For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota C-HR have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Nissan Kicks doesn't offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

Both the C-HR and the Kicks have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The Toyota C-HR weighs 548 to 614 pounds more than the Nissan Kicks. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota C-HR is safer than the Nissan Kicks:

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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota C-HR is safer than the Nissan Kicks:

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the C-HR is 1.2% less likely to roll over than the Kicks.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight's “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the C-HR the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 145 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Kicks last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2019.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the C-HR for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Nissan doesn't pay scheduled maintenance for the Kicks.

There are over 15 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Nissan dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the C-HR's warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the C-HR has a standard 520-amp battery. The Kicks' 510-amp battery isn't as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 30 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 21st.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports' January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in reliability. Nissan is ranked 13th.

The C-HR's 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 22 more horsepower (144 vs. 122) and 25 lbs.-ft. more torque (139 vs. 114) than the Kicks' 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota C-HR is faster than the Nissan Kicks:

The C-HR has 2.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Kicks (13.2 vs. 10.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the C-HR's brake rotors are larger than those on the Kicks:

The Toyota C-HR has standard four-wheel disc brakes for better stopping power and improved directional control in poor weather. Rear drums are standard on the Kicks. Drums can heat up and make stops longer, especially with antilock brakes that work much harder than conventional brakes.

The C-HR stops much shorter than the Kicks:

For better traction, the C-HR has larger tires than the Kicks (225/50R18 vs. 205/60R16).

The C-HR's tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Kicks S' standard 60 series tires. The C-HR's tires are lower profile than the Kicks SV/SR's 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the C-HR has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Kicks S. The Kicks' largest wheels are only 17-inches.

The Toyota C-HR's wheels have 5 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Nissan Kicks S only has 4 wheel lugs per wheel.

For superior ride and handling, the Toyota C-HR has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Nissan Kicks has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The C-HR has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the C-HR flat and controlled during cornering. The Kicks' suspension doesn't offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The C-HR Limited handles at .82 G's, while the Kicks SR pulls only .77 G's of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The C-HR XLE executes Motor Trend's “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Kicks SR (28.3 seconds @ .59 average G's vs. 29.2 seconds @ .55 average G's).

The C-HR's power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Kicks has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The power windows standard on both the C-HR and the Kicks have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the C-HR is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Kicks prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The C-HR's front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Kicks' rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the C-HR the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Kicks can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The C-HR's power window, power lock and power mirror switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Kicks' power window (except driver window) and power lock switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

Consumer Reports rated the C-HR's headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Kicks' headlights, which were rated “Good.”

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don't exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The C-HR's available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Kicks' headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the C-HR Limited has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Kicks doesn't offer cornering lights.

The C-HR's standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Nissan only offers heated mirrors on the Kicks SV/SR.

The C-HR's standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won't have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Kicks doesn't offer dual zone air conditioning.

With standard voice command, the C-HR offers the driver hands free control of the radio and the navigation computer by simply speaking. The Kicks doesn't offer a voice control system.