MrFatbooty

Nissan Motor Co. is still sorting out which small car to bring to the United States.

The company had said the Cube, a boxy tall wagon akin to the Scion xB, was a likely candidate. But the automaker also is considering other models: the Tiida, a compact five-door hatchback with a spacious interior; and the Tiida Latio, a sedan version of the Tiida. The Note, another five-door hatchback, is a long-shot possibility.

Nissan is looking for a small car to slot below the Sentra.

The success of Scion and the BMW Mini has convinced Japanese carmakers that there is a substantial, though not huge, market for smaller cars in the United States.

The Tiida, Tiida Latio and Note were three of six new Japan-market models that Nissan unveiled in Tokyo last week. The others were the Fuga luxury sedan, which will become the next Infiniti M45, the Lafesta compact minivan and Murano SUV, which is sold in the United States.

Besides the Murano, "some have the potential to go outside Japan," Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says. "We will allow other markets to pick these products if they fit their needs."

Nissan could decide to bring more than one to the United States.

The Cube was the early favorite for the United States. The next-generation Cube will be engineered to meet regulatory standards worldwide. It will be eligible for sales in any market.

If sold in the United States, the revised Cube likely would come with a 2.0-liter engine, rather than the 1.4-liter, 98-hp engine that powers the vehicle in Japan, insiders say. But the next generation won't be ready for sale in Japan until 2007.

The Cube has some powerful backers. Asked which model he would prefer to see in the United States, Shiro Nakamura, Nissan design director, says, "I personally favor the Cube."

The Tiida is engineered for global sales and could be ready for the United States in about a year. It was promoted as an alternative to the Cube in part because of its larger engine. A 1.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine will power the Japan model, on sale this month. A larger, 1.8-liter inline-four engine is expected to be optional.

The Tiida's interior length, measured from the accelerator to the rear-seat hip point, is as long as that in the Infiniti Q45 sedan.

But some at Nissan worry about whether the Tiida would sell well in the United States, where hatchbacks often have foundered. They favor the more conservatively styled Tiida Latio (pronounced TEE-dah LAH-chee-oh).

The Tiida Latio will offer the same spacious interior and engine choices as its hatchback sibling. It goes on sale in Japan in late October.

Its detractors compare the car's bland styling to the weak-selling Toyota Echo. They argue that a good-looking hatchback such as the Tiida is a safer bet.

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=100761

This is the Nissan gallery for the Cube: http://www.nissan.co.jp/CUBE/MYROOM/

This is the Nissan gallery for the Tiida: http://www2.nissan.co.jp/TIIDA/DUALFEEL/top.html

This is the only pic I found of the Tiida Latio:


If I was nissan I would skip the Cube, since it will clearly be deemed an xB immitator. The Tiida would probably work nicely though. The Tiida Latio would be a horrible idea, just for the reason that the article says. Toyota sells hardly any Echos nowadays, because it's cheap and stupid looking. 5-door hatches are catching on around here lately, and the Tiida would probably do well.

velfarretokyo

There's speculation that the next Sentra will take many styling cues from the Tiida Latio. I've seen the official pics, and although its proportions are weird, it does look pretty sharp. The interior is pretty good for a compact car and I hope the next Sentra's quality will follow the same lines. With the new Nissan-Renault developed engines, the next Sentra could conceivably be a legitimate competitor to say the Mazda 3 or the Civic.

Dorikin

Where are the new M45 pics??

iNteGraz92

that tiida latio looks an awful lot like the honda fit aria/honda city

TheOtherDave™

I actually saw a Cube on the road in July, with manufacturer plates.
I like it a lot - and I hope they bring it over.

This "Tilda" (a pathetic name for a vehicle, BTW) looks horrid... just awful.

velfarretokyo

The March/Micra looks pretty sweet, I wouldn't mind rolling one of those.

jaje

TheOtherDave™

Lord Almighty... what a mess. :down:
The massive C-pillars are way too much. The car looks top-heavy.
At least put a little quarter window in there.

Dorikin

Werd. Nissan, Toyota, Mazda and Honda head offices are all near me, so I see alot of cars. The Cube, Beat, Skyline GTR, SM-X and AutoZAM AZ-1 all come to mind.

MrFatbooty

The Tiida Latio 4-door does in fact look like a mess.

I'd say the regular Tiida 5-door looks kinda not bad though. This is a tiny pic of it, and there's a few other pics in the link in the original post.