For the 2010 model year, Nissan will bring a new small car/wagon/SUV/crossover/toaster-oven-looking-thing to U.S. roads. If it resembles anything, it's a first-generation Scion xB. Or maybe a cross between a washing machine and a pigmy hippopotamus. Or some sort of bionic pug. Or maybe Tom after Jerry trapped him in the trash compactor...
Alright, we give up.
So did they, simply naming it the Nissan Cube.
Automobile Magazine reports, "The first time you see a Nissan Cube, it's hard to keep your mouth shut. A hundred lame (or is that square?) box-it-came-in jokes pop into your head, and resisting the urge to spit them out rapid-fire, like some coked-up Catskills comic, takes a will of steel. Especially if you find, as do most people, that the mere sight of a Cube makes you chuckle."
Yeah, it does.
Automobile goes on to call it a "rolling refrigerator with a Hello Kitty face," which is probably as close as anyone will come to describing it correctly.
But it's not just an enigma of ugly cutitude. It's also a car. As such, Motor Trend reports, it will likely arrive in the U.S. carrying the 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that powers the Nissan Versa today, mated to a Continuously Variable Transmission to try to maximize fuel economy in a car as aerodynamic as a concrete block. MT drove a previous-generation Cube (it's been on sale in Japan for several years) and reported that its gas mileage "amounted to some 37 mpg highway, although that number will probably be lower for the U.S. version."
Autoblog adds, "Front- and four-wheel-drive versions are available."
Motor Authority reports that the Cube offers "a host of innovative interior details such as sofa-like seating, a large glass roof panel that extends over the driver's seat for an open, airy view of the outside environment, and a shoji-style roof shade that fills the cabin with gentle light."
Pricing has not been announced. The little wagon (okay, we settled on wagon today...but we make no promises that we'll call it that tomorrow) will also reportedly serve as the platform for the all-electric car Nissan hopes to produce for the 2011 model year. By which time we will have probably tired of trying to figure out what it is.
Stay tuned for more coverage from L.A., and research the best small cars with U.S. News' car rankings and reviews.
