REVIEWS: 2009 Nissan Cube SL

Months in Fleet: Eight
Mileage to Date: 18,114 miles

The Cube spent the month of August on the east coast in the care of senior editor Joe Lorio and East Coast Bureau Chief Jamie Kitman. Lorio didn't waste any time enlisting the Cube for kid-hauling duty. "I had three kids, ages ten to twelve, in the back seat for a trip to an aquarium in Connecticut, and they were perfectly happy back there. There was also plenty of room for the two dads up front. With low sills and big doors, getting in and out is dead easy. The cargo hold is not as big as some, or as expandable as the Honda Fit's, but the Cube, with its wide seats and soft upholstery, is clearly more focused on carrying people than stuff."

Despite initial concerns about the Cube's continuously variable transmission, most of the Automobile Magazine editors have come to appreciate its unobtrusive character. Lorio, again: "The CVT makes for pretty relaxed highway cruising, spinning relatively low RPMs at highway speeds. So while there is some wind rush around the upright A-pillars, the engine is fairly quiet on the highway." When Kitman got his chance behind the wheel of the Cube, he agreed that the CVT works well, saying, "it proves that Nissan is way out in front on this useful technology." He also added that the Cube's 122-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder provides plenty of thrust: "more motor is emphatically unnecessary, even on the highway."

This was Kitman's first extended exposure to our Caribbean blue Cube and like many people he immediately drew comparisons to Scion's xB. "It's hard to think about the Nissan Cube without reference to the Scion xB, which here in America at least, got the whole funky, econo-box thing started. But where Toyota lost the plot with the latest xB-it's both heavier and bulkier looking-Nissan has picked up the story, right where Toyota should have left off. I'll take greater efficiency in my urban box, er, Cube unit, every time."

Kitman was also impressed with the Cube's functionality and ease of use. "There's a lot about the Cube that seems willfully weird and yet in daily use it proved to be a reasonable, perfectly useful, and pleasant companion." In the city, he loved "the size and practicality," and called parking "a cinch." He also found the upright driving position "refreshing," but noted that because the C-pillars are quite wide, a "reversing camera might come in handy." From a performance perspective, Kitman was critical of the Cube's "dull steering," but called handling, braking, and ride "adequate, especially in the bargain category in which the Cube resides."