Space efficiency raised to the third power.
Two generations of the Nissan Cube have been sold in Japan since 1998, and now it’s our turn to get in on the fun with this third-gen car, which debuts at the L.A. auto show. Yes, we’re glad that the nameplate is headed for America—we’ve been especially jonesing since we drove the last-gen Cube—but now that it’s here, we’re a little disappointed in the styling; it’s not as pleasing to our eyes as the previous Japan-only version.
Sure, all of the funky features are there—including the wraparound right-rear window; the theater-style, sliding second-row seat; and the refrigerator-esque rear door that opens to a cavernous interior—but something has been lost. The beveled treatment around the windows has been exaggerated to cartoonish levels, and the slab-sided looks are now interrupted by puffed-up fender flares and bulbous front and rear bumpers. The design has been altered almost to the point where it’s no longer, well, cubic.
Objectively, the Cube has grown up in its third generation, increasing in every dimension except height, with the largest increase being nearly 10 inches added to its length. Wheelbase increases by nearly 5 inches over the last-gen Cube.
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