Toyota gave us a box with the Scion xB and Honda did as well, in the form of the Element. But Nissan, Japan's third largest importer to the U.S., has kept its sweet little container, the Cube, exclusive to the home market. Compared to the first-generation xB, the Cube measures over eight inches shorter and almost an inch narrower, and also weighs fifty pounds less in two-wheel drive form. Yet it offers about 0.5 cubic feet more interior volume. Combine those specs with an almost poetic design, and this may be the most appealing crate of them all.
There's no need to feel excluded, though, because Nissan recently announced that a redesigned Cube will indeed arrive at dealerships everywhere — including the States — when it goes on sale in early 2009. Those of you who were heartbroken when the xB pulled a full-on Oprah last year might want to head to your local Nissan dealer now, where they'll likely be happy to take your deposit. As for us, we called Nissan and asked for a few days with the solitary Japanese-market Cube currently in the country, just to get an idea of what we're in for next year.
Start describing the Cube to someone and you'll quickly realize it doesn't have much in common with other cars: A tall, rectangular shape consisting of flat metal-and-glass surfaces, small detailing around the edges, and asymmetrical wrap-around windows. Am I describing a car or a building here? With that question in mind, I head off to Chicago's downtown loop, America's petri dish of modern architecture, to spend more time with the car, confuse the masses with its passenger side steering wheel, and hunt for design connections between Nissan's Cube and Chicago's cubes, which happen to be quite a bit larger.
Just as skyscrapers use elevators to make life inside easier, the Cube uses electric motors to aid traction and initial acceleration. The system, which is called e-4AWD and is optional on the Cube, doesn't have a mechanical connection between the engine and the rear wheels, but instead uses a small generator to power an electric motor that drives the back end. When the driver selects a dash-mounted 4WD button, a control unit activates the generator and engages a clutch between the electric motor's reduction gear and the rear axle. It's limited to low speeds, but the system adds only 40 pounds and allows the exhaust tunnel and rear cargo floor to sit lower and flatter than a traditional system would permit. No product plans have been finalized for the next-generation Cube that will come to the States, but I'd be surprised if the system weren't offered as an option at or shortly after launch.
The cloudiness surrounding our version of the Cube can be credited to the fact that the car you see here isn't the one we're getting. The current Japanese-market car has been on sale since 2003 and is due for a complete redesign that'll also prepare it for sale in global markets. We're most concerned about the Cube retaining its funky lopsided rear window, which, for left-hand-drive countries, would need to be flip-flopped to the other side for visibility's sake. Nissan's Midwest PR manager has allowed us to sleep a bit easier though, telling Motive that "there are certain elements that make the Cube a Cube, and those obviously will need to stay." That might mean something as simple as "We can't change its name to the Sphere," but we hope he's talking about that window. It's one of the Cube's coolest touches, and one of the strongest examples of the architectural influence I've been hunting. A renowned skyscraper I pass at 333 W. Wacker, along the Chicago River, is one giant arc of glass.
Another thing that can't change about the Cube is its city manners. The tiny 1.4-liter four under the hood makes only 97 mousepower, but an eager throttle tip-in and a low curb weight of 2535 pounds give the Cube a light and energetic feel. Helping the little Cube feel light is a soft suspension calibration that helps the car soak up bumps before they get to the cabin. The trade-off is a level of body roll that's a few degrees beyond ideal. Both engine size and handling attributes are expected to change for the U.S. model. For the sake of validation simplicity, Nissan will likely equip our Cubes with the Versa's 122-hp 1.8-liter, reserving the smaller engine for more patient markets in Europe and Asia. On our shores, where the Cube will go head-to-head with other youth-oriented cars like the xB, Nissan also shouldn't have many reservations about stiffening up the Cube's suspension.
After a quick trip to the Marina City towers, of Wilco album cover and Allstate commercial fame, to see the Cube's intricate grille design set against the surprisingly similar buildings as a backdrop, I head to Oak Park. This first suburb to the west of downtown is home to an early Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio, along with over a dozen other houses and a church built by the American modernism pioneer. His flowing interior layouts and floating roof structures are two more elements the little Nissan incorporates.
The Cube's interior is open and airy, closer in feel to a Honda Element's than that of the more introverted Scion xB's. A column shifter eliminates the need for a center console, helping to make the cabin feel larger than it is. It's a strange, time-machine-type feeling to sit down onto a bench seat in anything but a full-size pickup, but its one of the Cube's lovably simple qualities. The rear hatch, which spans the entire width of the Cube and opens with the heaviness of a refrigerator door, also contributes to little car's big-space attitude.
Highway power, I learn along the commute to Oak Park, isn't something the Cube has, which raises my confidence in saying the 1.4-liter will be replaced by Versa's engine. Mated to a four-speed automatic, the engine is dead over 60 mph and a full toes-down motion of the gas is need to stay up with traffic. It makes me think that perhaps a cube isn't the most aerodynamic shape around. Maybe that's why it's reserved for things that are meant to stay in one place, like buildings. At least wind noise isn't bad for a brick-shaped economy car, and crosswinds don't do terrible things to the Cube's directional stability. An extra cog for the transmission might help, but the Cube is (and should be here) available with a continuously variable box that might make the most of the car's power. It's worth noting that the Japanese-spec Cube isn't available with a manual transmission, and the numbers such an option would draw here in the States might not be enough to convince Nissan to install a third pedal.
A photo opportunity with the floating decks and roof of Wright's Gale house side-by-side with the Cube's blacked-out A-pillars marks the end of my morning with the Cube and I return to the Motive office deeper in suburbia. Nissan needn't — and shouldn't — change much for the Cube's debut here in 9-12 months. More attractive than either generation of xB, the Cube boasts the low weight, huge interior, and charming looks that drew people to the first iteration of Scion's utilibox, and none of the problems that have driven the current xB's sales into the abyss. I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting the new car's debut, possibly at the Paris show, this fall. Here's hoping Nissan keeps the Cube a cube.
