FIRST DRIVE – 2009 NISSAN CUBE

The Definition of Hip

Story and Photos by Gerry Frechette

What is hip? The definitions of hipness certainly can vary with age and many other factors, nowhere more than in the car business. To the 20-something generation, there aren’t many factory-built new vehicles that measure up.

Of course, all the manufacturers want young people as new customers, to get them into the family, so to speak. Over the years, there have been several attempts at brands and vehicles to accomplish just that, but how many 20 year-olds have the money or the credit rating for a new car, or the attention span to relate to traditional promotional activities?

Nissan is the latest to court the youth of the country with the new Cube. Given that it is a known mechanical quantity with regular 1.8L four-cylinder Nissan Versa running gear, the Cube is all about design, product positioning and marketing. Early indications are that it might just have hit the target.

This is actually the third generation of the Cube, it having been sold in Japan for some time now. With small, entry-level cars being popular in Canada, Nissan figured it was time for a small car with distinctive style and function.

Its style is certainly like nothing else. It is short and tall, with the shape of its cabin certainly living up to its name. What makes it seem less square than a certain other small car not officially sold here yet but imported by many, is the rounded off window glass, and the asymmetrical design from the rear, that makes it look like there is no right rear roof pillar. The huge rear gate is hinged at the left, the proper side for access from a right-hand curb.

Inside, the Cube is exceptionally roomy for a small car, thanks to its high roof. But space is only part of the interior story. To use Nissan’s words, it is being positioned as “my room,” “my home away from home,” with comfortable “lounge-style” seating. It is a place for a young person to express his/her personality, and to that end, there are all kinds of clever storage approaches, including a large patch of long astroturf-looking stuff on top of the dashboard. We don’t get that one, but look up, and you’ll see the calming influence of a rippled headliner, just as if you had thrown a pebble in a pool of water. Groovy.

Available is all the must-have technology for personal infotainment, including Rockford-Fosgate audio, XM satellite radio, iPod interface, and Bluetooth. Parents, who will probably be signing most of the cheques down at the Nissan store, will be happy to see all the standard safety gear, including Vehicle Dynamic Control, ABS, six air bags including side curtains, tire pressure monitoring, active head restraints, and more.

If you don’t take part in online communication, you may not have seen any promotion of the Cube. It was all donethrough the creation of online communities, mostly via Twitter and on the dedicated website, hypercube.ca. Nissan had a contest for the best marketing/promotional campaigns by creative people, and some 45,000 were registered. The prizes, announced on June 23, were 50 Cubes! Check out the website to see what it was all about.

As a car, the Cube is an economical, inexpensive, comfortable, stylish and useful vehicle. As a design and marketing exercise, it is something cool and unique in the market that might finally be just what 20-something youth are looking for. That they’ll be getting a good car, too, might be something they’ll discover later.[PSGallery=q7k8xmh0a]