2021 Nissan Rogue SL Review: Top Of The Heap

As a taste, vanilla will get a foul rap – it’s usually portrayed because the boring, uninspiring default versus extra thrilling flavors like balsamic strawberry or chili-chocolate. However there’s one thing to be mentioned for a bowl of ice cream flavored with actual vanilla, capping off a meal with comforting, acquainted richness that soothes, quite than challenges the senses. To that finish, contemplate the 2021 Nissan Rogue to be good vanilla’s automotive equal.

Newly redesigned, the Nissan Rogue compact SUV addresses lots of the faults of its predecessor (an inexpensive inside, uninteresting design, and dated expertise) with out abandoning its core traits of effectivity, worth, and roominess. Although nonetheless providing a quite uninspiring driving expertise, the 2021 Rogue parlays its family-friendliness with crisp, up to date styling and complete security options – like vanilla, the Rogue won’t be overly flavorful or daring, however most individuals will in all probability prefer it at the least a bit.

For extra on how Motor1.com charges vehicles, click on right here.

Styling-wise, there wasn’t a lot improper with Nissan’s outdated SUV, however there wasn’t a lot proper with it both. You may’t say the identical of the 2021 Rogue. From its huge V Movement entrance grille to its upright rear hatch, the brand new crossover has character to spare. The hood options crisp peaks that generate from the daring grille’s chrome accents. The greenhouse ditches a few of its predecessor’s swoopiness, with squared-off rear door glass and a extra vertical hatchback profile.

A set of nineteen-inch alloys fills the wheel arches, giving the Rogue a planted stance that’s underscored by sharp-edged fender flares entrance and rear – 17s are normal on the bottom mannequin, whereas the SV will get 18s. A stout shoulder line vanishes into the entrance door–mounted mirror, solely to reappear halfway by way of the rear door as a hip that blends seamlessly into the taillights. Decrease on the doorways is a slick physique contour that in some way offers the Rogue an hourglass determine – for a household automobile, Nissan’s latest crossover is a shapely machine, boasting offbeat-yet-cohesive, seemingly Gallic styling.

Inside, a redesigned-yet-familiar D-shaped steering wheel seems in entrance of the motive force, who faces a pair of analog gauges with a 7.0-inch data show within the middle. A stitched sprint panel formed like a wing offers the passenger one thing to understand. Between the 2 is a tablet-style, 8.0-inch infotainment show mounted excessive, with intuitive computerized local weather controls beneath it. A excessive and huge middle console with convincingly metallic faux-aluminum trim offers the entrance seats an intimate, cockpit-like really feel, with house under for an open storage cubby.

Supplies high quality up entrance is sort of class-leading due to the SL’s normal leather-based upholstery on the seats and steering wheel, with soft-touch plastics showing on each floor above knee stage. That mentioned, a flimsy-feeling digital shift selector gave us some pause, and the passenger side-view mirror bobbled round worryingly on tough roads – we don’t recall such points within the sterling Mazda CX-5. Within the rear, the door panels are hewn in onerous plastic, with soft-touch armrests. The children in all probability received’t discover.

Although peppered with just a few low-cost supplies, the cabin is a virtually faultless place to cross the time. In true Nissan vogue, the huge entrance seats get proprietary “Zero Gravity” cushions that present loads of help and luxury over lengthy journeys. Thickly padded door and middle armrests additional the trigger, as does a remarkably hushed, serene experience that abides barely any exterior noise. Glorious storage options present each entrance seat occupants with locations for his or her telephones, soda cups, and water bottles – all 4 door pockets, for instance, are giant sufficient for a 32-ounce HydroFlask.

Within the second row, there’s a slight lack of thigh help for long-legged passengers, however anybody beneath 5-foot-10 will discover the rear bench snug sufficient for very lengthy journeys. A flat rear ground and ample toe room beneath the entrance seats permit of us to stretch out, and the cut up rear seatback reclines just a few levels for max-relax. The second row might be finest suited to 2 adults, however three would match with solely a bit grumbling. Nissan thoughtfully contains LATCH anchors in all three seating positions, giving rising households plenty of consolation and adaptability.

Entrance head- and legroom are greater than ample, at 39.2 inches and 43.3 inches respectively, each of which beat out the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. Within the rear, 37.8 inches of headroom and 38.5 inches of legroom create loads of hats-on, legs-out house for all however the tallest passengers, although these key rivals flip the tables right here with extra space in each metrics. Working within the Rogue’s favor is an open, ethereal greenhouse that alleviates claustrophobia greater than the Honda and Toyota, in addition to improved hiproom within the again.

The Rogue presents 36.9 cubic ft of cargo room with the seats upright, developing brief to the Honda’s 39.2 and the Toyota’s 37.6 cubes. With the rear seats down, the Rogue’s 72.9 cubic ft splits the distinction between the RAV4’s 69.8 and the CR-V’s 75.8. If it doesn’t win in absolute numbers, Nissan however makes the many of the room it has accessible. A cubby within the nook of the cargo space is completely sized for a gallon of milk, and the corporate’s Divide-N-Cover storage panels permit for some cargo customization and separation, if want be.

Let’s get the dangerous information out of the way in which first. Wi-fi CarPlay is accessible on the brand new Rogue, however solely as a part of the SL Premium Package deal or by moving into the top-rung Rogue Platinum, and wi-fi charging is barely accessible on the flagship trim. In any other case, nearly each connectivity function comes normal, even on the bottom Rogue S, together with an intuitive and engaging 8.0-inch infotainment display screen, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. All informed, the brand new SUV’s infotainment bundle is an enormous enchancment over its predecessor. The midlevel SV and mid-luxury SL trims add ProPilot Help expertise to that base content material.

Forking over the additional money for a Rogue Platinum brings each these aforementioned wi-fi applied sciences alongside for the experience, in addition to a bigger 9.0-inch infotainment show, totally digital 12.3-inch instrument cluster, and head-up show. The Platinum additionally will get embedded navigation, which is built-in into the adaptive cruise management to proactively sluggish for curves within the highway. The Platinum will get Bose audio normal, whereas the SL solely presents it as a part of the trim stage’s premium bundle; we didn’t miss it since the usual system does an honest job reproducing plenty of completely different musical kinds.

It ought to come as no shock to anybody that the 2021 Rogue is quite uninteresting to drive, powered as it’s by a 2.5-liter inline-four with 181 horsepower and 181 pound-feet. Representing an enchancment of 11 hp and 6 lb-ft over the outgoing Rogue, the added energy isn’t actually noticeable from the motive force’s seat, presumably as a result of it’s smothered by a repeatedly variable transmission earlier than heading to the entrance wheels (our tester didn’t have all-wheel drive, which is an affordable $1,400 possibility).

All that mentioned, there’s nothing overtly dangerous about the way in which the Rogue goes about its enterprise. Planting the throttle ends in constant – if gradual – acceleration, and the CVT does an honest, drone-free job of transferring energy to the wheels. Numb steering is nonetheless correct, and the brakes are safe and succesful. It’s not almost as thrilling to drive as a Mazda CX-5, however the 2021 Rogue disappears into the background in a great way. There are not any apparent foibles to distract its occupants from the serene, whisper-quiet experience.

The 2021 Nissan Rogue is sort of unmatched by way of security. In base type, it comes normal with ahead collision monitoring and computerized emergency braking, lane departure prevention, blind spot monitoring, rear site visitors alert, computerized rear braking, computerized excessive beams, and a driver alertness system. Moving into the SV or SL trim provides ProPilot Help, a set of options that features adaptive cruise management, lane centering, and site visitors jam help, every of which do their job very properly, avoiding aggressive acceleration, braking, or steering intervention in favor of clean, snug inputs.

The Platinum options the aforementioned navigation-linked ProPilot Help. It additionally provides an inboard aspect airbag between the motive force and entrance passenger seats, along with the roster of entrance driver and passenger airbags, entrance knee airbags, entrance side-impact airbags, and aspect curtain airbags discovered on all Rogues.

For these purchasing for a base-model SUV, they’ll discover a bit extra security and driver-assist content material within the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, each of which embrace adaptive cruise management and lane centering on even their least expensive trims.

Attaining 26 miles per gallon metropolis, 34 freeway, and 29 mixed, the front-wheel-drive Nissan Rogue is comparatively environment friendly. Some traffic-heavy routes noticed our indicated gasoline economic system drop to 24 or 25 mpg, however nailing 32 mpg over our 400 miles with the Rogue was fairly straightforward.

In equity to its rivals, the Rogue comes up a bit brief. The CR-V and RAV4 each hit 30 mpg mixed due to improved metropolis and freeway rankings, whereas the Ford Escape achieves 30 mpg mixed despite worse freeway gasoline economic system than the Rogue. Nissan outdoes Mazda on this metric, nonetheless; the front-wheel-drive CX-5 will get 25 metropolis, 31 freeway, and 28 mixed mpg.

The Rogue begins at $25,650 for the bottom trim, however the SL mannequin featured right here goes for $32,000. Our tester added solely ground mats and a cargo mat ($385) and vacation spot and dealing with ($1,095), bringing the overall to an affordable $33,480. However the Rogue SL FWD isn’t the most cost effective entry on this phase. One might step right into a Honda CR-V EX-L ($30,450) or a Toyota RAV4 XLE Premium ($30,150) for much less, whereas the Ford Escape SEL is the mid-lux loss chief, beginning at simply $29,205.

Nevertheless, we’d argue that the Rogue SL presents extra luxurious inside appointments than any of these rivals – the Toyota will get leatherette upholstery and the Honda’s infotainment encompass is declassé piano-black plastic, to say nothing of a budget (and cheap-feeling) Ford Escape. We additionally suppose the Rogue presents extra passenger consolation, and its ProPilot Help function set works as properly or higher than its competitors’s energetic driver-assist applied sciences.

Though it didn’t provoke plenty of emotion, the 2021 Nissan Rogue earned big quantities of respect from its driver and passengers, due to its roomy cabin, easy-to-use expertise, and calm driving demeanor. Bundled with edgy, virtually French styling, the brand new Rogue proves that on this case, vanilla doesn’t must imply bland.