With the average cost of new cars consistently rising, one of the biggest factors when it comes to new car buyers is cost. Wise buyers look at new cars and ask themselves about the safety ratings, creature comforts to safety features ratio, styling, and how that all balances out the cost.

Especially when it comes to EVs. However, we’re not talking about EVs today. Instead, we’re going to mention the Nissan Kicks, a compact SUV that proves dynamite truly does come in small packages. When it was first announced a few years back, the goal was simple: make an SUV that’s safe, efficient, capable, and affordable.

Nissan did just that. At the base, it starts at $21,830. The Kicks SV (which includes wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto) starts at $23,680, making it the second cheapest SUV on the market. The first is the Hyundai Venue, which starts at $21,135 and goes up to $23,550 for the SEL trim.

However, there’s an important aspect the Kicks takes over the Venue: it’s been named a 2024 Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) in the Small SUVs category. Meanwhile, the Hyundai Venue was not.

The Nissan Kicks scored well in all categories

The IIHS tests new vehicles on their structural integrity in the event of a crash, the effectiveness of the crash prevention technology, and the strength and response of the restraining systems.

The Nissan Kicks scored well in all categories, with only one “marginal” grade when it came to seat belt reminders. The agency says it grades this sector on the “timing, volume, frequency and duration of the audible and visual alerts for both the front and second row” when the “belt is unbuckled at startup and with the belt buckled at startup and then unfastened while the vehicle is in motion.”

Depending on how quickly the vehicle alerts drivers to an unfastened belt is how it’s scored, essentially.

For the sake of fairness, though, it looks like the Hyundai Venue hasn’t been tested since 2020—so for all we know, it could top Nissan when it’s finally tested.