Remembering the Cube Car
The Nissan Cube was created to compete with the Kia Soul, and although the car has many fantastic features its pitfalls led to the car’s discontinued production.
Written by Serena Aburahma
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Have you seen a Nissan Cube car cruising around your neighborhood lately? The distinctively designed Cube cars were apparently Nissan's answer to the Kia Soul's unique design.
Although they might have looked similar, each of these small crossover vehicles had a unique personality of its own. Among all
car brands
, these two seemed to be competing to win the title for the quirkiest vehicle!The Nissan Cube car focused on passenger comfort
The somewhat whimsical-looking, and appropriately named, front-wheel-drive Nissan Cube provided a roomy interior along with a suspension that was aimed at comfort rather than a great driving experience.
The wide cushy seats and ample gear cubbies allowed four passengers and a driver to feel right at home in this small five-door wagon.
The boxy shape allowed the designers to fit plenty of interior space (including ample headroom) into a remarkably small footprint. The Cube's wide stance and wheels pushed out to the corners contributed to the roominess inside. They also gave it great stability and probably accounted for its rollover crash test rating of 4/5.
Interesting style choices such as a rippling pool design on the headliner (and elsewhere) and a random oval of shag carpeting on the dash carried the Nissan Cube's quirky exterior styling into the interior.
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Car and Driver rated the Cube car
MORE: All You Need To Know About The 2022 Kia Soul
According to
Car and Driver
, the Nissan Cube's 1.8-liter engine produced a modest 122 hp. The car's six-speed manual or continuously variable automatic transmission was surprisingly good. However, the car's acceleration was sluggish at best, and cornering with the rack and pinion steering felt clunky. This was probably due to the passenger rather than driver-oriented suspension.
The non-aerodynamic Cube had surprisingly good fuel economy, especially considering its unorthodox shape. It received a city rating of 27 miles per gallon and a highway rating of 31 mpg. Its combined rating was a fairly respectable 28 mpg.
All of those rounded corners and curvy shapes must have smoothed out some of the otherwise quite boxy Cube's wind resistance.
Because the vehicle failed to meet, let alone exceed, drivers' expectations, Car and Driver awarded this
particularly disappointing Nissan
a 4/10 rating. That may be one reason why the Nissan Cube was only available from 2009 to 2014 in the U.S., while the Kia Soul is still going strong.Does the Nissan Cube suit your unique taste?
MORE: How to Safely Buy a Used Car
If you love the looks and unique styling of the Nissan Cube, take heart. Even though it's too late to purchase a new Cube, it's still available on the used car market. You just may need to look a bit harder and be willing to travel in order to buy such an unusual car.
Prices for a new Nissan Cube hovered around $20,000 in 2014. A quick scan of
Edmunds
shows that you might be able to snag a good used model for around $7,000 to $10,000. The current low price is $4,500 for a 2009 model, while the highest-priced was a 2014 model available for $16,998.Even quirky vehicles need great insurance
Whether you drive a pickup truck, an SUV, a sedan, an RV, or a quirky box on wheels like the Nissan Cube, you'll need the right insurance to cover it.
Fortunately, the
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