First Impressions: Did 2026 Nissan Kicks e-Power get the right updates?

In such a highly competitive market, even a model once called a “game-changer” can lag behind the competition in a matter of four years. Exhibit A: The Nissan Kicks e-Power.

When it made its debut in the Philippines back in 2022, Nissan made a big splash by making hybrid technology closer to the masses (i.e., more affordable) with an entry price of just over PHP 1.2 million. At a time when Chinese manufacturers were still busy pushing EVs instead of plug-in hybrids, the Kicks was the one to get if you were switching to an electrified vehicle back then.

2022 Nissan Kicks e-Power

The automotive landscape, however, quickly changed when the rapid influx of Chinese crossovers happened. Many were offering a longer feature list, more advanced hybrid tech, and bigger vehicles for much lower price tags compared to other established manufacturers.

For 2026, however, Nissan is looking to bounce back as it launched the new Kicks e-Power at this year's Bangkok International Motor Show. The question is: did they do enough to keep it competitive? Just before it makes its way to the country later this year, we had a chance to try it out for a quick spin.

Nissan calls it an all-new model. But since it still uses the same platform and powertrain, the Kicks e-Power for 2026 is more of a heavily updated version than a complete do-over.

On the outside, the new front and rear fascia give the Kicks a sharper and more mature look. I wasn’t a fan of the new design when pictures of the Brazilian market Kait came out, but seeing the ASEAN market version in the metal with the blacked-out roof and the new Terra Sport-like wheels has made the aesthetics better.

The space inside and the cargo area remain the same, but Nissan gave the Kicks e-Power a new dashboard design with a bigger 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment, a fully digital instrument cluster, and better-feeling materials for important touchpoints like the steering wheel, door panels, and the seats.

The Kicks e-Power still has the same power unit as the one it’s replacing – a 1.2-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine acting as a generator to charge the 2.06 kWh battery that’s powering the 136 PS, 280 Nm electric motor. With Nissan claiming 25 km/l in this powertrain, it makes sense to continue with this setup.

Based on the Thailand market spec model, Nissan has also given the Kicks e-Power a longer feature list on the safety and convenience side, with the ProPilot system giving things like adaptive cruise, lane keep assist, and emergency stop feature becoming available to the model.

Up to this point, the changes made to the Kicks e-Power feel more like a standard update than a major one. Thankfully, Nissan let us try out the new Kicks e-Power on a test track to find out what the spec sheet doesn’t reflect.

For one, the seats felt nicer than the outgoing model and better sculpted to provide support and cushioning to the occupants. When I started driving, I noticed the new Kicks e-Power also got a bit better in terms of noise insulation, as the wheel wells now have sound-absorbing fender liners.

As for the driving part, Nissan also made some small tweaks to the behavior of the powertrain. On heavy acceleration, the Kicks e-Power still delivers a swift response off the line, but you can now hear the 1.2-liter generator slowly getting its revs up rather than scream right away like the previous version. Handling still feels relatively similar, but a longer drive with the new Kicks e-Power should be in order to assess the ride and its other aspects better.

Overall, I think Nissan was able to address most of the updates that the Kicks e-Power needed to keep up with the competition. Features-wise, it now has the things that customers want in a crossover. On the powertrain side, it still delivers a fuel-efficient yet entertaining drive.

I know not everyone would approve of Nissan’s decision to choose to update an old platform over a ground-up redesign. But for the Philippine market? I think Nissan will do just fine with the heavily updated Kicks e-Power, and I have a simple reason for it: the thing called familiarity.

Most buyers in the country still want an already proven vehicle – take the Xpander and Vios, for example, which were last year's top two best-selling models in the country. No electrification, not much advanced tech features, but with a reputation for bulletproof reliability.

The outgoing Kicks e-Power wasn’t free from teething problems when it was new. It had some issues, and ironically, it was the A/C system that Nissan had to fix. But with regard to its electrified powertrain, there were no major issues that we heard about.

Plus, I recently experienced a heavily abused, used four-year-old Kicks e-Power VL test unit from Nissan PH with 46,000 km on the odometer, and it still delivers more than 20 km/l in mixed driving conditions without any rattles in the cabin – just some noticeable wear on the interior. That solid reliability is something buyers can bank on, at a time when electrified vehicles are sought after, considering the stratospheric fuel prices nowadays.

It is expected that the new Kicks e-Power would be more expensive than the outgoing one. But hopefully, with Nissan also being led by a new president this year, prices would still remain competitive.