In the Driveway: 2009 Nissan Cube 1.8 SL

[Thirty-Nine]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/Tekka_Maki/P8255843.jpg

Just took delivery of a 2009 Nissan Cube 1.8 SL for review. I haven't driven it yet. More later!

[mrbond]

Wait, you bought this for yourself? Or you received one purely for the sake of a review?

[DevilGirl]

^ I concur... I never was a fan of "box on wheels"

[marcus]

its a mini icecream truck..

[thebarber]

id hit it

[BailOut]

I saw one of these on the road for the first time the other day. It was being driven by an ugly, oily and obese teenage girl who had other ugly, oily and obese teenage girls for passengers.

The first thought that came to my usually-kind mind was, "At least they found an aquarium sanctuary for the sick whales.".

[kustom play]

i drove the 6spd

I found it to be slugish getting up to speed on the highway, it shifted nice and smooth though. I like the other gens better then this one

I was super excited when this came out, but after driving it, it was a huge let down

[ROCKLAND TOYOTA]

congrats, i hope the suzuki is still around.....

[mrbond]

I think I'm the only person on the forums that thinks this car is really attractive. No, it's not a beauty queen, but just like the WRX was attractive in its way, this is attractive. The assymetry and its constant ripple motif and the design inspirations (y'all should really look those up) give the car so much character. I see a lot of potential.

[Tamago]

id hit it

me too































with a flame thrower.

[Nigal]

I think I'm the only person on the forums that thinks this car is really attractive. No, it's not a beauty queen, but just like the WRX was attractive in its way, this is attractive. The assymetry and its constant ripple motif and the design inspirations (y'all should really look those up) give the car so much character. I see a lot of potential.

I love them. I have a silver SL and it rawks...except for the mileage. LOL!

[Tamago]

I love them. I have a silver SL and it rawks...except for the mileage. LOL!

and the horrible reliability

and the weight

and the handling

and the horrible depreciation

[Nigal]

and the horrible reliability

and the weight

and the handling

and the horrible depreciation

Nope. None of that stuff. Runs great, handles great, get's lot of complements and twice the room of my old Yaris. simply stated, it's twice the car with half the plastic.

[pennyracer]

ugly as hell good luck maybe you can make it look like a scion xb to get some respect :)

[pennyracer]

oh ya this is a yaris site no nissans ever :)

[tomato]

Awww...all those negative comments .. poor car!!!

I'm not a big fan of the boxy look myself but there is a market for these and you gotta admit that is one shiny car, with a beatiful paint job.

Let us know how it drives!

[kustom play]

they should of had this here in the us when scion rolled out the XB

the gen before this one looked really cool, they rounded it out and killed it. Same thing scion did with the 2nd gen xb, I dont know how they made something so cool look so stupid

[Tamago]

Nope. None of that stuff. Runs great, handles great, get's lot of complements and twice the room of my old Yaris. simply stated, it's twice the car with half the plastic.

let us know once the recalls start coming in. :laugh:

[mrbond]

This thing hasn't even been around a whole half year yet, so the aftermarket for it isn't as big as it'll get. It doesn't need to look like an xB, or even yet another compact sports car to be recognized. I mean, hell, how many cars have asymmetrical design? That's one of the big things I liked about it.
When these start being offered with different powertrain options (instead of that crappy Sentra motor) and other upper-level trim options besides that stupid "Krome" trim, then I think it'll really take off. If anybody remembers the media surrounding the 1st gen xB, it wasn't kind at all. Now it's a cult classic.

[Thirty-Nine]

^^^^^
x2 mrbond.

Just to be clear: Yes, this is a review car. I'll have it for a week, and will post a full review next week.

I've driven it about 30 miles today, and I like it for what it is. It's kind of the opposite of the Kia Soul I had a couple of weeks ago. The Cube rides well, is cushy, and really pleasant on the interior.

On the flip side, it has a lot of body lean when pushed, the Bluetooth isn't as good as the Soul's, and it's looks are very polarizing.

It is a bit like the first-gen xB in the fact that people either seem to love it or hate it. I happen to really like it thus far. It does not come from the factory as a "corner carver." However, it is very comfy. Much more of a cruiser.

By the way, Bean Garage (http://beangarage.com/catalog/nissan-cube-c-24.html) has Cube aftermarket goodies.

More later!

[JBougie]

I love them and would buy one in a heart beat! However, I will have to pass on it as my next car is the G37 *drool* ... but I still uber love the Cubes!!

[Tamago]

By the way, Bean Garage (http://beangarage.com/catalog/nissan-cube-c-24.html) has Cube aftermarket goodies.

More later!

http://beangarage.com/catalog/engine-parts/hks-limited-edition-oil-cap-nissan-cube-p-171.html

bitchin'

[Nigal]

let us know once the recalls start coming in. :laugh:

Are you sure you're not a Honda driver? :cry:

[Tamago]

Are you sure you're not a Honda driver? :cry:

nope, i've just worked on enough nissans to know that Nissan does not pride themselves on building a good car.

the 2.5 was plagued with recalls and TSB's
the 3.5 was as well
the altima had recalls as scary as "our bad, we forgot to weld the b-pillars on"
or "our bad, we forgot to screw the one ground wire down inside the auto transmission pan"
http://www.ohiolemonlaw.com/safety-recall-106-nissan-altima.htm
140,000 cars. imagine if that was a yaris... every single YW member, plus 30,000 other owners would have to get their car fixed so it didn't catch on fire

i mean c'mon..

[mrbond]

http://beangarage.com/catalog/engine-parts/hks-limited-edition-oil-cap-nissan-cube-p-171.html

bitchin'

hahahaha lmao

[Bob Dog]

I like it. How many toll phones does it have in it?

[kustom play]

that whole bean garage site has nothing under exhaust, has a K&N under the intake section, has a CF Hand brake for the interior lol

[dvlnblkdrs]

well i like it! :thumbsup:

[mrbond]

Thirty-nine, I really envy your job. How did you get into that area? I have the opportunity on a few months to review the new Nissan Leaf, but that's only a one time deal, sadly.

[Thirty-Nine]

Thirty-nine, I really envy your job. How did you get into that area? I have the opportunity on a few months to review the new Nissan Leaf, but that's only a one time deal, sadly.

Well, I've been involved in the auto/aftermarket industry since '06, and was a magazine editor for five years before (in the hobby industry). After getting laid off in November, I had more time to devote to my Web site.

I also do freelance copy writing and PR, too.

[2006fronty]

nope, i've just worked on enough nissans to know that Nissan does not pride themselves on building a good car.

the 2.5 was plagued with recalls and TSB's
the 3.5 was as well
the altima had recalls as scary as "our bad, we forgot to weld the b-pillars on"
or "our bad, we forgot to screw the one ground wire down inside the auto transmission pan"
http://www.ohiolemonlaw.com/safety-recall-106-nissan-altima.htm
140,000 cars. imagine if that was a yaris... every single YW member, plus 30,000 other owners would have to get their car fixed so it didn't catch on fire

i mean c'mon..

I think they look cool, but I won't own a Nissan ever again. The 2.5 is CRAP. The recalls were for Altimas and Sentras but a few people had problems with the 2.5 in Frontiers as well but unfortunately Nissan wouldn't recall them ( a guy I know had a little "BBQ" under his hood).

[Thirty-Nine]

Small update:

http://www.subcompactculture.com/2009/08/nissan-cube-day-two.html

[JBougie]

the only nissan i ever loved and this thing was unbeatable wa my 1993 Maxima it had 300k Miles and the engine was like new, rest of the car.....not so much

+1 ... my 97 had 320,000 on it when I sold it ;) And it was still as good as new - beautiful car. I won a lot of small town car shows with it and miss it every single day.