Faults:

Whoever installed the Command Start, bypassed the Factory Key-less entry incorrectly, so you did not need the Fob/Key to start the car. This was fixed kindly by the dealer when I purchased the vehicle (54760Km).

Shortly after my purchase, the fuel gauge stopped reading full, maxing out at 7/8th of a tank. Required replacing the fuel sending unit. Also covered by Nissan/Dealer (59970km).

Blower motor stopped working, Nissan had a private TSB about this problem, so even though it was no longer under warranty, it was replaced free of charge. I'm told it's a design flaw where mild weather allows moisture to get into the motor, and then freeze when it gets cold out (63450km).

Sometimes in the cold, my vehicle would not want to start. I always assumed it didn't like the cold. Until it happened on a beautiful +3 day in January. When it finally started, the drive-by-wire throttle failed (Nissan says it's a "fail-safe" feature) so the car would idle, but not move. Nissan had to put a whole new CVT into it. Which took about 2 weeks to arrive. Luckily it was again covered by the warranty and my dealer experience was excellent (64739km).

(Total warranty bills I signed for Nissan $7000+. If I had to pay those, I would have walked. I could buy 5 more Saturn SL1s for that price haha)

General Comments:

This car caught my eye on my trip to Japan several years ago. I loved its unique styling, that no other car has. When I heard they were coming to North America, I was quite excited. Being a student, I was unable to purchase a new one with the options I wanted. So I waited for a pre-owned unit to be available somewhere in Winnipeg.

In November of 2010 I found one, it was almost fully loaded (no leather, or mood light option) and very well priced, mostly due to the higher mileage of the unit. Considering the lowest mileage vehicle I had ever owned was my Saturn (which I got at 155000, now at 210000+ and I drive it daily) 55000 seemed very low.

The car appeared to be very well cared for, with a single chip in the paint just by the rear drivers fender lip, and the odd surface scratch on the interior.

It was love at first sight. I love almost everything about the car, the polarizing conversational looks. The smooth ride and sofa style seats remind me of 80's Cadillacs without the drawbacks.

The car handles well, though the steering is not sporty by any means. The car is very economical, and the engine, mated to the CVT, is spirited but still slow; a 2.0 engine would be great. The push button start is my favorite overall feature, with my favorite secret feature is the cheap to insure vehicle classification of "Sub-Compact".

The stereo is fantastic. I never get road rage as I sit with great visibility in a relaxed driving position with great tunes bumpin.

Now the bad news. The passenger window is very weak for a car 2 years old. It doesn't handle nice on icy roads; the the stability control has to kick in to save me even when it's nothing but icy highway and a gust of wind. The ABS is a little too sensitive, and the car really needs a little more power.

NOW these things are all fairly easy to overlook, and I like embracing new technology. I do prefer a manual gearbox, but the CVT was practical for the family.

I do drive my cars hard, and aggressively, however they are extremely well maintained; full synthetic oils, and even if my brake pedal is a bit spongy, I start changing parts to fix the problem. I wash the car every week and personally wipe/wax and spray an oil additive to prevent rust bi-monthly. The Saturn SL1 and the Astro Van I had (both GM) take to this treatment with outstanding reliability. The odd component fails on them, but when visually inspected it's clearly due to age.

I do a lot of research, and hearing so much about foreign reliability, I expected a lot... A LOT more from my Cube. I really want to like it, and I try to think I just got a bad apple. The dealer has been fantastic in handling every problem I experienced with the vehicle, but I've started to look at other vehicles, and I've only had this one 4 months (the Saturn is going on for its 4th year).

General Comments:

I’ve never understood why the Cube is marketed primarily to young people. It’s tailor made for seniors. It’s easy to enter/exit because of its height, has excellent visibility, big outside mirrors, is easy to park, and fun to drive. I assume that if Nissan marketed it to seniors, young people wouldn’t want them! Still, it seems well suited to both age groups.

As seniors, my wife and I like the funky look, but as with other odd looking cars such as the Smart Car, the Cube will be nothing special before long. However the attributes we want in a car, both now and in the years to come won’t change, which is why we bought a Cube.

The Cube isn’t ideal for highway driving but that’s OK, my highway car is now called an airplane. Other quibbles? Well, I get a little electrical shock whenever I exit the car and touch the door to close it. I have the normal Cube floor mats and wear ordinary rubber soled shoes, so don’t know why this occurs. I would also like to be able to connect my seat belt without having to first raise the arm rest. A final improvement I’d like to see is for the clock (black text/orange background in centre of dash) to light up whenever the car’s engine is turned on, rather than only after the car’s headlights have activated.

There are many things about the Cube that have impressed me but I won’t go into them as they’ve already been well covered by others. If you are looking for a great city runabout that meets the requirements I set out in my first paragraph, then the Cube makes an excellent choice. Dollar for dollar and pound for pound, I’m very impressed with this car and am happy to have bought it.