- 2015 Nissan Rogue
- Interior / Exterior »
Inside, Nissan has delivered a more handsomely finished interior, one with higher-quality materials. It’s not damning it with faint praise, to call it elegantly ordinary. It’s laid out for quick perception, with round knobs for climate control and audio framing a center stack with an LCD monitor, and a cowl over the gauges balanced out by a slight dip over a pair of slim vents. It’s not wildly conceived with all-touch interfaces or asymmetrical lines or a shower of single-function buttons–and we’re kind of in love with it for that reason.
Nissan’s done a positively Honda-like job in the past few years, evolving styling in gradual steps to remove the odder flourishes of the past. Remember the last Rogue’s crazy grille treatments? They’re broomed. There’s a more straightforward grille bracketed by angled chrome bars and braced by LED running lamps. The side and fender sculpting’s borrowed some lessons from the wild Juke–and clearly has seen the latest Santa Fe and CX-5, from the look of the chamfered taillamps. All the details push the Rogue’s corners in more evocative directions than the plainer first-generation crossover.
- Performance »
The Rogue makes up serious ground in its gas mileage and handling. The EPA rated last year’s model with both front-drive and all-wheel-drive at 28 mpg combined, with the front-drive model earning a 33-mpg highway rating. However, we haven’t seen if the EPA will increase that number with new Eco setting on the 2015 Rogue, so we’ll update this review when that information becomes available.
Just as impressive is the Rogue’s transformed road feel, more secure and substantial than it had been. Electric power steering isn’t the curse here that it is in some compact cars: it doesn’t wander and hunt on grooved concrete, and takes to changes with smooth responses. The suspension’s independent all around, and ride quality is very controlled–bordering on firm.
It’s augmented electronically with new stability-control logic. In one application, it damps the accelerator to smooth out the ride over bumps (instead of surging over them). In another, it clamps the inside front brake in corners to draw the Rogue through them more nimbly. The effects can’t really be sensed without comparing the same Rogue, disabled, though.
The Rogue returns with the 2.5-liter four-cylinder and continuously variable transmission (CVT) found in the first-generation crossover. Power output’s still fixed at 170 horsepower, though Nissan says 175 pound-feet of torque put the Rogue at the top of the compact-crossover niche.
Dip deeply into the gas, and the Rogue’s CVT modulates the gaps between its pulleys to simulate an automatic with an infinite set of gears. It’s quicker and smoother to do that, but the Rogue doesn’t have fixed ratio points–”gears”–or shift paddles to reach them, like our current CVT favorite from the Subaru Forester. The result is mediocre, 8-second acceleration to 60 mph, and a noisy pause at the productive end of the Rogue’s powerband. It’s actually more refined in some ways than the prior Rogue, but compared to turbocharged four-cylinders and automatics in the Santa Fe, Escape, and others, it’s less satisfying.
Seventeen-inch wheels with all-season tires are standard; 18-inchers are an option on the top Rogue SL.
The first thing you’ll notice with this current generation of Nissan Rogue is the handsome styling. Gone are the wild grille treatments, replaced by something a little more conservative and considerably more contemporary. The front and rear of the crossover are both more interesting and modern, and the overall look is one that feels less economical. The interior is better organized and finished in attractive, higher-quality materials.
With just marginal growth in wheelbase (up just 0.6 inches), the Rogue hasn’t gained considerable interior room, which keeps it positioned at the smaller end of the compact-crossover class. It’s 1.2 inches taller, though, and doors open more widely.
As with the Altima, Nissan delivers better seating comfort with especially dense seat foam, and finds a bit more room for back-seat passengers, thanks to a sliding and reclining second-row seat. The front seats also borrow a page from the Leaf playbook, with heating controls that warm up in more sensitive contact areas. A power driver seat is available, but like the Ford Escape, there’s no power offered for the front passenger seat–though it does fold down for more carrying capacity.
Maybe the most unusual decision is to offer a third-row seat in the Rogue, though there’s not a big increase in passenger space. Since the second row can be adjusted on a 9-inch-long track, the third-row seat has usable leg room–but only if you’re in the awkward stage between booster seat and driving yourself. And even then, it’s a temporary, short-distance solution at best.
The Rogue returns with the 2.5-liter four-cylinder and continuously variable transmission found in the first-generation crossover. Power output’s still fixed at 170 horsepower, and acceleration is mediocre at best. It’s not the CVT’s fault entirely, but the transmission does put the Rogue in a noisy stretch of its powerband pretty often. A few pounds of extra firewall damping would be well-received.
Where the Rogue excels is in gas mileage and in road manners. The EPA-rated 33 mpg highway looks great on paper, but the 28 mpg combined of either the front-drive or all-wheel-drive Rogue is even better in real life.
The Rogue’s all-independent suspension and electric power steering gets some assistance in controlling the Rogue’s ride. A new function, Active Ride Control, directs the CVT and engine responses to smooth the Rogue’s body motions after it crosses a bump, Nissan says. Active Trace Control can also apply a brake or adjust torque to an inside wheel to aid cornering. The new Rogue steers with more heft, damps its ride better, and has a more substantial and composed feel than the Rogue Select in every way we can think of. Seventeen-inch wheels with all-season tires are standard; 18-inchers are an option on the top Rogue.
All Rogues come with standard curtain airbags and stability control, as well as a rearview camera and tire pressure monitors. Nissan’s Easy Fill tire alert is also included. And while the federal government hasn’t yet crash-tested the new Rogue, it’s earned Top Safety Pick Plus (TSP+) status from the insurance-funded IIHS. Safety options include a surround-view camera, blind-spot monitors, a lane-departure warning system, and a forward-collision alert system.
The base Rogue S comes with power windows, locks, and mirrors; an AM/FM/CD player with a USB port; Bluetooth with audio streaming; and a rearview camera.
The Rogue SV adds 17-inch wheels; a power driver seat; satellite radio; automatic climate control; pushbutton start; and NissanConnect, which enables use of smartphone apps like Pandora.
The Rogue SL gets Bose audio; navigation; a power tailgate; surround-view cameras; 18-inch wheels; heated front seats; and leather upholstery.
Options include third-row seating; run-flat tires; a panoramic sunroof; those advanced-safety features; and LED headlights.
Photo Gallery: Nissan USA
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