All right, confession time: this is the first vehicle I've ever driven that I haven't opened the hood. It'd be an insult. Really. I usually drive a vehicle for a little bit, pull over, and prop open the hood to either point and laugh ("Ha! Ha!") at the engine's pathetic-ness, or marvel at its spleen squashing superformance.
Doing that on the Cube is like playing with your iPhone for a few hours, then tearing off the backside to marvel at all those microchips and things. The Cube's engine makes it move, and that’s fine. It's not the point — this square is more than the sum of its parts.
Nissan says that the last-generation Cube was inspired by consumer product design, but the current one was softened by organic forms. Look at it from 100 feet away, and it looks like a silly box on top of four silly, small wheels. Step closer, and you appreciate details like the connected headlights (a bulldog wearing sunglasses, apparently), the comparatively wide stance (helped by how the sides bow out, like a love handle muffin top over too-tight khakis), and the rounded side windows.
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2010 Nissan Cube First Drive on AutoGuide.com
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