Road Test: 2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 Krom; polished polyhedron

Remember--if you're old enough to have been a child before fun had to be antiseptic, shrink wrapped, prepackaged and approved by the Consumer Product Safety Administration--when a used cardboard box became, with the help of a few crayons and a healthy dose of a six year old's imagination, a rectangular car with square windows? That fun's available again and it's called the Nissan Cube.

Of course, the Nissan Cube isn't cardboard, it isn't homemade and it costs a lot more than a castoff corrugated container. On the other hand, it won't get soggy if left out in the rain, you won't have to wear down half an eight-pack box of Crayolas coloring it, and it isn't all that expensive. But it is almost as square.

The Nissan Cube is controversial, however, with polarizing styling that's the most rectangular of the current crop of slab sided (and slab fronted and slab reared and slab roofed) vehicles on the road today, with more vertical surfaces than a flagpole. It also has rectangular windows with beveled openings and the asymmetric right side to rear wraparound window. The Nissan Cube does not go unnoticed, at least not yet.

Underneath the right-angled runabout, however, is Nissan's well-used B-platform that's also the underpinnings of the Nissan Sentra and Versa as well as several Renault models. Under the hood of the front-drive Nissan Cube is a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine mated to either a 6-speed manual transmission, available in the base Cube 1.8 and Cube S 1.8, or as an option, Nissan's continuously variable transmission, which is standard equipment on the more expensive and better equipped Cube 1.8 SL and Cube 1.8 Krom, pronounced "chrome."

Nissan calls the Nissan Cube Krom a "specialty vehicle model," which compared to other Cube trim levels is more than saying something. The Cube is unlike sports cars that look like they're moving even when standing still; the cube looks like it's standing still even when it's moving.

Scroll down for a Nissan Cube 1.8 Krom photo gallery.

The Krom trim level brightens up the Nissan Cube with--naturally--a three-bar chrome grille and two-bar bumper grille, plus new front and rear fascias low enough that Nissan saw fit to put a warning in the owner's manual about hitting curbs and such. A rooftop spoiler is also included with the Krom package; Nissan warns, however, not to use high pressure or automated car washes because they might damage the spoiler.

Nissan's interior designers tried for an equally funky look inside, though considering what the competition has done, Cube faces stiffer competition indoors. The double vertical wave dash with a shallow concave horizontal surface on the right side and the instrument panel pod (and driver's cupholder) on the left are novel but shorter on the funk factor than the Nissan Cube's outsides. The Cube's audio system is in a standard "double-DIN" space for easy replacement by those looking to upgrade. The climate controls are custom, however, laid out in a circle but with the same functions as more ordinary arrangements; the Cube Krom has automatic temperature control standard.

The front door pulls on our test Nissan Cube 1.8 Krom had "rubber bands" as a novel way to hold maps, as Nissan suggests, though we think they'd make a good place to stick a toll road ticket. Nissan calls them "front door bungees (8-piece, set of 4 colors)" and they're part of the $230 package that includes carpeted floor and cargo area mats and something called a "shag dash topper."We're not sure exactly what that means or why it's there--a warning label says not to put anything on it--but it's simply a circle of shag rug that looks like a misplaced carpet sample.

The Nissan Cube Krom comes standard with "20-color interior accent lighting." Whatever it is, it illuminates center console's the driver's and passenger's feet in a variety of driver/front passenger selectable colors. We're not sure why again, but it really needs to color more of the car to be worthwhile.

The multicolor lighting could start with the overhead. The Nissan Cube's headliner is formed into concentric circles. Passed off as a funky styling gig, we believe the purpose is to keep the headliner from booming or drumming. But in a funky way, of course.

The seats have an unusual contour, curved just side to side. It works but looks different. The woven black and gray fabric is exclusive to the Cube 1.8 Krom. Other Krom standard equipment includes Bluetooth, leather wrapped steering wheel, upgraded audio, "Titanium" trim and "sporty" aluminum trimmed pedals.

The rear seat's leg room is good, thanks to the height of the seat off the floor and toe room under the front seat, though taller passengers may find knee room a challenge. Headroom, however, will definitely not be a problem. The rear seatback folds forward but it's nowhere close to a flat cargo floor, and the Nissan Cube doesn't have a hatch but rather a side-hinged rear door. The sill for the cargo area is high, which will make loading and unloading bulky items difficult.

Driving the 2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 Krom will be easy, however, but it won't be fun, at least not sports car fun. The suspension is soft and calibrated for boulevard use, except that the boulevard should be recently paved because the ride isn't particularly smooth. Nor is steering particularly precise. It's classic econocar fare, except that the Nissan Cube, taller than the average econocar, doesn't suffer vagueness well.

The 1.8-liter engine's 122 horses are yoked to a 2864 lb wagon, and although the drag coefficient is a surprising 0.35, the Nissan Cube has more frontal area than the climate bill. It takes some gumption to push all that through the air and it takes all the gumping the Cube's 1.8-liter four can do. It also means that to accelerate, the CVT sends the engine almost to redline. It's unnerving and not particularly pleasant. Add hills and the Nissan Cube's problems multiply. And with a full load of adults, expect the tachometer to spend more time with the needle twisted far around to the right.

"Pedal harder" will be a phrase heard all too often.

Yet at the end of our week with the 2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 Krom, we were surprised to be disappointed in seeing it go. It was a funny looking puppy, but it was our funny looking puppy.

The 2009 Nissan Cube 1.8 base model had a list price of $13,990. The 2009 price for the Nissan Cube 1.8 Krom was $19,370 and basically fully equipped at that price. That's considerably more than a used cardboard box, but then you don't have to draw the windows and it looks a little more mature parked in the company parking lot. It's your choice. But hey, if you take the cardboard box, can we play with the Legos?

Illustrations: 2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 Krom. Photos by John Matras.

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