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The 2009 Nissan Cube makes its début.

The Nissan Cube is the best car for you if you like the idea of 33 mpg without the expense of a hybrid, enjoy the company of tall friends, and have a nose for four-wheel urban fashion.

Nissan calls ‘em like it sees ‘em, naming this tiny box of a car for what it is. Taller than it is wide, with slab sides and a snub nose, the Cube fits a new age of rational motoring and pinched budgets. It’s just an inch longer than a standard Mini Cooper (great for street parking), but a full nine inches taller than the Mini (grand for head room). It holds four adults comfortably, five in a pinch. Swing open the side-hinged tailgate, fold the rear seat, and you can load 70 cubic feet of whatever!

Styling: There’s only so much you can do with a cube, but this car’s got a twisted sense of style. Credit the Cube’s personality to button-cute proportions, a jowly face, “rounded-rectangle” windows (inspired, Nissan says, by personal photo frames), and, especially, the asymmetrical tailgate effect. That last cue makes it look as if there’s no right-rear roof pillar, but of course, there is. Imagination reigns inside, too, in what Nissan calls a “casual lounge” interior. Molded into various panels and controls are a series of “water drop” expanding concentric circles. The dashboard is tidy and functional, but its subtle wavy shaping, white-and-blue lighting, and rounded-rectangle vents complement the exterior styling themes. The Nissan Cube comes in four models: the 1.8, 1.8 S, 1.8 SL, and the Krom. This last, pronounced “chrome,” has a slightly different nose and tail look and some exclusive interior trim.

Mechanical: Under the skin, Cube is mostly conformist, even old fashioned, with its front-wheel-drive layout, beam rear axle, and rear drum brakes. Nothing left to chance in its use of a four-cylinder engine, either. This one’s a 1.8-liter borrowed from Nissan’s Versa subcompact car. It has a more-than-adequate 122 horsepower. The Cube 1.8 is available only with a six-speed manual transmission. The 1.8 S offers the manual or a continuously variable automatic (CVT). The Cube 1.8 SL and Krom come only with the CVT. Nissan generously equips the Cube with a nice selection of standard safety items, including antilock brakes with brake assist and traction-control and antiskid systems. (Standard seat mounted front side airbags and full-length head-protecting curtain side airbags contribute to passive safety.)

Features: In addition to the safety equipment mentioned above, every Cube comes with air conditioning, power windows and locks, remote keyless entry, and intermittent rear wiper. The rear bench seat splits, folds, and slides to prioritize cargo or people space, and it’s elevated slightly to provide a theater-seating effect in relation to the front seats. There are six cupholders in this five-passenger car. Clever touches include detachable hooks for bags and the like; they can be moved around from the dashboard to the passenger doors, for example. Brightly colored elastic straps on the door armrests secure items such as maps or cellphones; Nissan calls them “magic rubber bands.” Depending on model, available features include push button ignition, Bluetooth phone and USB iPod connectivity, a Rockford Fosgate subwoofer with six speakers, XM satellite radio, and rear parking assist. Dealer-installed accessories include “shag” carpeting for some interior shelf surfaces, alloy wheels, aero body panels, and a 20-color interior lighting kit. The Cube 1.8 and 1.8 S models have 15-inch tires with wheel covers; 1.8 SL and Krom versions come with 16-inch alloys.

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