2011 Nissan cube

Styling
Making a strong impression with your looks is good, but doing so without spending a fortune is great. Love it or hate it, the Nissan Cube provides an undoubtedly eye-catching design at a price almost any car buyer can afford.

Rippling Headliner
With only a cursory glance, one might overlook the unique form of the Cube's headliner. Even though a flat headliner would have been perfectly acceptable, Nissan's designers decided to simulate the ripples created by dropping a pebble in water. The result is an interesting conversation piece and an indicator of Nissan's commendable attention to detail.

The 2011 Nissan Cube has an interior unlike any we've seen. The dash and door panels are peppered with rounded shapes, and interesting textures can be found throughout the cabin. Above the passenger's heads is a large dome light surrounded by grooved ripples radiating out across the headliner; the same effect, which mimics a pebble dropped in water, is repeated on the speaker covers. The Cube's upright sides make for a spacious interior capable of accommodating up to five people. Helping to balance the space requirements of both passengers and cargo is a sliding rear seat, which can be moved several inches fore or aft. Head and shoulder room is ample in all seating positions; the same can be said for legroom, especially in the rear seats.

Due to the angles of its body and the softened curved corners, the 2011 Nissan Cube might have more aptly been named the Nissan Die. Not quite cube-like, the Cube's rounded fenders, headlamps and taillights are more oval in design, while its door and window cut outs feature similar contoured corners.
Without question the most interesting aspect of the Cube is its asymmetrical rear section that features wrap-around glass on one side and a body-color pillar on the other. Adding to the Cube's distinctiveness is a wide variety of exterior accessories, not to mention the super-stylish factory-modified Krom edition.

There is one engine offered for the 2011 Nissan Cube, a 1.8-liter four cylinder rated at 122 horsepower. Power is acceptable for a small, inexpensive and fuel-efficient car, but those who value rapid acceleration may be disappointed by the Cube's performance. On base and S trims, a six-speed manual transmission is standard, while a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is optional on the S Trim and standard on SL and Krom trims. The CVT does a good job in maximizing the engine's output and actually offers better fuel economy than the manual transmission, but some buyers may be put off by the way the engine seems to race under hard acceleration.

1.8-liter in-line 4
122 horsepower @ 5200 rpm
127 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4800 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 27/31 (CVT), 25/30 (manual)