Cube

I really liked the Scion XB, even came close to buying one about three years ago. It was perfect, an economy car with a tiny footprint that had massive amounts of space, huge doors, easy for a big guy like me to get in and out of, funky, got good gas mileage, etc.




So naturally they changed everything. The Scion XB they're making these days looks like a Dodge Nitro, has a bigger motor (there goes your mileage). No! It ruins it! Stupid, fat hobbitses!

So while I was being disappointed in movies Sunday afternoon, I saw an ad for the Nissan Cube. I couldn't tell in the ad what the scale of the thing was, if it'd be too tiny or too big or whatever, but it looked like it might have a lot of the virtues of that original XB.



So I peeled off on the way home last night and test-drove one. I think I like it even better than the old XB, because the automatic XB felt a little underpowered (probably why they put a bigger motor in). The 5-speed was fine, but the automatic was sluggish. The Cube I drove was an automatic, and it's not going to win any drag races but it has plenty of scoot.



I like the asymmetrical back window and fridge-style door on the back, too. The only thing I would like better, and this was an issue with the XB, too, is some hotter color choices. The Scarlet Red is probably what I'd get, the Moss Green isn't bad. But no yellow, orange, neon green, purple? Why do car companies insist on painting everything so Hello Boring?



The salesman was saying something about how their transmission doesn't have gears, a 'CVT' that's unique to Nissans. You never know with salesman talk, a guy who wants to sell you a car will tell you the tires are filled with air imported from Brazil if he thinks it'll close the deal. But I know I was able to get up to highway speed and merge as easily as in my Accord.



As in when he made the self-serving observation that 'it's time for a new car.' I can see where he's coming from, the economy sucks, they want to move inventory. I'm driving in there in a 12 year old car with 175,000 miles on it. To him, continuing to drive a car that old is a sin.

Of course, I need a car payment like I need a big fat hole in my head. Actually, that's true when I'm getting 40 hours a week, and I've been on 32 hours for months now. But if I was going to visit the circle of Hell where you have a car loan again, I'd be Cube'n it for sure.