.

The Kicks’ standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Crosstrek’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Kicks SR’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

On extremely cold winter days, the Kicks SR’s optional heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

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