We now come to the drive, and again, the Nissan Cube fares pretty good. It’s no powerhouse, that’s for sure, but the 122 hp 1.8L 4 cylinder pulls well, and is quite smooth in operation. My tester came fitted with the company’s Xtronic CVT automatic, and although I’m not a lover of CVT transmissions, I have to admit that Nissan did a fine job on this one and it suits this type of vehicle. However, for those who would rather play with a stick shift, the Cube is also available with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Handling on the Cube is slightly better than one might first expect. After all, it is a fairly lightweight box on wheels. However, the vehicle can be a tad susceptible to crosswinds, especially on the highway, and the driver feedback through the steering wheel is a little on the light side. This makes the vehicle nice and easy to park, but it can be a bit of a wanderer at higher speeds.

The suspension soaks up the bumps quite well, although because of the vehicle’s rather short wheelbase, it can occasionally pitch for and aft a tad when the going gets a little rougher.

Braking is extremely good with a nice firm pedal feel, and safety comes as standard on the Cube with six airbags, including front side airbags and side-curtain bags for front and rear occupants, along with front-seat active head restraints. In the cause of accident avoidance, electronic stability control and anti-lock brakes with Brake Assist are standard on all models.

Now for my summing up...The Cube is very cool, yet also functional, and it’s rare to see both those attributes on the same vehicle. I like the car very much. Yes, I can find a few items at which to point my finger, but I could do that with any vehicle in this price bracket. The Cube is perhaps not the ultimate family vehicle and I wouldn’t be loading one up to the brim and heading off on a cross-country adventure, but for a fun, yet practical, about-town runabout, it’s hard not to view this as a winner.

So if you’re looking for something to make you stand out in a crowd, the Nissan Cube will certainly do that for you, but for how long is another matter. After all, pricing for the 2009 Nissan Cube starts at just $16,998, and even my tester with the full jamb, including the technology package, only came to $21,663 (MRRP).

Whatever way you look at it, that’s a lot of car for the money, and as I figure these will sell like crazy, I’m guessing that there could be an awful lot of individualists out there in the near future!