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ALISTAIR WEAVER: I'm Alistair Weaver for Edmunds
with the first all-new Nissan Rogue since back in 2014.
Taking on the might of the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4,
the Rogue enters the biggest, toughest sector
of the SUV market.
It's a huge opportunity for Nissan, but hey--
better be good.
For more information on the new Rogue and all
its rivals, check out Edmunds.com,
and be sure to hit Subscribe-- because,
hey, keeps me in a job.
We've arranged a sneak peek at a private and, to be honest,
noisier-than-expected airport in LA.
Nissan isn't quite ready to let us drive it yet.
That will happen this fall before it eventually
goes on sale.
But given that driving dynamics are rarely
number one on the list of priorities
of the kind of families who buy small SUVs,
that doesn't worry me too much.
We can still find out a lot about the road
by poking around a static vehicle.
Let's take a look.
I've driven all of the Rogue's major rivals,
and at Edmunds, we've owned many of them
as part of our long-term test program.
The reason we think there's such a big opportunity of a Nissan
right now is that many of its rivals
are either getting a bit aged or, frankly, not very good.
Our all-around favorite is still the Honda CR-V.
It's a superb all-rounder and was recently
given a mild update, but the basic design
is now four years old.
That's the same age as our second favorite, the Mazda
CX-5, which looks and drives great,
but is a little short of space.
Toyota's RAV4 has always done well in the sales charts,
and a couple of years ago, when it was new,
we put it through the ultimate road test,
driving 48 contiguous states in a single week.
Unfortunately, at the end of it, we
ended up not only tired, but also a bit disappointed.
Right now, the RAV4 is only our seventh-ranked small SUV.
To be honest, the outgoing Rogue didn't even
make it into our top 10.
It always sold well, but that was
more of a function of its price than either the quality,
the driving dynamics, its functionality, or practicality.
At Edmunds, we're always looking for a bit more
from the vehicles we recommend.
Just because something's cheap doesn't mean it's a good value.
If it doesn't meet your needs.
With the Mazda and the Honda to use as benchmarks,
Nissan really has no excuses.
This Rogue should go to the top of the class.
I need some exercise.
Let's have a walk around outside.
Nissan hasn't released pricing yet for the Rogue,
but we expect it cost from around $25,000
up to $35,000 for the top-trim Platinum that you see here.
Now, styling, of course, is subjective,
but there's no arguing that Nissan
is trying to imbue the new Rogue with a lot more presence
and personality than the slightly anonymous old one.
That's particularly true here at the front,
where you get LED headlights and what
Nissan is calling a twin-V concept
grill, whatever that may be.
I also like what they're doing here
on the flanks there's a lot of body sculpting going on,
which is designed to capture the lights.
And this rear 3/4 has much more presence
thanks to this heavy body sculpting.
The angle I'm least convinced by is this rear end,
which reminds me a bit of the Toyota RAV4
and is a bit more generic.
Also, not too sure what they're doing here
with these sort of fake exhaust pipes.
I think the designers might have gone a bit Rogue on that one.
So funny.
All recent Nissan interiors, from the Versas then upwards,
have marked a big improvement, not just in design, but also
in technology and the perception of quality.
And it's nice to report that the Rogue is no exception.
Depending on which trim you choose,
you get a combination of different displays.
This Platinum model has a touchscreen here,
a digital dashboard in place of traditional instruments,
and even a head-up display system,
which is unusual in a small SUV class.
It's almost as if Nissan has been
plundering the toybox of Infiniti, its luxury division.
And I mean that as a compliment.
There's Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, wireless charging--
no end of technology gubbins.
Nissan also seems to have got most of the basics
right in here, too.
There's plenty of room for storage,
including a big bin in the center console,
a giant door pocket with room for a pretty chunky water
bottle, cup holders here, and a feature
I like, this additional storage underneath the center console.
This driver's seat adjusts electrically,
and it's good to see, also, plenty of room
for movement in the steering wheel, by fore and aft
and up and down.
That should make it pretty easy to find a good driving
position.
Now, Nissan is making a big deal of what
it calls its NASA-inspired zero-gravity seat.
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Now, I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about,
but what I can tell you is that historically, we've always
found Nissan seats good for comfort,
particularly on long journeys.
And this being a top trim model, it also
has diamond quilted stitching.
It is impossible today to launch a high-trim vehicle
without diamond stitching, and here it
is, present and correct.
So what don't I like at first glance?
Well, slightly irritating that these USB ports have been left
exposed to the interior rather than having
a nice little cover.
But to be honest, that's being pretty pedantic.
This really is a big step forward.
Nissan also claims that they've made the interior a lot quieter
and more refined, but to be honest,
we'll probably have to drive it before giving
the definitive position.
How the other half live, eh?
Good to see there's also lots of diamonds back here.
Overall, the Rogue is marginally shorter
than before, but this driving position is set up for me,
and I'm 6' 4", so this is actually pretty
good for this class of car.
I also like the fact that you're sat high here,
so you're actually looking over the top of the front seat
occupants.
It doesn't feel too claustrophobic.
And another thing I like, being a family man,
is the fact that you can put a rear-facing or even
a forward-facing child seat in the middle here--
there's proper latch attachments for that--
which brings Junior closer to the occupants in the front
and allow you can put other kids side by side.
On this Platinum trim, you even get climate control here
in the rear, which is a bit of a novelty.
So you can have a different temperature in the rear,
and then again for each of the front seats.
That's something for your bigger kids to fight over.
We should expect Nissan has benchmarked the competition,
and the capacity here in the trunk, seats up or down,
is similar to that of the Honda CR-V.
There is, though, some neat detailing.
Now, apparently, one of Nissan's female engineers
was heavily pregnant, went out to buy a gallon of milk,
threw it in the trunk driving home, the whole thing spilled.
And if you've ever spilt milk before,
you'll know that you'll never, ever get used to the stench.
So went into the office and decided that they
had to do something about it.
And they've actually built in a little cubbyhole
here for your gallon of milk.
Nice feature.
So what about life underneath the funky new skin?
Well for now, at least, there's only one engine choice,
and this could--
on paper, at least--
be the vehicle's weak link.
It's a 2.5 liter four cylinder mated to a CVT automatic,
and it's carried over from the old Rogue in a world where
most of its rivals are starting to gravitate
to smaller capacity turbos.
Power is up a little bit, to 181 horsepower.
That's 11 more than before, but it still
lags behind the RAV4, which has over 200 horsepower and a 1.5
liter turbo in the CR-V, which is 190.
It will be interesting to see how the fuel economy plays out.
Nissan is claiming a marginal improvement
at 30 miles per gallon combined, but to be honest,
in the real world, we always struggled
to match the official figures in the old Rogue.
But then, to be honest, the same is true of Honda CR-V.
As you might expect, there is a choice
of either front or all-wheel drive,
and the all-wheel drive versions, like this Platinum,
also offer a range of different drive modes
to help you out in tough conditions.
Nissan is also debuting something called Vehicle Motion
Control, which is designed to work with you to smooth out
your inputs and make it better for passengers.
Now, that might come in really useful
when the Rogue hits the Uber ranks--
or Lyft, obviously.
Nissan's other big focus for the Rogue
has been on safety, in terms of both
helping you avoid an accident in the first place
and protecting you should the worst happen.
Now, they tell us that according to their research,
this is the number one priority for families buying small SUVs.
And as the father of a little nipper
myself, I can certainly empathize with that.
It's great with these things like blind spot monitoring,
which helps you on the highway, and emergency braking,
both at the front and the rear, fitted as standard
across the range.
On top trim models like this Platinum,
you might also find Nissan's Pro Pilot Assist
function, which now links with the navigation to provide
some form of automated driving.
It works in a similar way to Tesla's Autopilot.
Although it doesn't mean that the car will drive itself,
it does make life a lot easier.
If any of us ever commute again, it will definitely
help reduce the stress.
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I think it is clear from our sneak peak
that the new Rogue is a big improvement over its pretty
lackluster predecessor.
It really does look like Nissan has looked at the opposition
and tried to move the needle a little bit.
Of course, we'll have to reserve judgment.
Find out where it will place in the Edmunds rankings
once we drive it.
So stand by for an epic small SUV group test this fall.