Nissan Kicks Sao Paulo Show concept revealed

Compact SUVs and crossovers are a huge rage these days. While Nissan has the Terrano already in India, the new Kicks concept that will be previewed at the Sao Paulo show could well be the car that has India on the radar. Nissan isn’t revealing much yet but the company’s American design studio VP, Taro Ueda hints at the Kick’s market outside Brazil saying – “It's not only just for the Brazilian market, but we capture the idea of Brazil and then we apply it to our global design improvement, making a stronger design lineup for future Nissan designs.”

The Kicks concept is based on the Nissan Extrem Concept that was showcased at the 2012 Sao Paulo show but takes it ‘one step closer to reality’ in Nissan’s words. Essentially, we are looking at a close to production car that has all the scoops and muscles to get you excited. The Kicks’ beefy haunches, large air dams and large 19 inch wheels look the part for a compact SUV/crossover to garner attention, one fact that actually makes the Duster sell so well here. The chunky rear end with the floating roof and high set tail lamps look the part for a stylish compact crossover as well.

The Kicks concept is slightly larger than the Juke. The Juke though is a slightly more premium offering and so the Kicks will not make it to developed markets like the USA and UK and instead target emerging ones in South America and Asia. Quality of materials and features will be built to stricter price sensitivities to make the Kicks competitive if it does make it to the production stage. Nissan hasn’t revealed details on the mechanicals just yet but we expect it to share engines with the Micra and Terrano.