July 24th, 2009
By Clint Williams
Green Right Now
There is a reason big, gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles continue to crowd parking lots. SUVs are eminently practical – capable of hauling any combination of people and stuff. There is plenty of storage space for snacks and wipes and coloring books and CDs and on and on.
The downside to such handiness: horrific fuel economy.
But there is a new breed of vehicle that offers much of the practicality of a big SUV and boasts 30 mpg, give or take. Can you chauffeur six soccer players to practice? No, but you can shuttle four. And how often are you filling up an SUV cargo hold with lumber or bales of pine straw?
Most people don’t really need to drive a big box on wheels. A little box will do just fine.
The Scion xB demonstrated the practicality of a little box and quickly developed a cult following. That quirky car now has some competition with the introduction this year of two new box cars: the Kia Soul and Nissan Cube (pictured, right).
Both are aimed at Generation X – or is it Gen Y? Or the Millennials? Whatever they’re calling twentysomethings these days – the Cube and the Soul are designed to show that it’s hip to be square.
How they compare:
Outside the Box
An angled windshield, rounded nose and rear of the Soul (pictured, left) soften the basic box look, giving it a look reminiscent of a Honda CRV. First impression is still “cute”, but in a mainstream sort of way.
There is nothing mainstream about the look of the Cube. This is a distinctive, attention-grabbing econo-box. A key element in turning heads is the asymmetrical wraparound side/rear window on the passenger side. The tinted glass hides the right rear pillar.
If you want to drive a car that gets attention, the edge goes to the Cube.
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