de autos cars

Well, you certainly can't hang a truth in labelling complaint on Nissan...the Cube is exactly that...a Cube...but with wheels.

The Nissan Cube has been a big seller in Japan for a decade...in fact, this is generation 3 for them.

Here, it parachutes into an increasingly crowed market of unconventionally styled cars...Honda Element, Scion xB, Kia Soul.

The quirky things (like the "jacuzzi lounge ceiling", shag carpet dash mat and fake wrap-around window...really black glass masking a conventional pillar) that differentiate the Cube can only be amusing for so long. And in standard trim, the Cube blows off things like killer sound systems that attract the core demographic to this type of vehicle.

The base price of $13,990 is attractive...but a decent audio system means stepping up two trim levels and nearly three thousand dollars...go for the top of the line Krom model and you'll crack 20 grand...a long way from $13,990.

Mileage: 28 city/30 highway. And how they managed to get so little difference between city and highway is a bit surprising too. Is it that the 122 horsepower engine has to work too hard at highway speeds to get optimal economy?

Bottom line: I'd say it's more fun than the Element (which is getting very long in the tooth), could be a tie with the Scion if it weren't for a 20 plus horsepower deficit and loses out to the surprisingly entertaining Kia Soul.