Had a chance to take a Nissan Cube around a few blocks in downtown Yokohama recently and was very impressed. Sadly it’s not coming to South Africa, but it shows some clever design that stands out from the rest. Firstly, I had a strange feeling of déjà vu when selecting reverse. I was taken back more years than I care to remember, to my parents Chrysler Valiant which had a column mounted gear shift. But it’s not all old hat. Since when would a Valiant have a sport button on the end. Press this and the revs will hold on longer for better acceleration. It’s strange that the column shift disappeared as it is quite useful in freeing up the centre console area. Instead one can offer an extra seat making it a six-seater. If you don’t need the extra space you can use the indented drink holder, in our case providing a receptacle for the key as the car is keyless-go. Or fold down the ample armrest and relax. The cloth material is luxurious, too and is complimented by deep pile carpeting. Space both front and rear is excellent and the boot is huge too, all thanks to the van like proportions. The rear door opens to the right on hinges. A variety of colour combinations can be specified, one seat combo looking like liquorice allsorts. The panaromic glass roof has not one but two screens, one translucent and the other solid. Both have a wave shape to match some of the interior styling. Very funky and very impressive for the usually conservative Japanese. Engines are 1,5 or 1,6 with CVT transmission.
