“All-around good vehicle” is what I tell people about the Nissan Rogue. The Rogue sits between the small Juke and the larger Murano. All three vehicles are a car based front-wheel drive platform and are offered in either front-wheel drive or an all-wheel drive configuration. My test drive was an all-wheel drive version called the Rogue S AWD with the Special Edition Package.
Looking over the Rogue for the first time you will notice that it really isn’t that small of a vehicle. In fact I would call it a generous mid-sized crossover. Styling is more in line with its bigger sibling: the Murano, which has proven to be popular. I generally find the design of the Rogue to be clean and pleasing to the eye.
Getting into the vehicle you will note that it is fairly basic, which is what I like. The interior on a whole is well designed and is easy to enter and exit. All the controls are well laid out and easy to find at first glance. The S model I drove did not have any navigation systems, which makes the interior sound controls easy to figure out. All the gauges on the Rogue were big and easy-to-read at a glance.
I did find the cargo area to be a good size, as it handled all my needs and then some. As you would suspect the rear seats fold down, almost doubling your cargo space. On the higher-end models, a folding flat passenger seat is offered and gives even more cargo room.
Since the Rogue is based on a front-wheel drive car platform, the engine is mounted transversely under the hood.
Here you will find a double overhead cam 4-cylinder engine delivering a very nice 170hp and 175lb-ft of torque. This gives the Rogue a good power to weight ratio so it has plenty of get up and go which is even nicer on the all-wheel drive models, as there is an extra set of drive wheels to turn. Even on steeper hills, the Rogue pulled well never hesitating at all.
Moving this power around is a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), which means it has no gear sets, making it very efficient when it come to fuel efficiency. My only complaint here is that the transmission moans or seems to be almost straining to get going. Once up-to-speed the transmission changes ratios depending on the speed quietly, with no jerking associated with geared transmissions.
In snow conditions, the all-wheel drive system took less than a second to realize the slippery conditions and made the adjustments. In the deep snow I encountered, the Rogue pulled effortlessly giving me peace-of-mind.
As you have probably gathered, I really enjoyed my time in the Rogue and highly recommend this vehicle if you are in the market for a versatile vehicle with all-wheel drive capabilities and a price of $28,200. With fuel consumption of 9.6 L/100km in the city and 7.7L/100km on the highway, which I found to be right on, you can’t go too wrong with the Rogue.
By Glen Konorowski