2011 Nissan Cube

Nissan’s varied lineup of SUVs, pickup trucks, and EVs usually perform well in our road tests, but their Overall Scores suffer because of up-and-down reliability and average to below-average owner satisfaction. Inconsistent quality across the brand means some Nissans are a better choice than others. Many of its gasoline vehicles use small turbocharged engines and continuously variable transmissions to give owners both competitive fuel economy and sporty performance. Most new Nissans come standard with a full suite of active safety and driver assist systems. It’s also one of the few remaining brands that sells a sub-compact sedan, the Versa. The compact Sentra, a mainstay within Nissan’s lineup, earned a high score in our road test and is recommended. Nissan was an early EV trailblazer with the Leaf hatchback, and now sells larger five-passenger EV SUVs. Used Nissans have average reliability according to our surveys.

A funky-looking runabout, the Cube is tall and boxy with a cavernous interior. Whimsical interior details target the young, but easy access makes it an attractive option for buyers of any age who find it hard to climb in and out of more conventional cars. With a high roof and its wheels pushed out to the far corners, the spunky little Nissan is essentially a rolling box of maximum interior space. Low price, good fuel economy, and exceptional practicality are virtues, but lackluster handling, acceleration and braking front a list of annoyances. The Cube was dropped after 2014.