Space Oddity - the Nissan Cube Z11 (well, Cubic)
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- čas přidán 5. 04. 2023
- Finally, a Nissan Cube makes it onto the channel! Well, actually, this is the longer-wheelbased Cubic, which is a seven-seater. This one has the 1.5-litre, four-cylinder engine and CVT drivetrain. But what is it like to drive?
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The older i get the more i enjoy these bizarre cars and the more i understand some of the issues they try to give solutions for lol
Also slightly jealous of the UK being able to import japanese cars and not having to deal with all the funs of having a RHD car in LHD traffic
The Cube was very underrated as a vehicle, personally I think they were awesome
I have one of 400 sold in Italy :D i can confirm
I had one of those as a rental for the couple of months I was on Grand Bahama Island. It does look small, but it's like a Tardis inside. You could fit 4 fat blokes in it easily. The one I had was fitted with a 1.8 litre engine and CVT, which I thought would be rubbish, but it was surprisingly nippy
The approach with CVT boxes is proper preventative maintenance as metal on metal will produce metal filings. At 40-50,000 miles drain box, filter out, remove cover to fully drain the box, new filter screen and clean the magnet (you can add magnets too, fresh oil. It will then be good for another 50k.
Australian Subarus with CVTs will happily do 500k km.
They don't use jacto cvt transmission in the subarus do they ?
Saw a Cube today... They are certainly an individual looking car.
Somehow I had completely missed that there were 7-seater Cubes - new knowledge acquired! Oh joy!
I have now owned this exact model for a mere 24 hours! I came straight back to this video after watching it a month ago, to refresh my memory about your observations. Have to say I think you’re spot on!
You hit the nail on the head regarding the appeal of a CVT - it settles the engine at a relatively low rev range once you’ve achieved the speed you wish to travel at, and that translates to a relaxing driving experience, great performance when pulling away from a stop, and excellent fuel economy. You want to be lifting off the throttle wherever possible instead of flooring it constantly 😊
That's why a cruise control is essential in a CVT car. It works a treat on my Suzuki Burgman 650 maxi scooter as well, where I've both fitted a cruise control and tweked the shifting curve to get less revs when cruising.
Since it's electronically control, it "shifts down 3 or 4 "gears" " when I hit the throttle, to bring the revs to 8k
Here in America, this car appealed to the batty, recently retired crowd that was single in their old age and took their small dog (Chihuahua, Yorkie, teacup Poodle) with them everywhere, including the grocery store. Doug DeMuro inherited one from his batty Aunt when she passed away 😂
You're very self conscious, aren't you?
One of the things that keeps me coming back to this channel, apart the dulcet tones of Mr. HubNut is the sheer variety of vehicles covered.
I drove one of these for a week in Seattle many moons ago. I liked it. The CVT was a complete slush bucket - Nissan just doesn't seem capable of getting that right - but it was fine once you got the hang of the lag and mushiness. And it was very much a sea of cheap plastic, but that's an awful lot of cars these days. Everything else about it was lovely and practical and rather fun.
Have always had a sneeking admiration for the Cube, it deserved more success outside of Japan.
Was hoping you’d review a Cube, love how it’s a fairly small car with loads of room inside.
Regarding CVT comments: I currently have my Mums 2017 Jazz CVT on my drive whilst she recovers cataract surgery. At first I hated the CVT box. But having driven it extensively in urban/suburban areas it makes perfect sense. It's much less aggressive than a traditional torque convertor automatic and a million times better than a DSG gearbox as it is easier to modulate acceleration and braking. It's now my choice of car when driving into London.
I'm glad you did an on camera review! It was great fun to watch!
i think thats a great car for around town, especially with the cvt, i bet its relaxing to drive.....
There was the option of engine braking in a DAF, as the gearing was influenced by a combination of centrifugal forces and engine vacuum. I can't remember exactly how it worked but DAFs had an electric switch for engine braking, called 'bergrem' (mountain brake) that somehow influenced the vacuum so that the gear ratio remained low. I also fitted an extra switch to that vacuum valve so that I had sort of a sport mode. As all of that was at least 35 years ago the details have sort of gotten lost in the mist of times. But they were great times, in DAF Club Nederland and with our friends of the DAF Owners' Club.
correct, my 340 had that special switch. I never needed or used it but a neighbor used to pull a small caravan with his 340 variomatic and he told me he used it in the mountains for both going up and down. Worked great.
Ironic - SO many mountains in Holland...!
@@hunchanchoc8418 I used to work in North Wales and summers were a nightmare -all the roads clogged with Dutch caravaners come to look at something that isn't flat!
Great review Ian, you can make an unconventional car look really appealing. You are a great ambassador for these types of cars.
lovely little car. Nissan got this one right. Another good video thanks, and I think I have been in the same Sydney cab you have. We told him to stop and got out and got another cab.
Very versatile vehicle. Thanks for taking us out and about in that thoughtful example of car design. It looks like clever stuff to me. Perhaps the Japanese thought it would have been a little too unconventional to be sold in good numbers here. Thanks again.
Always great to see a new Dan Brown video pop up on CZcams! Lovely spot there along the river, great scenery.
Love it! The JDM indicator/wiper stalk positions, the folding down seats into bed mode; all remind me of my old Daihatsu Grand Move+ 1.6L.
I'd love to try CVT, the concept makes so much sense to me.
Great little review as always Ian and Carly, never realised there was a 7 seat version and I do agree this version of the Cube looks better than the next generation cube.
Always liked the look of these. Very cool looking thing!
I'm one of the 20 Americans that like them. The US version was called the cube but it's the larger version but without the rear most seats. We got a 1.8L 4 cylinder.
Absolutely brilliant video Ian Miss hubnut 👍 ❤️ lovely car and love that cvt brilliant
Adorable car and the outro music make for a real taste of Japanese bliss.
Love it! A really quirky car - not many cars are that non-symmetrical
Nice explanation of a CVT, thank you.
Love the cube, including my three Z12s here across the pond!!!! 🙏🤙🎉👍🥰🤩🥳😍😘
You're an ace presenter mate, like 5th gear at its best 👌🏻😁Thanks for uploading.
Lovely cars. So similar in a lot of ways to my Materia, but worlds apart in others.
Amusingly, on Tuesday, we were having lunch near a car park and both a Materia and Cube came in!
My Volvo 340 is a CVT car as intended by Hub van Doorne, and I love it!
Your output lately has been exceptional - Trouble is, every time I watch you it starts to rain! Hope this is just a coincidence ...
Another great video on a most interesting vehicle indeed well done 👍👍👍
How did i miss this gem?!
Damn you CZcams!
I have owned a 1•6 2013 z12 ( 3rd gen) here in NZ for 18 months, "and loving it" as Maxwell Smart would say.
It's evidently based on the Nissan Tiida underpinnings, no bad thing.
Recently fitted 4 Pirelli powergy tyres that give a very noticably better ride.
Cruises at a relaxed 2,000 rpm at 100kph, and is surprisingly quick off the line.
Drive a CVT as intended and it's smooth and delightful.
Thank you to the 'hubnuts' for yet another interesting review.
PS My wife and l are retired, we call ourselves 'two squares in a cube'.
Watching your video and suddenly realising you are a stones throw from Crawley. Love the cube though. Great vid
another great video has always Ian and miss hubnut and hublets and hubmutts 👍
I learned quite a bit from this video, having based everything I knew on the US version which has a not very good engine. Not at all my cup of tea, but many people love them and for that I can appreciate them from afar.
Awesome been hoping you'd do a cube. Cheers!
nice report Ian ,Carly, your camera work is coming along great!
Always loved these
Every time I saw a Nissan Cube I always thought, there's a car they will always remember owning.
Not my thing but I certainly appreciated the styling
Unusual seeing one of these on here. They're very common in New Zealand, along with the very similar Toyota BB. The BB tends to be the victim of modders "pimping' them out in obnoxious ways. Most of the Cubes at least seem to stay unmolested.
I love the cube its such an oddball!
It lived up to its name! If I drew a car on the board to illustrate a concept to my physics students, I would do a Nissan Cube as it was so easy! Your video shows what a practical car it is. We used to have a Honda Jazz - very practical and economical, but a bit dull to drive.
Do like the presentation with the drive-by shots a la JamesEmm and old school Top Gear. Very nice.
I'd love a Cube.
Great car. And bute trainers you've bought yourself there mate!
That was a really good review. Great practical car by the looks of it.
Not feeling great today but thank you Ian for this video:)
Tony
Interesting to hear about the electric 4x4 option, the Cube was the original test mule for the Nissan Leaf ZE0 drivetrain and the EV01 is in the Nissan Heritage Collection in Zama.
What a splendid motor car :) I seem to recall some motor channels in the US absolutely hate the Nissan CVT though? For me, it wins on looks, practicality and... column gear change.
I do have a soft spot for an earlier Cube. ❤
I think there were some Cubes in my city, not as often as other Nissan models, still pretty popular among young drivers. All JDM models of course. The most interesting thing is those Nissan are pretty capable off asphalt roads. Not in a dirt mud of course, but it's entirely possible to drive to the nearest lake on the unpaved road.
It's a refreshingly different design; I quite like this 'blocky' shape in vehicles, whether they be Nissan Cubes, Skoda Yetis or LR Defender 90s.
There was also a Skoda Cube.
@@Phiyedough No there wasn't
@@erik_dk842 There was certainly a box van based on the Skoda Felicia (google images), but that's not quite what I meant.
I’ve always loved this generation and the 3rd, proper quirky. 👍👍👍🇬🇧🏴
When the cube came out, it’s polarizing design. Either you like it or don’t. I like the Cube, it’s cute.
I enjoyed this video of the cube. 👍 Even before this video went out I've been considering buying a 3rd gen Cube, because they are rare, it's compact boxy styling & the amount of room inside. I'm sure it won't take me long to get used to the column mounted gear lever, the 🦶operated parking brake & the wiper & indicator
stalks being the other way round.
I love this very japanese styling. Also the Honda e… Thanks for the CVT road test! 🇯🇵❤️🇯🇵
My old Nissan Tiida (your favorurite Ian in NZ!!!) had the HR15 1.5 with cvt. Solid little engine but the CVT would rev high when going down a steep hill. Cool seeing a cubic though there aren't many over here in NZ
I considered one here in Canada, recently. It had the 1.8 litre engine (I think perhaps they all do here) and a six speed manual transmission. Unfortunately my planned trip to where it was located fell through so I never got to even test drive it. I agree about the earlier model looking more attractive but the practicality of all of them is great. 👍🏻
I think car buyers in Europe, particularly the UK, are very wary of anything unconventional in terms of styling. Actually the Germans are probably the worst - their styling rarely changes, just evolves very slowly over decades.
Traditionally the Uk has had what is maybe the most conservative car buyers in the world, I am not sure if that has changed in recent years... If it has, I doubt its been a massive change to totallu upheave the norm.
Dont fully see the german angle on the comment though, except for Audi in recent years they surely have changed their looks as much as cars from any other nation. For many, its currently the chief complaint about BMW for example!
I don’t think that’s really true. Look how many Nissan -Jokes- Jukes are on the road. Other well selling cars like the BMW Mini’s (even the hideous variants) are good sellers. Also the Matiz was a good seller despite it’s looks. So I think the UK is an exception to most of Europe.
@@ParallelSyntax Wait, you mean the UK is less conservative to the rest of europe? I got no numbers, but no way is that true.... Car makers used to make special "booted" models just for the UK because they couldnt accept hatchbacks... yes really.
I have heard Ford sierras sold badly in the uk compared to other markets when it launched because it was too "rounded" etc.
Those cars you mention might be ugly to some, but were they really "unconventional", which was what the comment was about? I think they might not be.. not all that much any way?
@@GoldenCroc Well I think it really depends on the person. I find the UK people are probably some of the most diverse (personality / taste wise) compared to most of Europe, thus have bigger niches. Hell despite having such awful weather here, more convertibles are sold in the UK than anywhere else in Europe (yes really).
All the cars I mentioned previously have sold more in this country than anywhere else in Europe. Another example, have you seen how many Nissan Figaros there are in the UK?
@@ParallelSyntax No I think you might be right, its probably also one of the most diverse in taste compared to a lot of europe..
Uk is a special place for cars for many reasons I think. "car culture" seems very strong compared to most of europe, especially sports cars and older/nostalgia cars. But no doubt is the part thats extremly conservative when it comes to cars also more influential when buying new than almost any other place.
I think its a combination of factors that have made it that way. A lot of european markets simply havent got the disposable income to keep a "hobby car" etc.
It’s good to know that people other than myself like the CVTs. My Saturns had GM CVT(VTi) GM called it. The Opel Vectra C could have been had with the same CVT I believe for Opel they called it CVTronic
Come on Ian full credit to miss Hubnut for the filming , she is the Welsh Wizardess behind Hubnut .Great review , i like the Cube .Sunday bikers , all the gear no idea. Come out in the sun , not in the winter too scared .
Im a biker by the way , rain or shine .
I've not watched Hubnut for a while. That bit at the end with the music was a nice touch - do we have Mrs Hubnut to thank for this creative flair? :)
Thanks. Miss HubNut is responsible for the improved camera work, but I'm always trying to find ways to improve the editing.
Drove one of those as a loan car while my, manual, Abarth was being detailed. It was an auto but had 3 pedals so had to remember the left one was the parking brake and not the clutch!
I had a Yamaha Nmax scooter with a CVT. I loved that thing. Far better than any prehistoric machine where you had to depress or pull in clutches and move sticks and levers about every time you needed to change gear.
I love it!!
The panoramic glass wrapping around the left rear combined with a tail gate hinged on the right were great for countries such as Japan and the UK which drive and kerb on the left. Not so much in North America, though. The open tail gate blocked the kerb completely, while you had a nice little blind spot right/rear with the glass pillar.
To me, CVTs have always felt natural, because they are well matched to your behaviour, not to the gears. So if you drive spiritedly, revs are higher, if you drive gently, revs lay low. And you get a good sense of the effort the engine has to produce, since when you get on an incline, revs will rise slightly. Fells more natural than the jarring downshift that would happen in a torque converter auto, or worse in a DCT. Not that those are bad (and tbf, the shifts are usually very gentle), but I think it's just a question of whether or not you get a CVT.
Closed minded, low IQ drivers will always have a hard time with CVT's. If you are neither, it's rewarding to work with the CVT instead of against it.
Nissan's CVT gearboxes are great. I have a 1.6 dci Qashqai with CVT, averages 68MPG
Very well done!
Excellent use of Carly's thumb in this video :)
I'd love one of these.
A nice special car!
I've always wanted one
I have always thought these were pretty cool.
I have only had two CVT an Honda Jazz CVT7 and my wife’s first car a rover 25 1.8 cvt that was surprisingly fun to drive and I use to like to keep it at 2500rpm which would take it from 0 to 70mph
Love the commentary on the bikers bum crack and your mother would be proud 😅absolutely brilliant Iain
Cubes are funky looking cars. One other Japanese oddity that's worth a test is the Honda Element 4x4 with is suicide door arrangement.
Brilliant video as always! I sort of like them 😳Can anyone else see, how that must have partly inspired the design of the Honda E. which, notably, Frank Stephenson gave 10 out of 10, for design…..
Brilliant car!
Will have to look out for one😮
I love the Cubic
I worked for Europcar in the early 2000's, and drove new Passat diesels with CVT transmission, they were brilliant! Also we had quite a few Rover 200s with CVT. I always wondered why they didn't become popular. Perhaps they get unreliable when older.
I very enjoyable video. Thanks 👍
I did have the displeasure of a CVT equipped Nissan Pulsar once a few years back, and occasionally my parents Mitsubishi ASX. I agree that you have to drive differently with a CVT vs conventional auto. The main thing that puts me off is the relatively short life of these transmissions. In the end though once you drive a ZF 8 speed you're spoiled for life.
Neat. Like it !
There’s one that drives through Leicester city centre in rush hour. Has a body kit and deep dish Japanese style wheels and looks awesome and different. Think the kit is called ‘Rider’, really makes it stand out (from other Cubes) in a good way
Always fancied the idea of one of these, also quite liked the Kia Soul
A lil older lady at our Church has a Nissan Cube and loves it, she goes fishing most days and at Church at least 3 times a week. Personally I like the Honda Element better, it seemed a lot bigger.
I like these a lot. I always wondered what the wiper pattern was like though.... 😊
I’ve had a Honda Jazz, and Honda HRV both CVT autos. Yes you learn after a while how to drive them. Other people drive them say they rev all the time.
Closed minded, low IQ drivers will always have a hard time with CVT's
I really fancy one of these as a stable mate for my Nissan Figaro. As you say, the earlier ones look a lot better and there's a lot of body kits out there on earlier ones too. Still obtainable for semi-reasonable prices too!
Best car I ever had was A Nissan Largo Highway Star. Had it for 10yrs, if you get chance you should test drive one.
Funny old world, was going to offer my 2nd gen light blue cube for you to drive, and too late!
they would make perfect funky city taxi's!
Love the music outro on this one.
Let's keep the best for ourselves. Fair comment.