Nissan Cube
UPDATE: the U.S.-spec 2010 Cube has been unveiled--and it's the mirror image of the Japanese version. Pictures here.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Japan seems to be producing a lot of adorably quirky rectangles on wheels these days. Some, like the Honda Element and Scion xB, have become familiar here in the U.S., while others, such as the Suzuki Alto Works, are unknown to these shores.
The most interesting of all is the appropriately-named Nissan Cube. I first learned of the Cube by reading about it in Robert Cumberford's "By Design" column in Automobile magazine. That article focused on the Cube's styling, of course. But while the Cube is interesting for how it looks, that's not the only thing that makes it interesting.
The Cube is a compact family car that's either a short minivan or a tall station wagon, depending on how you look at life.
At just 146.9 inches in length overall, the Cube is almost a foot shorter than the current-generation Mazda MX-5 roadster. Despite its diminutive size, it's not a Kei car. The Cube is powered by a full-sized drivetrain with a 1.4- or 1.5-liter engine.
Inside are seats for five adults in the main cabin. The slightly-longer Cube³ ("Cube cubed"?) submodel has folding third-row seats in the cargo area, suitable for use by children and hobbits. The Los Angeles Times claims that there is enough head and shoulder room in the front and middle seats for "a squad of Buckingham Palace guards, bearskin hats and all." That seems a little optimistic, to judge from the photos, but the Cube's interior is nonetheless a miracle of volumetric efficiency.
This efficient interior is contained in a squarish body envelope that, like the Scion xB that it superficially resembles, manages somehow to be hip, cool, friendly, cuddly, and futuristic all at once. I like this sort of styling much better than the "half-melted bar of soap" aerodynamic look that too many crossovers and minivans have adopted in recent years. The Cube looks like something out of THX 1138 or Blade Runner--or maybe it's the Weighted Companion Cube from Portal, with wheels.
The most interesting styling feature of the Cube is its asymmetrical window arrangement. On the driver's side, there are windows in the front and rear doors, with an opaque panel forming the C-pillar. On the passenger side, the window in the rear door runs all the way to the back of the car and wraps around into the tailgate, a continuous band of tinted glass with black pillars which includes an opening opposite the solid C-pillar on the right. This quarter window affords the driver excellent visibility to the left rear of the car. There's no major blind spot on the driver's side because the solid C-pillar takes up only a small arc from the point of view of the driver's seat, and the area to the right rear is easily seen in the driver's outside mirror.
The Cube's other cool feature is its optional "e-4WD" drivetrain. Under normal circumstances, the e-4WD Cube is a conventional front-wheel drive car. If the front wheels start to slip, an automatic clutch engages, linking an auxiliary generator to the engine and transmission. Power from this generator is fed to an electric motor driving the rear wheels, while the front wheels continue to be driven mechanically. This gives you AWD when you really need it, without the mechanical complexity of a transfer case and driveshaft, or the reduction in fuel efficiency that comes from driving all four wheels all the time. Since only power cables run to the rear axle, there's no driveshaft "hump" and the floor in back is completely flat. This is a clever arrangement which will likely be common on hybrids in the future.
According to the LAT, the Cube is no speed demon, doing the 0-60 dash in 14 seconds, but it gets great gas mileage, has pleasant handling, and feels faster than it is. Plus, it's asymmetrical!
"So," you're probably thinking to yourself about now, "it's cool on the outside, clever on the inside, totally lust-worthy. Where can I get one?"
For now, you have to go to Japan. There are six Nissan dealers in the home country with full-time English speaking staff (they're listed on this website) who stand ready to assist you. Once you get your Cube, there is of course the small matter of shipping it to the U.S. and bringing it into compliance with Federal regulations.
If you can stand a bit of a wait, however, Nissan is bringing the Cube to the U.S. in early 2009, just after the next-generation version is rolled out in the home market. The U.S.-spec Cube will have the 1.8-liter engine used in the Versa instead of the home-market engines, and that's pretty much all we know about it. The teaser website promoting the new Cube is amazingly free of hard data as of this writing. Nissan has allowed some auto journalists to test drive a current-generation JDM Cube, but is keeping the new one under wraps.
The asymmetrical window arrangement is the coolest thing about the Cube, but it creates a production issue for Nissan. In Japan, automobiles drive on the
left side of the road and have their steering wheels on the right. In the U.S. (and most countries other than the UK and its former colonies), autos drive on the right side of
the road and have the steering wheel on the left. If you move
the Cube's steering wheel over to the left to make a U.S. version, but don't also change the rear body
panels, you end up with a blind spot to the right rear--creating a
safety issue, or at least the perception of a safety issue. Meanwhile, the left rear quarter window still looks cool, but it doesn't really do anything for the driver's sight-lines. To build a Cube for left-hand drive markets that doesn't have this problem, Nissan will
either have to incur the expense of producing opposite-handed stamping dies for the rear body panels, or redesign the Cube to
eliminate its trademark asymmetry.
Car and Driver published a single spy shot of a heavily-camoflauged prototype, from which it is impossible to tell if the new Cube still has the unique window arrangement of the ones shown here. No official photos will be released until the new version rolls out at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Undoubtedly, the design decision was made months (or years) ago.
Speaking for myself, I hope Nissan spent the extra money on the tooling and built a left-handed version for the U.S. A symmetrical Cube would still be just as square, just as efficient--but it would lose a lot of its character.
The photo of the white Cube by the sea on Okinawa came from Flickr user "Tathei." The other illustrations are from Nissan official websites.
Long live asymmetrical fenestration!
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
Chris Hafner on October 09, 2008 at 09:30 AM
Asymmetrical fenestration - I love it.
You're right- the asymmetry really makes the Cube interesting - I never would have thought it would be that compelling. I wonder if the same philosophy could be successfully applied to other cars ...
Steaming Pile on October 09, 2008 at 09:52 AM
@chris - Well, so would wraparound glass going all the way around the rear. That would save on retooling costs by one panel and make the vehicle still look pretty cool - cooler than the current iteration of the Scion xB.
I still wonder why carmakers, even Japanese ones, believe that Americans wouldn't buy a car with a small engine that gets good mileage at the expense of **some** power.
JW on October 09, 2008 at 10:43 AM
The only thing missing is two slices of bread sticking out the top.
JW
Vicki on October 09, 2008 at 11:55 AM
I wonder how this car would do in the roll-over tests. I seem to recall problems with similarly shaped vehicals years ago rolling over too easily.
Vicki
www.differentworld.us
www.ifeellikeawoman.us
www.sweetspiritband.com
Sillypickle on October 10, 2008 at 01:38 PM
I wish we got the same range of engines that automakers offer in models made for Europe. Most of the time you don't even have the choice of picking a smaller engine, and all of this while Americans have been complaining about the price of gas for how long?
I guess my solution will continue to be buying used cars, since you can usually get as good or better gas mileage for a 10th of the price of a new car. I just wish I could look forward to more new cars becoming good used car choices in the next few years. It seems like all the ones that I would really like are sold in other countries.
Car Dude on October 10, 2008 at 07:12 PM
I agree with Vicki. Cars of similar designs don't do well in roll-over tests. But there are some who manage to do well in the same test, and this could be one of them.
Mochi Mochi on October 13, 2008 at 02:38 PM
Asymmetry is an entirely underused design typology. This is brilliant and reminds me of a certain trend in women's fashion from a year or two ago. The overall weight distribution of this car may result in a high center of gravity - but who cares!! This thing is cute and it completely rocks. No I'm not going to put this in a rally anytime soon, and I'm not going to try to run it over about 65 mph... what's the point of trying to push the aerodynamic equivalent of a small house through the air. It's a perfect low velocity projectile that would make the world's best city car. Short so you can park it - huge inside so you can move a truck load of things... think of this as a vertical moving van - brilliant. I want one... hell - fitted correctly this could become an even better model of mobile architecture than the Westphalia... a little kitchen, a fold down bed, a mobile fold out porch... you've got a nice little apartment on wheels.
The visibility design is great too. I'm glad someone has not forgotten about the need to be able to see out of a car...
CookieTDO: "I like this sort of styling much better than the "half-melted bar of soap" aerodynamic look that too many crossovers and minivans have adopted in recent years."
I could not agree with you more!
Vernard Evans on October 30, 2008 at 12:19 PM
I love the cube. It looks like an offspring of a Honda Element and a Mini-Cooper. I'm not sure that's biologically possible, but that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
1. What is the cost of base model?
2. What is the MPG in city and on highway?
3. How soon can I get my hands on one?
Thanks.
Dalma on April 21, 2009 at 10:03 PM
I love the boxy yet funky styling of the car. I'm not so sure about the bulldog with glasses front as I like the headlight styling of the Japanese version a bit better. I'm really looking forward to my chance to drive one soon. They are expected to hit the Canadian dealerships early in May 09.