Complaints: People who worry about what other people think of them should stay away from the Cube, a wagon of passionately polarizing design. Also, open-road handing, especially in crosswinds, leaves something to be desired; and this one comes with a less-effective front-disc/rear-drum braking setup, as opposed to a more effective four-wheel-discs arrangement. Ride, acceleration and handling: Ride and acceleration are excellent. Handling is good in city traffic, but wanting on wind-swept highways. Head-turning quotient: Again, this is not a vehicle for people who take praise or criticism seriously. In the Cube, you'll get plenty of both, most of it unsolicited. Body style/layout: The Cube is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive, square-bodied hatchback wagon built on Nissan's subcompact Versa automobile platform. It is available in four iterations -- 1.8 base, 1.8 S, 1.8 SL and top-of-the-line 1.8 Krom. Engine/transmissions: The Cube comes with a standard 1.8-liter, 16-valve inline four-cylinder engine that develops 122 horsepower at 5,200 revolutions per minute and 128 foot-pounds of torque at 4,200 revolutions per minute. It is linked to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) -- a transmission that uses a pulley system to change engine speeds, as opposed to a transmission requiring fixed gear ratios. Auto engineers contend that such CVT automatics are more fuel-efficient. A manual transmission is available in base Cubes. Capacities: There are seats for five people. Maximum cargo capacity (with rear seats down) is 58 cubic feet. The fuel tank holds 13.2 gallons of regular unleaded. Mileage: The federal government says 28 miles per gallon in the city and 30 miles per gallon on the highway. We got 25 in the city (endless traffic jams) and 28 on the highway (lots of headwinds and crosswinds). Safety: Standard features include four-wheel antilock brake system; electronic stability and traction control; whiplash protection system for river and front-seat passenger; two rear passenger head restraints; side and head air bags. Price: The base price for the 2009 Nissan Cube SL with CVT is $16,790. Dealer's invoice price on that model is $16,192. Price as tested is $19,110, including $1,600 in options (power door locks and windows; premium sound system featuring a Rockford Fosgate subwoofer; leather-wrapped steering wheel; front fog lights; BlueTooth phone and iPod connectivity) and a $720 destination charge. Dealer's price as tested is $18,300. Prices are sourced from Nissan, Edmunds.com, and Cars.com, an affiliate of The Washington Post. Purse strings note: Compare with the Honda Element and Honda Fit, Kia Soul and Scion xB and xD (from Toyota). 