Nissan Cube (10-10) - Review

Review by Simon Harris on
Last Updated: 21 February 2011
Nissan's Cube was an instant hit when it first went on sale in its native Japan, but it still took 12 years before the firm was brave enough to bring it over here. Going head to head with the ubiquitous Mini and the Kia Soul, it majors in style with its unusual boxy design. Inside, the stylistic assault continues with velour, optional shagpile mats and a rather weird circular carpet feature on the dashboard. Under the skin the Cube is more conventional taking familiar tried-and-tested hardware from both the Micra and Note. Shorter than a Vauxhall Corsa, Nissan proves style hasn’t completely won the battle over substance by providing plenty of room for four adults. The Cube boasts distinctive looks, a practical interior, is reasonably inexpensive to buy, run and own and is well worth considering if you want a small car with a difference.
4 out of 5

Other Nissan reviews

3 out of 5

Running costs

The Cube isn't as cheap to run as other small cars, but running costs should remain quite modest. The near £1,500 premium for the diesel model will not be maintained on the used market, although the 1.5 dCi should be significantly cheaper to run. The automatic version, available only with the petrol engine, is a CVT rather than a conventional automatic so there isn't much of a fuel consumption penalty over the standard manual.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

12 months or 12,500 miles.

Warranty

Three years/60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£170.00 - £170.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

3 out of 5

Green credentials

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CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

All Cube models have CO2 emissions below 160g/km, with the diesel at 135g/km. These aren't bad figures by any means, but people used to small cars might expect a little better.

Find the exact engine and CO2