I tried everything I could to buy a Cube.
Stopped at the dealer three times for test drives so I could basically check everything I wanted on the car.
Since it was announced I really loved the car and wanted to buy one. Waited for months until Nissan finally released it in Canada and once that was done I went to check the first one the dealer got. Could not test drive at that time but was able to check it out inside. Everything or even more than I was expecting.
Then it came down to actually driving the car.
Before going any further I will indeed let you know the other two cars I have and considering that, what I was expecting from the Cube.
My other two rides are a 2008 Jeep Patriot (fully loaded, CVT, Leather, factory built-in Navigation, bluetooth, etc - resuming, everything you could put on that car) and a 2006 Porsche Cayenne (superb AWD, stability control and yes, one of the best handling I have ever seen - and I drove tons of fancy things from Porsches to Ferraris). So I was in no way expecting Porsche handling or Jeep off-road capabilities on the Cube.
All I wanted was a daily driver with some comfort and great gas mileage.
First test drive I was very happy with the Cube, it seemed perfect. But as it was a busy afternoon on a high traffic area I was not able to test it on highway speeds (and I do quite a bit of highway driving under normal highway speeds like 65-70MPH, no faster than that).
So I was pretty much sold on the car and ready to buy it but I had to test it on the highway.
And then, there it was. The DAMN freaking annoying and loud wind noise. To make sure I was not going nuts I tried another Cube. Same thing. Note I am the type of person that most of the time drives with the radio off or just listening to some podcasts and usually at a lower than normal volume. Plus I hate any sort of noise that is above normal.
I could not simply stand it. Just too noise for me and it was indeed a deal breaker, huge show stopper for me.
Some may say I am used to much better quality cars (as the Cayenne is my daily driver - at 16MPG the Cube would be my salvation) but I then decided to try similarly priced vehicles from Hyundai, KIA and so on. Surprinsingly they were not only quiet, but certain models (cheap ones, not the high ends like the Genesis) were actually much quieter than my Porsche and my Jeep.
The bottom line I guess is the Cube is really a noisy car and for some, like me, this will be indeed a deal breaker. I know considering the boxy shape, noisy would be higher than normal but I actually test drove other boxy things and the Cube is by far the noisiest one of the bunch.
I have no intentions to bash the Cube or say 'do not buy it'. I love the shape, the looks, the features and have no issues whatsoever with the finish and the power coming out of that little engine. Perfect car in many ways in my opinion.
But that damn wind noise...
I hope this may help someone that is on the fence thinking about the car, to go out and test drive it on highway speeds to make sure you like it.
If you can live with the wind noise or if you have hearing problems this is for sure one of the best rides out there right now!
Long live the Cube.
CR
Too bad...
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