2008 Nissan Rogue

by Michael A. Coates
photography by Michael A. Coates

Winner of the AJAC "SUV/CUV under $35,000" category, the Nissan Rogue is a delightful newcomer to this expanding market. Since we subconsciously correlate size with price, and since this was in the least expensive of the three SUV/CUV categories, I was surprised at how large it was. And for those of you who are wondering what a CUV is - it's a 'Crossover Utility Vehicle'. I know that 'Crossovers' have their roots in SUV's (Sport Utility Vehicles), but I never have quite figured out what these SUV's were crossing over to. But, enough philosophical chatter - this is about the Nissan Rogue. Now since it's a Nissan and since it has a CVT - another acronym, this one meaning 'Continuously Variable Transmission' - it's tempting to think of the Rogue as a baby Nissan Murano.

The Rogue comes in 2 styles, based upon drive train - FWD (Front Wheel Drive - don't get this confused with Four Wheel Drive, which is designated as 4WD) and AWD (All Wheel Drive which is not the same as 4WD). Within each of these styles there are two models - an S and an SL. The test vehicle was the SL AWD with the Premium Package. The premium Package includes a whole host of goodies, more notably, cool paddle shifters on the steering wheel, a powered moonroof and a nice idea in the cargo space - a pop-up divider. The next possible option would have been the Leather Package, which among other things such as extra Bose speaker, one touch up and down windows, 6-way power seat for the driver, included leather seats and leather steering wheel.

Outward Appearances

Rogue - even the name has an impish tone to it. Regardless, the Rogue has a nice stance about it and looks solid from all angles. While the 'crossover' class of vehicle was never really designed to go off road, they look as though they could, albeit reluctantly. However, crossovers by their very nature are more comfortable on the roads and highways, none less so than the Rogue which has a superb ride - so smooth in fact, it could rival some comfy sedans.

The Rogue comes with a roof rack on the SL models only. The roof rack didn't seem particularly practical for spontaneous applications such a couple of sheets of dry-wall, but it was compatible with the Yakima line of roof rack accessories for more planned events.

Getting In and Out

Access to the Rogue is easy. The doors are large and open quite wide - especially the front doors. While the vehicle has a significant ground clearance, neither driver nor passengers have the need to 'climb' into the vehicle. This makes it a very practical vehicle for everyone - from people who are less agile, to parents who need room to position and fasten a baby or toddler into a child seat.

Cargo Space

Access to a vehicle also includes access to the cargo area. While the tailgate or rear hatch easily raises on its piston supports, head clearance is limited for those people over 6 foot tall. There is a small light conveniently located on the inside of the hatch that inconveniently fails illuminate the cargo area - oh well - it was a nice gesture. Perhaps a light located inside the cargo area would have been more practical.

Not only do the rear seats fold forward, the front passenger seat also folds forward. This new found space that reaches from the dash board to the tail plate can accommodate really long things. Things like really long loaves of French bread come to mind, or how about a few 2 by 4's to support the sheets of dry wall which the roof rack may or may not be willing to support. In other words, this space looks really practical except that I cannot think of a good practical application, but it's there regardless.

As mentioned earlier, this particular Rogue included the Premium Package and this in turn includes a pop-up divider. Someone gave this some thought. However, the inclusion of the pop-up divider meant that the full sized matching alloy wheel had to go and a compact spare had to be substituted so as to make room for this clever divider. Who cares how pretty the spare wheels looks and what size it is - spare wheels are a decade beyond being a thing of the past.

The Engine Compartment

When a motor is mounted transverse across the engine compartment, the engine compartment tends to be shorter and consequently the hood is smaller, so it's natural to think it would be lighter. No necessarily so - the hood on the Rogue was relatively heavy. Not only that, I had to hold up this heavy hood single handed as I fumbled with the support. Personally, I prefer piston supports. Piston supports were used to support the rear hatch, then why not use the same technology to support the hood?

Regardless of drive train - FWD or AWD - or model - S or SL - and regardless of which package has been added - the Premium Package, the Leather Package or the Technology Package, the Nissan Rogue comes with the same engine - a 4 cylinder 2.5 litre, 170 hp box of tricks. Here's the thing - there was nothing shy about this motor. It's smooth, responsive and has all the power necessary to make the Rogue worthy of its name. Combine this with the smoothness of the seamless transmission and you've got yourself one sweet means of getting from here to there and back again.

Passenger Comfort

The inside of the Rogue is very stylist and quite roomy. It was nice to see plenty of headroom, despite the presence of a moonroof roof. And just in case you were wondering - a SUNroof is a solid sliding panel in the roof of a vehicle, whereas a MOONroof is a glass sliding panel. The rear seat passengers seem to have plenty of space and ample legroom. I've never been a fan of seating people three abreast in a motor vehicle, but there is a three point seat belt for the poor unfortunate who chose the short straw and is cramped in the centre seat.

Compartment space was quite spacious as well as being practical, especially the glove compartment, which in this case was actually large enough to accommodate gloves, real glove, winter gloves, the type Skidoo riders wear. It also included a separate space for the Owner's manual.

There was a large two-tier cubby space under the central armrest. The removable insert was the right size to accommodate several CD's.

During the week I had the Rogue, the weather changed quite dramatically and I got to try both the heating system and the air conditioner, and while the ventilation system worked well, the front seat occupants are in a class above with individually controlled heated seats. The single zone temperature is manually controlled.

From the Driver's Seat

Most people will find that the Nissan Rogue is a delight to drive. My only criticism was with the positioning of steering wheel. The wheel adjustment was limited to tilt only - not telescopic. In my case, both of these factors were a problem. Even at its highest position I found the steering wheel to be too low, plus it was just too far away and so for week I was in a constant state of 'reaching' for the steering wheel. Other than that, everything else was near perfect.

The manually adjustable driver's bucket seat was comfortable and fitted perfectly. This being an automatic transmission, there were only two pedals but they were nice placed. What I did find oddly positioned was the parking brake which seemed to protrude quite prominently, hovering between the brake pedal and the dead pedal. Having said that, it didn't interfere or otherwise get in the way, but it did seem to be oddly placed.

Front visibility was quite good out of the large front window and the side mirrors provided a good rear view down either side of the vehicle. This was a good thing because the Rogue was nor gifted with good side rear visibility. For example, the driver who's having to reverse the vehicle is handicapped by huge blind spots. The final side window looks nice from the outside and is pretty on the inside but provides virtually no practical view for the driver whatsoever.

When it came to driving, I was extremely impressed at both the Rogue's performance and handling. The Rogue had a pocket full of power and this was delivered seamlessly through the Continuously Variable Transmission - no shift jolts characteristic of a normal automatic transmission when a lower gear reluctantly lets go of its counterpart and the next gear up seeks a new gear to dance with. What confused me was the paddle shifters and the quasi-manual mode. It seemed at first that there were actual gears - 6 to be exact. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how this worked, but I suspect that the numbers were merely a reference and were not pointing to a particular gear per se.

The ride comfort of the Rogue was everything one might expect in a sedan. That may not seem particularly difficult to achieve but given the high ground clearance and the higher center of gravity, the Rogue's cornering ability was something to be noted.

And while we're talking about ground clearance, the vehicle was particular clean underneath with nothing hanging down or weird pieces of suspension hovering just above ground level.

In Conclusion

It's not difficult to see why this vehicle won its category of being best new "SUV/CUV under $35,000. It's an all around nice vehicle with some nice features, notable the smooth performance courtesy of the Continuously Variable Transmission, nice handling and ride. I'm a big fan of all wheel drive and this particular model was so equipped. On the downside, the blind spots where a bit annoying but they are going away without a major re-design. Also, the steering wheel position needs some more thought.

Safety

Full marks to Nissan for making the same safety and security features standard on all Rogue variants. Safety should not be an optional extra - well done!

The Economy Factor

You don't need premium gas to make this vehicle sparkle - it works just fine on regular gas, where is gets 7.7 litres/100 km on the highway and 9.9 litres/100 km in the city - that's 37 and 30 mph respectively. The Front Wheel Drive version is understandably a little more economical.

Pricing

All figures are quoted in Canadian Dollars.

The 2008 Nissan Rogue with Front Wheel Drive starts at $24,998.
The 2008 Nissan Rogue with All Wheel Drive starts at $27,798.
The Premium Package available on both the FWD and the AWD is a further $2,300.
The Leather Package only available on the AWD is an additional $4,600.
And the Technology Package, again only available on the AWD is another $700.

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Nissan Canada

NISSAN CANADA INC. is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. Nissan markets and distributes Nissan vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 146 dealers across Canada.