Cool. Where Can I Get One?

NISSAN CUBE

Smart 4WD in an itty bitty boxcar.

Price: $13,038 (Prices are converted at the rate of $1 = â1 = 0.64 = 124.4); Weight: 2,508 lbs.; Power (hp/torque): 95 hp/100 lb.-ft.; Fuel
Economy: 37 mpg; Available: Japan




Nissan recently introduced what it calls e-4WD to a vehicle smaller and odder
than anything on the road in America. To understand the â€tall wagon" Cube, think minivan, go micro, then push the roof up. With e-4WD, the Cube and the March-a sub-compact sedan-get
the lightest, cheapest four-wheel-drive system on the market, along with continuously
variable transmissions. A separate electric motor powers the rear wheels only
when the system senses a need. The rear-mounted wheel motor allows Nissan to
shoehorn four-wheel drive into small vehicles without employing a driveshaft
or transfer case that would intrude.



Vehicles this size in America, when they even exist, usually don't feature 4WD-even if, as Ford showed with the Focus, traction control is an attractive offering on a small car. Many American off-roaders believe that true four-wheel drive requires a locking center differential, or at least viscous
coupling. But the Cube isn't designed to roar up Mount Fuji; 4WD for city streets is a different matter. The competition in the small-car market in tiny Japan explains the proliferation of goodies like e-4WD on inexpensive cars. The Cube is supposed to be â€naughty, relaxing, compact and agile." Right.