Bigger Inside Than A Chevy Tahoe

Posted: 07 April 2009 One of our favorite cars last year was a cream-colored, second-generation Nissan Cube that Nissan loaned us for a few days of commuting and assorted daily driving duties. It was a fantastic car, with excellent styling, an ingenious 4WD system, a practical interior, and -- bless its heart -- a front bench seat. But that car last year wasn't made for America; it was only sold in Japan. Nissan was passing around the keys because it wanted to build up buzz for the arrival of the third-generation Cube, which would break free of the right-hand-drive market prison to which its predecessors were restricted. The Japanese-market Cube was indeed a tasty appetizer, but now the main course has arrived. Once again, we were given the keys to a Nissan Cube for a few days. Only this time it was brown and, more importantly, you can actually buy it in the U.S.

The 2009 Nissan Cube is the third-generation of the nameplate. The previous model is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the "original" car, but the real first-gen Cube, which bowed in 1998, preceded it. It wasn't much of a design statement (a pretty generic-looking hatch, really) compared to the car that followed, which is probably why folks outside Japan forget about it.

One of the biggest concerns we had relating to a left-hand-drive Cube was whether Nissan would go all the way and carry over the car's now-signature asymmetric bodywork while retaining market specificity. Doing this would require much more than just moving the steering wheel to the opposite side of the dash. Determined to make the Cube a true global vehicle, Nissan spent the money necessary to develop the car so that it is indeed sold wearing market-specific sheet metal. For instance, the blackout panel ahead of the lone D-pillar is on the driver's side. The extra window and wraparound-look glass are on the passenger side. The big fridge-door rear hatch is hinged on the driver's side. Put a new U.S.-market Nissan Cube next to its Japanese counterpart and you'll see that they're exact mirror images of each other.

Styling-wise, Nissan sought to retain as much of the second-generation car's charm as it could while meeting all of the regulatory requirements in export regions like the United States. In the Cube's case, this concession to the global marketplace manifests itself in the form of more bulbous front and rear bumpers that add some Leno in front and Beyonce out back. The styling is still eye-catching, but the last Nissan Cube was the better-looking car -- a design classic, even. That said, most North American shoppers aren't car dorks, so they won't even be aware of the previous Cube. Ignorance is bliss, and most people will be captivated with the new Cube's looks. Men and women, young and old alike stopped us with compliments on the car. "It's neat!" was uttered on more than one occasion.

The 2009 Cube has narrow headlamps that arch up slightly at their inside lower corners where they're bridged by a simple, dark panel with grillework made up of twelve small slats -- six on each side of the Nissan badge. A larger intake sits high on the bumper below forming the Cube's "mouth" as it were. Finally, there's a lower intake on the front bumper that's flanked by the fog lamps, or in the case of our base Cube S, blacked-out circles where those lamps would go on higher trims. Head-on, the Cube looks anthromorphized, as if it were to strike up a conversation with neighboring vehicles at any moment.

The sheet metal around the side glass is beveled, so the windows themselves look recessed. On the driver's side, the blackout panel aft of the passenger-door window features a ripple effect on the plastic -- a recurring theme that's reinforced inside the car. We'll get to that in a moment. Pronounced wheel arches echo the theme established by the softer, rounder bumpers. Out back, the tail lamp strip echoes the shape of the headlamp/grill combo on the car's nose. The rear end is where the Cube's asymmetry is most evident, with a pillar on the left side only. On the right, the glass just wraps around. It sets the Cube apart from the rest of the (suddenly, increasingly crowded) box-wagon segment. Despite its curvier front and rear bumpers, the rest of the Cube's shape is straightforward, two-box stuff. Oh, and our Cube features a very tasty "Bitter Chocolate" finish. The more brown cars, the merrier!

Climb into the Cube, look up and you'll see the new car's calling card: the ripple effect. It dominates the headliner and is repeated in the bottoms of the cup holders and on the speaker grilles. We were a little concerned that the roof ripples would come off as gimmicky in person, but they add personality to the econobox interior. Our test car's dark, charcoal-hued interior is not the one we'd choose for ourselves, however. It comes off as a little dour for a vehicle with such personality. If your tastes run similar to ours, go for the lighter interior -- it's more cheery, makes the interior feel even more spacious and, on higher trim levels, can be ordered with a two-tone instrument panel.

That instrument panel is basic and functional with a wave motif that's likely intended to capitalize on the ripple-effect details we mentioned earlier. The "crest" of the wave is in the center where our tester's AM/FM/CD head unit was stationed. The stereo's fine, but one small issue is that the AUX jack for an iPod or other digital music player is a fair distance away from the floor console where you'll rest the device, so expect to have a prominently dangling wire if you use a portable player for tunes. The Cube S has standard A/C with exceedingly simple controls (The higher-level models get automatic A/C with a different interface). Drivers get simple and easy-to-read primary analog gauges with a digital multifunction display (fuel level, odo, etc.) shoehorned between them. The driver also gets a high-mounted cup holder just to the left of the gauge cluster, which is helpful because the secondary cup holders (arranged in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head) are a long reach away on the floor. Storage up front, however, is basically limited to the glove box, which is a good size. You can leave some stuff on the console tray between the front seats, and Nissan offers accessory bungee cords that can be used as impromptu map pockets in a pinch, but our tester wasn't equipped as such.

You'll notice that we mention a console between the seats. That's because unlike the previous (and current) Japanese-market Cube, the U.S. model is only available with a pair of front seats and not the wonderful front bench we experienced in last summer's JDM tester. Nissan told us that this was due to some regulatory issue, which we have no trouble believing. As such, American drivers get a floor shifter, whether it's the CVT or the 6-speed manual, the latter of which is what we got to play with. The stick is an easy reach from the cushy, cloth-covered driver's seat, which affords a good view outward. Headroom for all passengers is simply abundant. 42.7 inches in front. 40.2 inches in back. Put into practical terms, those numbers are better than what you'll find in a Tahoe. Rear seat comfort is good, too. The 60/40 split seatbacks recline, and the seat itself also slides fore and aft, allowing for increased legroom or rear cargo space depending on what you need at any given time. Cargo space behind those seats is recessed (like a minivan, actually), and if you need more room than that, you can fold down the seatbacks. Note that they merely fold -- no tumbling forward or anything like that for additional room, so it's essentially bi-level storage back there. The non-mechanical cargo space privacy cover included with the tester was very simple to use -- attach to the rear seatbacks with Velcro and hook the fixed panel to wall anchors with elastic loops. It does its job perfectly well, and removes in seconds if you don't feel like using it.

Power comes exclusively from the same 122-horsepower 1.8-liter four-cylinder featured in most Versas. It is an able motivator for the 2,795-pound Cube, especially with the manual gearbox. There's plenty of juice on tap, so we never felt ourselves wanting more power, either on local roads or the highway. It's pretty easy on gas, too. We averaged north of 29 mpg over four days, with a healthy amount of highway driving built into that. In fact, we exceeded the EPA's 30 mpg highway rating on a weirdly traffic-free St. Patrick's Day commute into NYC, racking up 32 mpg on the round-trip (around 70 miles or so total). The manual's shift action is easy, if a smidge on the notchy side, and the overall driving experience is very pleasant. Don't look for sportiness here -- you're barking up the wrong tree. The Nissan Cube moves well with the tools it's got, but it's clearly designed for comfort. Steering effort is super-light and super-assisted. Feel is more a theoretical concept than it is an actual sensation here. The Cube's suspension is dialed in to soak up potholes, not carve corners. Attempt the latter, and the body rolls heavily in protest. On the upside, while you're pounding the pavement in urban environs, the pavement doesn't pound you back nearly as hard.

Ultimately, we left the Cube liking it about as much as we liked the Japanese version last year. (And that, we liked a lot.) It's totally cool looking, roomy, comfortable and comfortable to drive. It's also reasonably priced. Our Cube S with no options (power windows, the manual gearbox, 4-speaker AM/FM/CD, air conditioning, and 15-inch steelies with plastic covers are all part of the standard package) stickered at $14,675. Taking a lesson from Scion, Nissan will gladly take more of your money should you care to accessorize with stuff like a shag-carpet dash-topper. The Cube arrives on the scene amid competition from the likes of rival boxes, the Scion xB and brand new Kia Soul. Being square, it seems, is cool again. Look for the Cube to be available in early May.