Rent Nissan Kicks 2024 in Dubai

Search for the Nissan Kicks 2024 and some listings throw in e-Power, Nissan's petrol-electric hybrid system fitted to newer Kicks models overseas. This car doesn't have it. The Kicks we rent in Dubai for 2024 carries a plain 1.6-litre petrol engine paired with a CVT automatic, the same setup this generation has run since launch. It's worth clearing up before anyone books expecting a silent hybrid start at the lights. We deliver it to your door across Dubai within one to two hours, and the rental comes with unlimited mileage included. The real question left is whether a compact crossover this size fits two people, or whether you need room for four.

On the road: the engine and CVT

Under the bonnet sits a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder tuned to 118 hp and 149 Nm, sending power to the front wheels through Nissan's Xtronic CVT. Nothing exotic here, and that's the appeal. There's no turbo lag to manage and no battery pack to warm up, just a conventional drivetrain doing a conventional job. Around town it does that job well. The CVT holds a low, steady crawl through Sheikh Zayed Road traffic and doesn't hunt for a ratio the way some cheaper automatics do when you're inching out of a mall exit.

Push it onto the E11 and it settles into a 120 km/h cruise without complaint, happy to hold that speed all the way to the airport or up the coast. Ask for a quick overtake past a truck, though, and the CVT needs a moment to think about it. Engine speed rises before road speed follows, so a fast pass takes planning rather than a stab of the accelerator. That's typical of a small naturally aspirated engine on this kind of gearbox, not a fault unique to this Kicks. Treat it as a relaxed cruiser rather than something built for aggressive overtaking, and it does exactly what's asked of it.

How much fits in the boot, and who fits in the back

The boot holds 432 litres with the rear seats up, and the shape does more work than the number alone suggests. It's a tall load bay rather than a wide, shallow one, so a couple of upright hard-shell suitcases stand easily with a soft holdall wedged beside them, enough for a week's luggage on a DXB or DWC run. Fold the 60/40 rear seats and the floor opens out flat, useful for a flatpack delivery, a stroller, or a bike with the front wheel off.

The back seat is where the limit shows up. Two adults sit fine there on a mall run or the drive in from the airport, and three kids buckle across without elbowing each other. Add a fourth adult for a day out with everyone's bags riding along, and the seat and the boot both run short of room at roughly the same point. That isn't a flaw specific to this car. Most compact crossovers at 4,295 mm long hit the same wall once a full-grown fourth passenger joins the back row.

Parking is where that length pays for itself. At 1,760 mm wide the Kicks slides into a tower's basement bay or a mall's upper deck without the shuffle a full-size SUV needs, and 200 mm of ground clearance takes speed bumps and ramp lips in stride. Read that clearance as a city advantage, not a desert one. This is a front-wheel-drive crossover on road tyres, with no business past the last stretch of tarmac before the sand starts.

Unlimited mileage, fuel and keeping the cabin cool in the heat

This booking has no daily kilometre figure attached and no overage rate waiting if you go past one, because there isn't a limit to go past. Commute across town all week, add a Friday run to Hatta, and none of it gets added up against you when you return the keys. That's a real difference from the capped rentals common in this class, where a long weekend can quietly turn into an extra charge on the final bill.

Fuel is the other cost that stays low regardless of how far you go. Official combined economy is 6.1 litres per 100 km, though Dubai's stop-start traffic and the AC running hard push real-world driving closer to 7. The 41-litre tank still returns something like 500 to 600 km of city range, so most weeks settle into one stop at the pump, occasionally two if you're commuting in from further out. Salik tolls and any RTA fines during the rental stay with the renter, as they do on every car we hand over.

Heat is the part people ask about once the booking is confirmed, and the honest answer is that the small cabin works in your favour. Less air means the AC catches up quickly once you climb back into a cabin that's spent the afternoon baking in Dubai's mid-40s heat. The front vents move a lot of air fast. There's no separate vent for the back seat on this generation, so whoever's sitting there relies on air carried through from the front, fine with one passenger back there and a bit slower with three. Crack the windows for the first minute rather than sealing everyone into trapped hot air straight away, and park in shade at the mall when you get the choice.

Two people or four: who this Kicks fits, and who needs more room

Book the Kicks if you're one or two people, or a couple with a young child, who want a crossover's seating height, easy parking, and a rental that doesn't charge extra the further you drive. Commuters, residents settling in without a car of their own yet, and couples splitting a week between the office, the mall and the odd trip out of town get everything this car offers, and the running cost stays about as low as anything in the fleet.

Look at something bigger if you're regularly four adults with full suitcases, or you want a back seat with its own air vents for a family through the summer. A mid-size SUV handles that load with room to spare and won't cost much more to feed. And if Hatta's rougher tracks or any real desert driving are on the plan, this isn't the car for it, since front-wheel drive on road tyres keeps it firmly on tarmac. The Kicks 2024 delivers to your door in one to two hours, the minimum age to rent it is 25, and for one or two people who don't want to think about mileage or fuel bills, it's a straightforward car to recommend.