Nissan Rogue
We don't envy the hordes of item planners working within the auto world. America's concept of top quality transportation appears to shift with the seasons, leaving analysts scrambling to anticipate amorphous market place demands although automakers fill barely justifiable voids in their product line. In case you need proof, search no further than the scorching hot CUV section. Purchasers have developed a seemingly unquenchable thirst for smaller, car-based high riders, and nearly every automaker sports at least 1 tall hatch in their lineup.
At initial blush, it can be clear that the Rogue isn't going to be shattering any boundaries. If you are searching for rule-bending design, you best head across the Nissan showroom to give the Juke a beneficial once over. Instead of trying to rile controversy with its lines, the Rogue purely takes the generic CUV shape and spreads on a light Nissan flavor. Even though the overall style and design is a bit rounded, tricks like an upkicked C-Pillar and somewhat wrapped headlights give the Rogue a familial flair.
As an alternative to going hog wild on a completely redesigned fascia for 2011, Nissan's designers merely opted for slight tweaks on the existing mold. Along having a massaged grille, the fascia now wears a subtle crease just below the headlights that is supposed to convey a touch of attitude. Down low, larger fog mild openings now wear similar detail work as well.
Nissan is planning to marketplace the Rogue like a far more mature alternative on the rash of youth-oriented CUVs currently infiltrating the market place, plus the company has underscored that commitment by decorating the sides in the vehicle with new chrome strips. We are not normally large fans of sticking shiny stuff towards the exterior of a automobile, and this instance isn't going to do a lot to change opinions. The new trim purely doesn't do anything for us, particularly provided that the rest from the Rogue is largely bling-free with the exception of some similarly tacked-on looking door handles. Fortunately, Nissan has also thrown in a new set of stylish 17-inch, bifurcated five-spoke alloys that give the Rogue's style and design a pulse. It can be remarkable what a new set of shoes will do.
Of course, if customers in this segment truly craved distinctive design, a thing tells us we'd see a lot more attractive European sport wagons becoming driven off from the good deal as an alternative to gangly high-riders. Our guess is that the buyer who wanders onto a Nissan whole lot in search of a Rogue is there for a few reasons: massive amounts of cargo, a tall seating position as well as a reasonable selling price. Particularly around the spacial entrance, the Rogue delivers admirably. There's a total of 58 cubic ft of storage capacity using the rear seats folded flat and Nissan says you are able to stow anything 8.5 ft long out back.
Up entrance, the Rogue delivers the identical quasi-commanding view with the road as most of the modest utility cruisers, and Nissan has made certain to throw in plenty of common convenience choices as effectively. Our tester came in SV trim, which means the cabin was packed with goodies like energy mirrors, a rear-view camera process, satellite radio and six-way power adjustable seats as standard equipment. Bluetooth hands-free calling also comes along for the ride, making for a decently well-rounded tech package provided what the Rogue costs.
Unfortunately, the interior pleasantries end there. Thanks to bolts of dark cloth and a lot of soulless black difficult plastics throughout, light enters the cabin, never to return again. The Rogue could seriously advantage from an infusion of lighter colors, let alone higher good quality supplies. Even using the optional sunroof in our tester, the Rogue simply felt dreary from behind the wheel.
The great news is the a variety of switches and knobs have a heavy, solid action seemingly at odds along with the inexpensive materials scattered elsewhere. This is particularly true when it comes to your steering wheel – a smallish piece that feels beneficial in your hands, despite becoming nothing fancy to search at. The wheel is loaded with a variety of switches for controlling everything from cruise control to the hands-free calling program, but their locations are straightforward to memorize in short order.
Each Rogue ships having a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine placing out 170 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque. The four-pot is bolted to a CVT complete with an overdrive function and also the buyer's option of either front- or all-wheel drive. Our tester arrived with its engine kicking at the entrance tires only, and though a high-riding, low-horsepower CVT machine sounds like a ideal recipe for motoring brain damage, the truth is that Rogue is really a decently capable minor machine. It handles city traffic, dispatches interstate jaunts and lugs around groceries along with a couple of passengers without complaint.
Nissan has the advantage of utilizing one of your greater CVT units obtainable, and the 'box feels right at residence behind the thrifty minor four-cylinder from the Rogue. By placing the engine with the suitable RPM for whatever scenario is at hand, cabin noise is kept to a minimum and there usually appears to be more energy offered than the spec sheet would suggest. Throw inside the fact that the EPA says that it's very good for 22 mpg city and 28 mpg highway and the Rogue begins to seem a tiny far more appetizing.
The 2011 Rogue also advantages from a fully-independent suspension, which helps give the CUV a additional planted feel though tackling interstate clovers or slaloming the mild poles at the local mall parking lot. Consumers are more likely to interpret the setup as feeling like a heavier version of their kid's Sentra, but it is nice to know that riding high would not necessarily mean giving up behind-the-wheel tomfoolery.
Perhaps the most surprising part about the Rogue is its price tag. Our mid-range SV model arrived riding fairly close to the vehicle's $23,220 MSRP, though if you are actually on a spending budget, the Rogue is also offered in S trim at $20,810. That's not a lot of coin for what you are acquiring, but however for Nissan, this section is loaded with absolute bargain buys. Vehicles like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage are all excellent options, many of which carry top-notch warranties and slimmer cost tags than Nissan's offering.
While the 2011 Rogue manages to cover all of the crossover bases, there's extremely little to differentiate this compact utility from the rest in the crowd. It can be nicely sorted suspension and competitive fuel economy are good selling points to become confident, but they basically are not sufficient to provide the Rogue an edge more than the competition. If Nissan were to present the Rogue a slightly livelier exterior and an interior that would not experience like it was designed by somebody with photophobia, the 2011 Rogue may well be able to carve out a bigger niche for itself. Until eventually then, this high-rider is most likely to remain as being a backup singer within the CUV rock opera.
