Nissan is so assured in its all-new 2021 Rogue that it is bringing the best-selling Toyota RAV4 into its dealerships for purchasers to extra simply cross-shop them side-by-side. Put up or shut up, as they are saying.
In keeping with a report in Automotive Information, Nissan Motor Company will supply sellers a rented RAV4 throughout December in order that clients can check drive and evaluate towards the Rogue. The corporate expects half of its 1,074 sellers to take part.
Whereas one should admire the boldness Nissan is exhibiting in its product, this is not precisely the Pepsi problem. As we be aware in our 2021 Toyota RAV4 assessment, the section’s greatest vendor is on the market in an unmatched number of trim ranges that vastly alter the best way it appears to be like and drives. That features such numerous variations are the Prime plug-in hybrid and TRD Off-Highway. Nissan would not supply something like these. — there’s one engine selection and the standard ladder-like trim stage stroll the place every will get progressively nicer with extra gear and ritzier trappings. Even when Nissan supplied a RAV4 that is most carefully corresponding to a Rogue, say an XLE with the fuel engine, clients would nonetheless be lacking out on the complete image. After all, Nissan may additionally present some stripper RAV4 in rental-car white to make its fancy orange Rogue appear that significantly better.
There’s one other issue: Nissan additionally runs the dangers of shoppers preferring the RAV4 and padding the top-selling crossover’s tally even additional. Of the 2 Autoblog editors who’ve pushed the Rogue and RAV4, each would select and advocate the Toyota. That is the danger, however in the long run, it is exhausting to argue with a model believing in its product sufficient to do that. Even within the “stripper RAV4” situation above, clients may nonetheless get the chance to extra simply evaluate issues that do not actually change primarily based on trim stage: powertrain efficiency of the bottom four-cylinder, inside area and infotainment usability. Experience and dealing with are additionally on the desk, however solely in relation to the RAV4’s LE, XLE and Restricted trim ranges.
