North America might get the bigger Nissan Kicks, but we're not sure that means the US and Canada get the best Kicks. Nissan has just launched a big update for the tiny crossover in Thailand. The change comes with hot new styling, but this low-priced model is also a hybrid. It gets the latest Nissan e-Power hybrid system, which is still not available on anything from Nissan in the US. Old Model Learns New Tricks Nissan This new look is the old Kicks. The one Nissan replaced a couple of years ago in the US, and kept on briefly with a lower price and a Kicks Play badge. Its new face is a massive improvement over the old one, bringing Nissan's latest design language to the older model. There's plenty of Murano or Ariya in the new nose. Meanwhile, new LED strip taillights, the new Nissan logo, and large KICKS lettering on the hatch all make the SUV look more upscale than the old one ever did.The real "Kicks" in the pants is the new e-Power hybrid system. Nissan already sold the Kicks with an e-Power system in Asia, but this updates it to the latest version. Like in the Qashqai, in this series hybrid the 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine never drives the wheels directly. Instead, it powers a 134-horsepower electric motor that generates 210 pound-feet of torque.With nearly double the torque of the old Kicks sold in the US, this thing should scoot. It makes almost as much power as the new US Kicks (141 hp) and vastly more torque, and it's still lighter than the US model. A larger 2.06-kWh battery pack makes sure there's enough charge for acceleration runs. It even has one-pedal driving, or at least a version of it, thanks to the series hybrid system. Tech The US Model Doesn't Have Nissan It might be old, but it's not behind on cabin tech either. This Kicks has plenty of the advanced assists the US model has, bringing Nissan's ProPilot highway driving assistance suite to Thailand for the first time, and with forward collision warnings, emergency automatic braking, and surround view cameras with motion detection. It even has one big one that the US doesn't get: A rearview mirror camera so you can see "through" your passengers or cargo.Nissan Combine all of that with Zero Gravity front seats, "anti-heat" covers, and a large center screen running a new operating system along with a 7.0-inch digital dash, and you have an old Kicks that sounds more appealing to us than the new one. Especially with the optional Moonstone two-tone interior, and even if this one doesn't offer AWD or fancy speakers in the headrests.The real appeal, though, is the price. The e-Power Kicks starts from the equivalent of around $24,000 USD. That's slightly more than the US model, but the Thai price includes the region's high vehicle taxes as well as freight, while the US model's price includes none of those.This is Nissan's fourth e-Power model in Thailand, and it is on sale now. Meanwhile, the US is still waiting for its first e-Power model, which is expected to be the new Rogue launching later this year.
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