Is The Ugly Nissan Cube Crazy Enough To Be Cool?

The Nissan Cube is one of the most bizarre-looking (and ugliest) cars you'll see on the street. But is it crazy enough to be considered cool?

Alex Kersten

04 May 2015

Is The Ugly Nissan Cube Crazy Enough To Be Cool?

I saw a Nissan Cube today. But it didn’t look anywhere near as cool as the example above. In fact, I can’t even remember what colour it actually was. All I remember thinking was ‘damn, a Nissan Cube, I haven’t seen one of those for ages. God it’s ugly.’

The reason for its love-it-or-hate-it looks are its curved-box shape, asymmetrical rear window and, in some cases, a CVT gearbox. Bleurgh!

The most powerful version of the Cube was the 1.8-litre MR-engined (a straight-four developed between Nissan and Renault) car with 122hp, although us Europeans only got a 1.6-litre petrol (112hp) and and a 1.5-litre diesel (108hp).

Powerful and pretty it is not, then, so are there any saving graces? Indeed there are: in 2009, the Cube was named one of the ‘10 Coolest Cars Under $18,000’ by Kelley Blue Book, and in 2010, it made the grade for the ‘AAA top vehicle picks for dog owners.’ Don’t act like you’re not impressed!

Bearing in mind the Cube’s quirks, what do we think? Is it crazy enough to be cool, or is it just another car you love to hate on like the Pontiac Aztec and Fiat Multipla?