This Nissan Kicks has managed to consistently keep pace with the cheapest crossovers around, and for 2023, Nissan has said that won't change, despite the Kicks offering plenty of standard equipment. The Nissan Kicks now starts at $20,290. Nissan will offer three trim levels for the Kicks this year: S, SV, and SR. All of those will come with Nissan Safety Shield 350 as standard. That's Nissan's safety suite, which comes with AEB and pedestrian detection, automatic high beams, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, and rear auto-braking. Nissan has also released pricing for the Kicks' swankier trims.

The Kicks SV will start at $22,150, and the Kicks SR will start at $22,850. In addition to Safety Shield, the Kicks, uh, kicks off its standard equipment with a 7-inch touchscreen, on which you'll find both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Also standard are three USB ports and a push-button start. Only a few years ago, the latter of those was reserved for cars that cost double the Kicks' MSRP, in case you wanted an indication of how far tech has come mainstream since a decade ago.

The Kicks SR gets new styling components like a set of black roof rails and mirrors, as well as a dark chrome front grille and slightly different seat fabric. The SR trim will also benefit from LED headlights and fog lights, a leather-wrapped wheel, automatic climate control, and Nissan's Intelligent Around View Monitor.

The Kicks SR will offer a Premium package, which will net buyers a nicer Bose sound system. This is apparently a very driver-focused package, as two of the eight speakers are located in the driver's headrest. Nissan will throw in a heated wheel and front seats with leatherette, as well as NissanConnect services and a wifi hotspot.

For now, the Kicks manages to stay one of Nissan's cheapest offerings. It also manages to stay relatively close to its competition depending on your preferred trim level and price. The Toyota Corolla Cross, for example, starts at $23,750. The Subaru Crosstrek, arguably the crossover segment's poster child, starts at $23,645. However, it's not the cheapest crossover either. That honor (or dishonor, depending on how you look at it) instead goes to the Hyundai Venue, which starts at a lowly $20,125. Still, that's more expensive than the base Kicks was last year, as the crossover used to start at just $19,990. Based on the options Nissan has included in the SR and SV trims, it seems like the money simply went to making the Kicks a wee bit more upscale than before.