The 2009 Nissan Cube – a gift in a small package

December 15, 8:52 AMAutomotive ExaminerKyle Busch

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Nissan has gone out on a limb with the design of this vehicle.
Even to the point that right off of Nissan’s website they talk
about the grill. They say “Dog’s Don’t Design Cars” “But they
do inspire designers. Ours created this bold grill with a bite,
after a bulldog wearing shades. And who doesn’t love dogs?”

That took some gumption to compare the grill to a bulldog
wearing sunglasses. But what about the shag carpet dash
toppers or mood lighting available in 24 colors? What about
the ripples that are supposed to resemble a raindrop in a puddle
of water? These ripples are almost everywhere - from the
headliner, to the speaker grills, to the bottom of the cupholders,
to the rear window panel. The most unique design feature of
all is the wraparound passenger side to rear hatch window.

Now, with all the design features aside, let’s look at the cube for
what it is underneath. It’s powered by Nissan’s 122 horsepower
1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. Power is driven to the wheels by a
Constant Velocity Transmission (CVT) or a 6-speed manual. Fuel
mileage is being estimated at around 30 mpg.

From the pictures I’ve seen on Japanese websites, the interior is
fairly spartan as far as gauges although Nissan has added another
different feature here. The lighting differs between the tach and
the speedometer. They call it White Moon for the tach and Blue
Earth for the speedometer. It’s an inspiration from above.

The front seats amount to what looks like a sort of a bench seat
as the console completely fills any gap that there might be between
the two front seats. The console has a cup holder in it and with the
design I’ve seen, this won’t allow for any type of floor shifter. I
assume that there may be some differences with the configuration
because this wouldn’t work with a 6 speed manual shifter.

The rear seats are also a bench configuration but the key thing here
is that with the rear seats folded down it will allow for over 50 cubic
feet of cargo space. Not bad at all for a vehicle with the footprint of
a Mini.

This is going to be a very interesting vehicle. Is it ugly? Is it cute?
I don’t know, but it is a cube.

On that note, a quote from Nissan design chief Shiro Nakamura on
the styling of the Cube. He says, “It looks like it’s standing still,
even when it’s going fast.”

As with Christmas gifts, some great vehicles come in small
packages!

Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He
welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site: www.DriveTheBestBook.com