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The Nissan Cube in Fontana, California
Space Seekers Rejoice!
There are 2 important, positive points about Fontana, California – ‘In & Out Burgers’ and the California Speedway.
I arrived the day before and was there specifically to drive and evaluate dozens of vehicles on the track and street. Obviously, a vehicle like the Nissan Cube is not to be driven on the track – ever. Still, I had already sampled the 6-speed manual and found it to be slightly more entertaining than the droning CVT.
All Nissan Cubes come with a 122 horsepower (making 127 lbs feet or torque) 1.8-liter DOHC 16-valve, 4-cylinder engine. That’s not too shabby considering the 2,700 – 2,900 lbs weight. 0 to 60 times were about 10 seconds flat at 5,200 feet with the 6-speed manual (so I would expect around 9ish at lower altitude) and just under 10 seconds at nearly sea level with the CVT. Despite the slow times, the engine has some spunk and moves smartly through traffic. The CVT surprised me here as the engine never dropped to a low, performance usurping rpm.
Gas mileage is impressive for a vehicle with the drag coefficient of a boxcar. Nissan estimates 24 mpg city/ 29 mpg highway with the 6-speed manual and 28 mpg city / 30 mpg highway with the CVT. I averaged 22 mpg while driving criminally recklessly at over 5,200 feet with the manual. Not too shabby.
Brakes are quite good giving an average of 125 feet stopping distance from 60 to 0 mph.
Handling is a simple affair. A rather basic independent strut front suspension with a (VERY basic) torsion beam rear suspension keeps basic maneuvers trouble free. Treat the Cube as if you’re wearing a leather mask, boots and wielding a whip - - it will not be pleased. If immediacy and cornering prowess is your desire, look elsewhere. Steering feel is light at best and drivers will be hard-pressed to gain tactile knowledge of the road through any part of the Cube. Still, in tight traffic and regular commuting duty, the Nissan Cube is a snap to drive.
There is a hint of road noise – easily drowned out with the nice stereo system.
Most impressive is the sheer volume this thing holds. Fold the rear seats down and you get 58.1 cubic feet of cargo space. Seating is comfortable all around and there is a great deal of head space. I found the interior simple and less gimmicky than competing Scions and Kia Souls. One thing that looked completely out of place was the rather silly looking, rippled headliner.
Another issue I had was with the lack of a telescoping steering adjustment. I feel it’s a safety enhancement that all vehicles should be equipped with – period. My micro-sized siblings can easily reach the pedals and steering wheel comfortably. Unfortunately, big apes like me struggle finding a comfortable seating/steering tradeoff.
My gut told me that this is a fine little vehicle – but I struggled to find its customer base. Cubes like the Scion xB work for small families while the Kia Soul is somewhat youthful in its design. As I passed a high school and retirement home near Rancho Cucamonga, it dawned on me…
Ah-HA! Hippies & Deadheads AND grandparents would LOVE this car!
Let me break it down for you:
- Grandparents would love the supremely easy ingress and egress.
- Hippies & Deadheads would dig all the nooks and crannies for storing munchies and whatnot.
- Grandparents would like the ease of placing bingo chips, walkers, oxygen tanks and cat carriers in the Cube.
- Hippies & Deadheads would love the no hassle driving.
- Grandparents would love the loads of passenger space when driving friends to their favorite religious institution’s recreation hall.
- Hippies & Deadheads would dig the space their bongos and acoustic guitars (or mandolins) are given even when the Cube is loaded with brothers, sisters and someone’s “Old Lady.” Lots of room for picket signs too...
- Grandparents will most likely enjoy the easy slow moving maneuvering ability as they chase Communists and long-haired Hippies off their property.
- Hippies & Deadheads will like the get-up-and-go when fleeing from cranky elders or “The Man.”
- Grandparents would love the wide swinging rear door and ease of cargo access – even if the rear door swings so wide it bangs the car parked behind the Cube.
- Hippies & Deadheads would love the idea that there is enough room to lean back and sleep “it” off.
- Grandparents would like the ease of outward vision (this thing is a breeze to park). Especially when using the physically disabled parking pass they “borrowed” from a friend.
- Hippies & Deadheads would snicker as they gazed glassy-eyed at the Nissan Cube and say, “It totally looks like a bulldog wearing sunglasses!” (Which it is supposed to).
- Grandparents would mumble, “Oooh, it looks like Pat Boone with sunglasses!” (Which it is not supposed to look like).
- Hippies & Deadheads would like the huge buttons and easy to work stereo (come to think of it… so would old folks).
Both would like the simplicity of driving the Nissan Cube and the cheap-o base price of $13,999 (my nearly loaded Kr?m™ tester came in at around $20,000).
Odd - Nissan managed to build a vehicle that appeals to young-ish and old-ish alike.
Good for you Nissan!
http://www.nissanusa.com/cube/
A Funky Cube Commercial
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