You could be forgiven for not realizing that there’s a new Rogue available from Nissan for this year, due to the “current situation” it seems like the rollout is a little slower than it would have been back in the “old normal”. But for Nissan it’s a big deal, the Rogue being a cornerstone of their sales offerings and in fact their top seller. Back in 2008 when the first Rogue debuted it was just another entry in the small CUV segment that did surprising well, who knew that generation would even hang around for a while as the Rogue Select even after the second generation debuted for 2014.
Of course then we also got the Rogue Sport a few years back, an ever so slightly smaller CUV than the regular Rogue. Nissan lumps the sales of these two together, so that overall it appears that usually the Rogue nameplate ends up as the third-place finisher in the segment’s sales charts, behind the RAV4, CR-V, and just ahead of the Equinox. In fact, in 2018 the Rogue name racked up well over 400,000 sales in just the United States so it’s not like it was a distant third place either, it’s a tight battle. 2019 though saw a bit of a headwind and then in 2020 sales dropped precipitously, due in no small part to a combination of the “current situation” as well as the model changeover. Finally there are enough on the ground that Nissan was able to send us one to take a look at last week, in this case a Rogue SL AWD, one step down from the top of the line Platinum, which itself is a new addition to the trim levels this year.
It’s not obvious that this SL model is anything but top-spec, just that the Platinum adds even more fripperies. If it were a Sundae, the SL would have the whipped cream, fudge, cherry, and the nuts, and the Platinum would just have more on top. And maybe caramel too I suppose. For the dieters there is also an S as well as an SV trim available, both with less features standard but the mechanicals and underlying electronics remaining the same. None of them though appears to be just a glass of plain water, there really is no such thing as a base car anymore. This class is a tough one to compete in, everyone does, and the more offerings that can be served up, the better the chances to hook a buyer.
Nissan knows when a formula seems to work, so the new Rogue hews to the proven formula. While obviously restyled it’s not a huge departure from what went before, and doesn’t try to be either overly soft or overly butch, treading somewhat of a middle ground and coming across as more sophisticated due to it. Dimensions are very close to the previous ones and the wheelbase is the same although it is apparently on a new platform.
The front displays the most obvious difference with a split light setup similar to what some others in the segment have done before and that is starting to be seen in other segments as well. At first glance it seems like it has tiny slit headlights up top and larger fog lights below, and then the realization comes that the lower lights are in fact the headlights and the ones above are marker lights.
The grille is dominated by Nissan’s “V-motion grille” chrome band angling around the sides and bottom of it, and all of the bodywork is a little more chiseled around the sides and back as well. Lighting in the rear is more attractive than what came before, and two-tone paint combinations are available such as on this one with the black roof option. Some like this, some don’t, it’s an option so not forced on anyone. Might as well offer it seeing as how others do, can’t sell it if it’s not available and someone has to have it.
I myself find it adds to the design rather than detracting, visually it’s interesting and in this case the mirrors match the roof in black as well. Interestingly although Nissan changed its logo last year and is using it on its website and advertising, the Rogue still carries the older one, perhaps that’ll be a change later in the year.
While a car painted Pearl White with Super Black accents on the surface sounds somewhat plain (why couldn’t I have gotten the bright orange or red one?), the paint in both colors does have a depth to it and looks quite good in person. My initial assumption that the interior would just be solid black was proven wrong immediately as the top edge of it (so the upper surface of the door panels and dashboard) is actually a medium brown color that complements the rest of the Charcoal lower areas to good effect and immediately raises the sophistication level inside; the lighter stitching in numerous areas enhances this even more.
So does what at first appears to be a really nice piece of open pore wood above the glovebox, however upon touching it (and it draws your finger to itself) it becomes obvious that it’s just a really, really well done representation of wood. Visually the grain, low luster satin finish, and seemingly multilevel texture is magnificent, it looks better and more real than some genuine wood items in others’ vehicles.
What takes away from that though (assuming you can keep your hands off it) is the somewhat inexplicable decision to not use the same material on the other flat surfaces. Instead, in those areas such as the center console and in the door areas that house the window switches for example there is trim that looks like brushed anodized black aluminum. While it actually has the graining, it too is plastic. Perhaps this is another manifestation of warm and cold, trying to tread a middle ground as with the exterior design.
The seats, as with those in most Nissan vehicles, are instantly comfortable and hardly need adjusting. Set and forget, no pressure points, they just seem to support the body. I wish I could say the same for the headrests though, which jut too far forward and forced me to recline the seat more than I would have preferred.
I investigated to the point of stopping and actually removing the headrests to find there is no way to adjust their angle of attack, and they do not slot in backwards either – well, they do, but just fall to their lowest position and then they are so far back as to be unsafe/unusable. As always though, this may just be something that affects me, others may find it fine. By the end of the week I was used to my more reclined position and the rest of the seat was excellent.
With the seats as well as the steering wheel being heated (all the way around the perimeter for once but not all the way around its girth, the thin sliver where the stitching is remained cold), it’s easy to quickly get comfortable and settled in, and if multiple drivers exist for it, then the memory function for the seats and mirrors will be handy as well. The adjustable lumbar support for whatever reason didn’t seem to remember its setting though from day to day, requiring re-pumping it back up via the electric button on the side of the seat periodically.
The Rogue has a tall greenhouse area with quite tall side windows (and fairly slim pillars, especially in front), so occupants get a great view out and the panoramic sunroof does not intrude on headroom. Being 6’1″ with a 32″ inseam and preferring to sit relatively upright this can sometimes be an issue or more often at least a borderline one, however not so here, I could likely even wear a hat, a refreshing change of pace.
While this model has a 9″ touchscreen (an option over the standard 8″ item on the SL), and it’s mounted atop the dashboard it doesn’t block the view out while displaying an image resolution much better than the segment leader’s. Nissan’s touch screen system is quite good and easy to understand with some of the important function buttons being actual buttons, i.e. not part of the screen itself but rather arrayed underneath.
The navigation system is decent, but the procedure to give it directions was a little frustrating, it being dependent on a specific order and keywords being used. It does in fact prompt you along but it’s not just as easy as touching the voice button and asking for directions to whatever address, rather needing to say commands such as what function is wanted, then what that function should do, and then finally explain it. It’s still far, far better than inputting anything manually and with familiarity will likely become second nature, however it doesn’t advance the status quo any.
Below the screen are the HVAC controls, the buttons for the seat heaters and steering wheel are here as well. At the bottom of the stack is a decently sized compartment that holds the phone but curiously does not contain a wireless charger, something quickly becoming a normal feature at this level. Just above this are the starter button, a small and larger USB outlets and a 12V outlet, something starting to disappear in some other vehicles but still useful for many.
The shifter is a fairly novel design, it’s electronic, it returns to its center position but works with a solid and positive action. Atop it is a Park button, and to set off in Reverse you hold the button on the side and nudge it forward. Then to shift to Drive just pull it backward and off you go. Pulling it back again puts in manual mode and the shifts themselves can be controlled via paddles behind the wheel (pull yet again to get back into automatic mode). The shifter is a very low-profile design, it looks and feels good and works surprisingly well without having to constantly second-guess your movements with it. Aft of the shifter are the parking brake button and the Terrain Mode selector dial with options for Normal, Eco, Sport, Snow, and Off-Road.
Below this console is open space with a sort of basket area. It’s nice to have the space down there, except I kept forgetting it was there and never used it for anything, out of sight, out of mind. I’d probably keep a box of tissues or a notepad down there I suppose, but larger items such as a satchel or bag could fit as well. Of course up top there are the requisite cupholders and a deep console bin under the armrest that opens in a split side-hinged left/right design. Nissan makes a big deal about the family-friendliness of the new Rogue and this helps if back seat occupants need something from it as opposed to the common rear-hinged console lids.
Plastics overall are decent quality and generally soft in the upper half, they do rely a bit too much on padded sheet vinyl of a sort that used to be fairly common a few years ago but is now being supplanted by richer grained and thicker feeling materials elsewhere. Knobs for controls such as climate and audio seem designed more for the aesthetic than comfort, they are glossy, smooth, low-profile and look good, however when actually used prove to necessitate the use of the tip of the fingertips rather than being able to grasp them and are just as hard around the perimeter as on the surface. The action is good as regards feedback and resistance but there is some wiggly-ness present, which cheapens the feel a bit. The buttons on the other hand were as expected and worked in the typical well-damped and solid manner.
The back seats though were good, able to recline and fold 60/40 and offering good comfort with enough legroom and especially headroom. Something not seen elsewhere in this class (at least that I’m aware of) is a whole separate set of HVAC controls for back here, making this a tri-zone system. Cupholders built into the armrest are functional (assuming only two occupants in the rear) and the retractable sunshades tend to be a popular item, at least in my household.
The rear doors open almost 90 degrees which would make it easier to load small kids and the higher roof helps here as well. There are also LATCH anchors in all three positions for child seats. In this trim level at least all the doors have touch sensitive pads in the exterior door handles so that any can be unlocked and opened if they key fob is in one’s pocket – as opposed to having to touch the front door’s pad twice to unlock all of them. Convenient for sure, though not quite as nice as just being able to grasp the handle itself and have it unlock automatically as is available in some others.
Out back in the cargo area, things are also quite functional with the added ability to fold the rear seats from the hatch end of the area. The floor is at a decent height and is covered with two panels where the norm is one. After a bit of puzzling with it, those panels can be lowered down even more to create a lower load floor but the difference is only a couple of inches, not enough to stow anything remotely bulky below it.
If the panels are used singly you could create a multilevel floor, the purpose of which being done with two separate panels escapes me though. Nissan calls it the “Divide-N-Hide” feature for what it’s worth. Below all of this is the spare tire. Of course the hatch is powered via buttons on the key fob and the hatch itself.
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In Europe they apparently only get the Rogue Sport and it is quite popular in a few countries, especially Great Britain where the outgoing model was number 1 in its segment. But then, they don’t get the CVT and I believe a turbocharged diesel engine WAS available (not sure if it still is). If this didn’t have a mandatory CVT here in the ‘states I might be interested in one of these.
In Portugal we get both.
The Sport as the Qashqai and the Rogue as the X-Trail
If I ain’t wrong, the Qashqai can get the 1.5 and 1.6 dCi Renault diesels
This platform is about to spawn the 2022 Outlander, that I’m pretty sure might save Mitsubishi in the US
Interior
The Mirage saved Mitsubishi in the US. The Outlander should build on that by allowing them to expand their dealer network beyond used-car operations looking for a “new-car shingle” to give them access to better financing.
Great review; let me explain why I read relatively little of it carefully.
Whenever I read a review (by anyone anywhere) I scan for the section on performance specs and handling first, because if a car doesn’t perform, I’m not interested in how nice the interior is and how much fun the display is, or isn’t. I realize my attitude is more and more a sign of my old curmudgenliness; another way in which I differ from apparently the large majority of car shoppers today.
In this case, it was as I expected – an annoying CVT which values MPG above all else, tied to an engine with adequate power but no more. I owned a 2008 Nissan Altima with a 2.5 liter 4 and a CVT, and it had about 180 hp – 13 years ago. Nissan seems stuck in that mode with its best selling vehicle – the Altima then and the Rogue now. The Altima handled well, but forget any sporting aspirations – ditto the Rogue. For better or (IMO) worse, Nissan has tied its fortunes to this formula on its mainstream offerings, and it’s the single reason why I won’t darken the door of a Nissan dealer anytime soon.
I’m curious if Nissan has fixed the NVH with the new 2.5. We had a 2012 Altima 2.5 and it was the rattiest sounding modern engine I’ve personally experienced outside a subcompact economy car. Fairly quick for a 4 cylinder at the time, though, and I liked the general smoothness and responsiveness of the CVT until it began to fail at a young age. That last point is more off-putting to me than the stagnant power figures.
It was quieter than the CR-V as far as engine noise under throttle goes and the quality of noise was a decent one, not objectionable. That’s very subjective of course. I tend to like how 4cylinder watercooled VW’s sound, this was less gruff (not the same as rough) than those but starting to head in that direction.
Our 2008 Altima was actually not bad in that regard, although the noise level increased over time until we traded it in 2018 with about 120k on the clock.
Actually, it had been quite durable up to that time, considering our two children drove it as their first car, sequentially. I called it quits after learning younger daughter had driven it solo to Syracuse NY from Hartford, CT and back in the dead of Winter. The biggest problem it had was clogged drains for the sunroof (one in each A and C pillar). It seemed one clogged at least every couple of months, leading to soaked carpets in the appropriate footwell and the inevitable musty smell.
I read the other day that Nissan is turning the corner in terms of its profitability,after a deep plunge into the red. Lots of new product like this as well as backing away from the overly aggressive volume growth model.
Meanwhile, Renault is still struggling badly.
Sales were down last year, and the investment in product must weigh on the earnings as well, but should pay dividends in the longer run. Focusing on the meat of the market and offering what people seem to be looking for in those vehicles would appear to be the right strategy from my perspective at least. With the new Pathfinder and curiously underhyped Ariya EV CUV being released in the not so distant future along with what’s already out there as well as the other products that are being revamped (and significantly, not just minor refreshes), it would seem that things can be looking up. Of course, turning a ship around takes time and it won’t happen overnight.
An interesting point of interest here since you bring up the Rogue’s “little brother”, the Rogue Sport. That is a very different car (SUV), and sold at the Qashqai in other markets, and Canada. I guess Nissan felt that Americans couldn’t handle such an exotic name. Nissan named the vehicle after the Qashqai people, who live in the mountains of Central and Southwest Iran. I am always fascinated by the name-game in the automotive world.
The Rogue Sport/Qashqai is somewhat different, I guess, though really it’s just that the ” regular “/Non Sport Rogue is the smaller car that has been widened and given a different engine. (Even the interior/instrument panel is very similar.) A few of the other dimensions may be different, but really this is like the old Acura TSX was the Euro Honda Accord, and (for a time) North America got a wider, and different trimmed version.
Solid-looking effort by Nissan. It’s a hyper-competitive but passionless, utilitarian class of vehicle in which the feature list is crucial and small splashes of performance and style are appreciated. This one is far more appealing to me than either of its predecessors. It seems to do most things expected of it quite well, which may be dull but is no small trick for a manufacturer.
Nissan has been making excellent gauge clusters (look at those–clean, clear, worthy of a sports car), seat comfort seems to be excellent (wasn’t on the outgoing Rogue–no thigh support), roomy, decent interior materials, and appropriate power output. Ideal on paper.
The only thing that would give me pause is the Jatco CVT under the hood. I like the concept of CVTs in practice, particularly under those mountain driving conditions where the infinite ratios allow smaller increments in engine speed rather than gear-hunting…but it sounds like Nissan programmed this one to gear-hunt anyway and I still don’t trust the durability of them from this company. I’d roll the dice on a CR-V instead, Honda’s transmission has a good reputation and the turbo would be nice for our elevation. Ideally, though, for $37K I’d be hunting for a RAV4 Hybrid or CX-5 Turbo.
Not word put wrong there, Mr P.
I’d be curious to see how you compare this Rouge to the Mazda CX-5 you tested recently.
I was thinking about that…That Mazda (a 2020 model in this case) is faster for sure (since it was the turbo model). I was a bit underwhelmed by its interior, didn’t see what all the hubbub I had been hearing was about, and the wood trim I was specifically referring to in this review was that one’s. The Mazda handled…fine, but wasn’t overly “exciting” to drive, on my downhill runs the Nissan wasn’t really any worse. Uphill the power deficit and CVT conspired to make it less fun than the Mazda, which still wasn’t what I consider “fun”. More fun comparatively maybe, but…
The ride on the Nissan is quite a bit better than the Mazda’s even though wheels were the same size, the Nissan is sprung softer. The Nissan seemed roomier as well. As you may recall, the larger Mazda CX-9 with the same engine that I drove later I was much more impressed with overall, it was just better balanced as a package. Note of course that the Nissan is in no way trying to come across as a performance machine, so it’s hard to give it demerits on that count.
The CX-5’s infotainment system was lacking compared to the Rogue (but if it has been improved in the meantime to be what the CX-9 now carries, then that’s a moot point, it’s much improved.)
If a buyer is what 95% of buyers in this segment seem to be, i.e. want something non-objectionable, comfortable, and capable, the new Nissan has fewer “sore” spots compared to the CX-5 in turbo form. But if the buyer wants a sportier feel, and accepts some harshness due to that while insisting on needing raw speed and being ok with a slightly smaller cabin, then the Mazda is the one. The transmission makes a big difference, the CVT in the Rogue sucks a lot of the fun out of it, but is irrelevant in most driving situations in many locales for lots of people. I had higher expectations for the Mazda than I did for the Rogue, the Mazda didn’t fully deliver, the Rogue didn’t quite either, but was less off than the Mazda was.
It’s a huge segment and at this price level there are many, many choices…
Good review, Jim, for a very important vehicle. Not only does it sell well in North America, but in China it’s considered to be a sort of aspirational brand for the rapidly growing middle class. Yes, I was quite surprised when I heard it, too!
Nissan sells somewhere around 1,500,000 units a year in China and it would be safe to say the lion’s share would be going to this model, called the X-trail.
What’s not to like? They start at Y200,000 and top out at Y244,000, Or $30k-$38k, taxes in. It’s still a seller’s market in China and this also includes taxes.
China’s car market, like everything in China, is honking huge, something like 24,000,000 units a year. There is plenty of room left to grow, too.
One really has to go to China to see the scale everything is on. Everything is enormous, like the cities, the train stations and the market. The amount of shopping is simply breathtaking and there are plenty of folks with plenty of spending power. This is in the cities. Rural China has always been a different world.
Thank You. I’ve been to China a couple of times myself (including Beijing, Xi’an, Lueyang and a few others) and traveled there via car and (high-speed) train as well as on foot. You aren’t wrong, and it is simply impossible to explain the scale of things as well as the progress made compared to what I learned in school to many who have not been there. It’s like accurately trying to explain the vastness of the Grand Canyon or something but a million times over. I was surprised on my first trip about a decade ago that most of the scooters for example were electric, they seem to be attempting to improve the environmental conditions. While there is still plenty of scope for improvement, they are not messing around, and as a consumer powerhouse, there is no greater.
I am surprised to hear of Nissan’s success in China considering in 2012 Japanese cars were getting smashed and burned by Chinese protesters. Maybe they see Nissan as a French company rather than Japanese. Or it might be the anti-Japanese sentiment in China is not what it once was.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_China_anti-Japanese_demonstrations
The younger generation, those less than age 40, doesn’t carry the “blame Japan” thing like their parents. My students don’t remotely care.
The 2012 demonstrations were politically inspired. Japan bashing usually means the local government is about to do something extremely corrupt.
In response to said demonstrations, the Japanese government halted the sales of the chemicals used in the manufacturing of computer chips. This means that their billion dollar machines sat idle.
Koreans recently did the same and my old company, Tokyo Electron, refused to ship anything until they started to behave themselves.
Looks nice. Those crash test results, though. Wow. REALLY bad. We forget that there are still brand new vehicles that *aren’t* safe. I’d never get one of these when the Mazda CX5 has better dynamics, more prestige and way better crash test results. (I and I own a Nissan).
Are you referring to the finding regarding the passenger side results that apply to Japan built vehicles assembled prior to the end of January that were publicly released right around when this review posted? My understanding is that A) this only applies to vehicles built prior to Jan 28 in the Japan plant and not the Tennessee one and B) changes have already been made to the Japan-assembly procedures and a retest is in the works.
My (limited so far) understanding is that it is a software issue, i.e. to do with the timing of the airbags and restraint devices firing, not hardware. I’ve seen two commonly viewed sources to date, one seemed reasonably written and seemed to explain it fairly well, the other came across as significantly more sensationalistic and was confusing to read and understand, lacking context.
Time will tell, the critical information though seemed to be that as of now, any vehicles built prior to Jan 28 of this year in the Japan plant should be avoided.
The US gets the vast majority of its Rogues from the US plant, although my tester was in fact a Japan built version.
Not bad looking CUV, but I don’t trust the CVT. For the same money I’d rather have a RAV4 Hybrid XSE or for a bit more a bare bones RAV4 Prime SE at $39,275 or a no option Prime XSE (rebates notwithstanding) about $4.7K more than the tested Rogue.
Here, there’s no vogue for a Rogue, but folks Trail to Nissan for a place marked X. It sells well enough.
As Petrichor said above, it’s in a category of (particularly) passionless, utilitarian vehicles, and this here thing might be the exemplar of reality now in the car world: a Nissan, a Renault (Koleos), a Mitsubishi (Outlander), it matters not that the styling is also from everyone – though perhaps, especially Volvo, who did it first and best, Mr Nissan – and the experience behind the wheel is, it seems, essentially universal too. That’s no biggie, given the vast hordes of normal non-CC folk who want and need a reliable warrantied machine, and rightly don’t really give a shit beyond getting current levels of functionality. (Like me buying any sort of computer, as it happens, but I digress).
Personally, not a damn chance on any of ’em for me. NissUbishiRault – well, Nissan mostly – are simply not for trusting, not with various reliability nonsenses but particularly that woeful CVT and attendant attitude of the maker to failures.
Still, I would’ve fallen over, had I not been sitting, to read that the Equinox outsells this. The bloody Equinox, really?! The very sort of utterly Not Good Enough rubbish that helped to finally kill GM hereabouts – even without GM’s own determination to be rid of this market anyway – so in NitsuMissanNault’s favour, there’s that.