Nissan Viewing: Part I

After a long hiatus, with good reason as you will see in the upcoming weeks, AT is back!

This past Thursday night, Nissan hosted a nice, little viewing of the updated 370Z and the soon-to-be imported Cube.

Source: rp

The Nissan Cube is exactly what the name says it is, a cube. Although many will likely say the design is reminiscent of a Scion Xb, it has been on the market since 1998 – in Japan. Personally, it does not matter “who-dun-it,” because it is remains a trendy, hip design.

I will be the first to admit the current generation Cube’s design is a bit more appealing; however, the refresh is not a slacker either. Some aspects of the vehicle caught my eye immediately. For instance, the curves on the B-pillar provide a unique touch and are brilliantly executed in a contemporary fashion. And, upon closer inspection the windshield has a slight curvature towards the top, which is nothing less than beautiful.

The coolest aspect of the exterior has to be the rear door, which is hinged on one side. The sleek design reminds me of a hefty, impenetrable bank vault. Although Nissan concealed the hinge with a bulbous bit of sheet metal, I think it would have looked better with an obscenely chunky, aluminum exposed hinge.

Source: rp

Sliding into the cockpit you are confronted with a curvy, meandering dash and a helluva lot of headroom. It is remarkably airy. The A-pillars are placed extremely far in front of you, thus, providing a lot of length between you and the windshield. Essentially, this is totally the opposite of old-school Porsches where you may have felt as though you were wearing the windshield as glasses.

Source: rp

Something that caught my eye was the interesting control set up on the center stack. A circular array of buttons and controls for the HVAC unit. I am curious if that circular set up becomes irritating and confusing while driving and not paying attention to where you are poking or proding.

The underlying problem with this car: it is not a tremendously groundbreaking design after 10 years overseas and many consumers will observe the car’s silhouette and proclaim “it’s just a box!” It is unfortunate that many will overlook the little details this spiffy little car has to offer.

Source: rp

More than likely, this vehicle will sell big with younger crowds who prefer personalization, which is a major selling point of this particular vehicle. Scion should get their ammo ready accordingly as this car felt more solid than their offerings.

My grievance: why wait so long to get this car here?

Hopefully, this coming spring Automotive Times will be able to get behind the wheel and get some serious driving impressions. Time will tell.

To summarize: the Cube is essentially a gigantic iPod with four wheels targeted at the iPod generation.

rp