Compare the2025 Nissan Kicks PlayVS 2025 Toyota Corolla Hatchback

The Nissan Kicks Play has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Kicks Play has standard Rear Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Kicks Play has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Corolla Hatchback’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Kicks Play has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Automatic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Toyota charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Alert on the Corolla Hatchback and the Corolla Hatchback’s Rear Cross-Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the Kicks Play and the Corolla Hatchback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Kicks Play is safer than the Toyota Corolla Hatchback:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 26 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

The Kicks Play SV/SR’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Corolla Hatchback are solid, not vented.

The Kicks Play stops much shorter than the Corolla Hatchback:

The Kicks Play has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Kicks Play handles at .82 G’s, while the Corolla Hatchback SE pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Kicks Play’s turning circle is 3.2 feet tighter than the Corolla Hatchback’s (34.2 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

The Nissan Kicks Play may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 400 pounds less than the Toyota Corolla Hatchback.

The Kicks Play has 8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Corolla Hatchback (92.6 vs. 84.6).

The Kicks Play has 2 inches more front headroom, 1.7 inches more front legroom, .9 inches more rear headroom, 3.6 inches more rear legroom and 3.6 inches more rear hip room than the Corolla Hatchback.

Consumer Reports rated the Kicks Play’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Corolla Hatchback’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The Kicks Play’s optional rear view mirror has an automatic dimming feature. This mirror can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on it, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer the luxury of an automatic dimming rear view mirror.

Compared to the Toyota Corolla Hatchback, the Nissan Kicks Play eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its optional integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Nissan Kicks Play and the Toyota Corolla Hatchback, based on reliability, safety and performance.