Where each one leads
BMW i3
- Against cars of the same year, the BMW i3 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 17% less often than average) than the Nissan Kicks (fails 8% more often than average).
Nissan Kicks
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| BMW i3 | Nissan Kicks | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2014–2022 | 2018–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 106,473 (2013–2022) | — |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 25,251 | — |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 7,145 | — |
| In traffic in Finland | 1,113 | — |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| BMW i3 | Nissan Kicks | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 88% | — |
| … against cars of the same age | +6% | — |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.5% | 0.9% |
| … against cars of the same year | −17% | +8% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 1.4% | — |
| US owner complaints | 215 | 524 |
| Most complaints about | Steering | Forward collision avoidance |
| Model year with most complaints | 2014 (54) | 2019 (134) |
| US recall campaigns | 8 | 10 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,307 | 575 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 9 | — |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| BMW i3 | Nissan Kicks | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 4★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| BMW i3 | Nissan Kicks | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | — | 7.4 l/100 km (2026) |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 0 g/km | — |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 113 kW (151 hp) | — |
| Average mass in running order | 1,345 kg | — |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €45,572 | — |
| Average odometer in Finland | 97,000 km | — |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).