by John Lamm of www.caranddriver.com
The Rogue moniker might conjure images of reprobate political figures and the status of ladies’ undergarments in some quarters, but the badge has been no barrier to sales success. Here in the U.S., the compact crossover is Nissan’s second-bestselling model, slugging it out in showrooms with popular players such as the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Toyota RAV4.
For 2014, Nissan introduces the second generation of the vehicle with this name, redone in part to use the new Common Module Family architecture, which is shared with Renault. Nissan will continue to sell the old version of the Rogue (some 650,000 have been produced since 2008), so you’ll be able to compare the new and old versions side by side come this January. The old version, to be dubbed Rogue Select, will carry a sub-$20,000 base price. That model is assembled in Japan; the new Rogues will be manufactured in Smyrna, Tennessee.
A quick body scan of the 2014 Rogue reveals an evolutionary shape with a cleaner front, thanks to swept-back headlights and a more prominent and upscale-looking grille. LED daytime running lights are a tip of the hat to current fashion. The detailing around the greenhouse windows is crisper, the wheel arches show more muscle, and the taillights again wrap around the side but now have more character.
The 2014 Rogue provides a larger canvas for these styling details, as it’s 1.0 inch longer, 1.5 inches wider, and 1.0 inch taller. The wheelbase is stretched by 0.6 inch. Creeping mass is kept in check, however, with elements such as an aluminum hood and a composite rear hatch. Underbody aero work, including a spoiler-type element mounted beneath the muffler, is claimed to reduce drag and increase the distance between fill-ups.
Shining from Within
Although the exterior changes are minor, the interior takes a big step uptown. For the first time, the Rogue is available in a seven-passenger configuration, although the teensy third-row split-bench seats are rated PG-13. More important, the Rogue’s second-row seats slide fore-and-aft nine inches, and all seatbacks fold flat save the driver’s, enabling a wide range of cargo- and passenger-hauling combinations. Also new on five-seaters is the Divide-N-Hide cargo system that, once learned, does a reasonable job of keeping your stuff in the way back in place and/or hidden.
The previous-gen Rogue’s cabin kit looked lifted from an economy car; however, the new design is anything but déclassé. There are large, easy-to-read gauges ahead and a center console that appears integrated from its horizontal vents up top to convenient climate-control switchgear below. Centered between them, depending on options, is a five- or seven-inch color display, the latter of the touch-screen variety.
Nissan sticks with its QR25DE engine in the 2014 model, a 2.5-liter twin-cam four rated at 170 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. The automaker is also remaining faithful to the continuously variable transmission, in the interest of fuel economy—the Rogue comes in at 26 mpg city/33 mpg highway with front-wheel drive, 25/32 in all-wheel-drive versions. Those estimates are impressive compared with much of the competition but are only 1 mpg better on the highway than Mazda’s CX-5 with a more-enthusiast-friendly six-speed automatic.
Going Rogue
The JATCO-supplied CVT makes a good starting point for our discussion of driving impressions, because as we trundled along the highways around Nashville, listening to the engine wind up through the CVT reminded us of how annoying such a transmission can be. There has been some progress in reducing the disconnect between road speed and engine rpm in CVT-equipped vehicles, and continued attention to noise isolation has made further advancements in the new Rogue. We suspect most consumers in the market for a Rogue won’t know or care about the difference between the CVT and a normal automatic gearbox, which is fair enough. But that’s not us.
Dynamically, the Rogue is more of a cocoon than a newly sprung butterfly ready to take flight. It is quiet inside, and the ride is comfortable over the varied surfaces on which we drove. Handling is safe and secure but not well defined and certainly not inspiring, including the placid, numb electrically boosted steering. Several interesting tech bits are included, like active ride control, which applies the brakes and adjusts engine torque to reduce head toss over road undulations, especially for passengers in back. There’s also active engine braking, which engages the CVT’s lower “ratios” when the driver hits the brakes. And active trace control uses the brakes to aid stability when cornering.
That interior is sensibly laid out, and the buttons and switches respond in the manner you’d expect, taking minimal eye time from the road. There’s plenty of connectivity via apps, hands-free text messaging, text-to-speech, and such. We do love the Around View monitor that gives a bird’s-eye view around the car when backing up.
There are three Rogue models—S, SV, and SL—each available with front- or all-wheel drive, although only the S and SV can be had with the third-row seat, as part of the Family package. Prices for the front-drive versions range from $23,350 to $28,930; the AWDs start at $24,700 to $30,280. Third-row seats are $1190 for the S model and $940 in the SV. The new panoramic sunroof will set you back $1320. There are Premium packages that wrap up much of the cool stuff, like navigation, Around View, and the delightfully named “moving object detection” that, uh, identifies objects in motion outside the Rogue.
For 2014, the cocoon that is the Rogue gets even cocoonier with the addition of electronic nannies. Combined with the newly available third-row seating and more flexible interior, the new Rogue should continue to fight admirably among the compact-crossover ranks, if not roguishly.
Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-nissan-rogue-first-drive-review
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