2014 Nissan Rogue SV AWD
Back in the mid-1990s when Toyota kicked off the modern compact crossover utility segment with the original two-door Rav4, these machines really were compact. But as with most vehicle segments, every succeeding generation seems to get bigger until a hole is created that enables yet another smaller segment to emerge. At first glance this seems to be the case with the redesigned second-generation Nissan Rogue that debuted last year as a 2014 model.
Like the current generation Rav4, the Rogue now at least nominally offers three-row seating for up to seven occupants. I say nominally, because the reality is the third row is best reserved for occasional use by a pair of youngsters, but we’ll come back to that.
The optional third-row seat in the Rogue is really only suitable for small kids in a pinch
Let’s consider the whole size thing for a moment. While the Rogue’s footprint actually has grown marginally, the overall length is actually shorter by one inch compared to its predecessor. The span between the axles has grown by 0.6 inches while the width has been extended by 1.5 inches enabling more shoulder and hip room, especially for those in the second row of seats. The big difference between the Rogue and “officially midsize” crossovers like the Murano and Ford Edge seems to be that they are even wider.
Despite the tale of the tape showing only a modest change in dimensions, this new CUV actually looks a whole lot more grown up than the first Rogue. That vehicle seemed to have slipped through the studio with only a cursory glance from the designers. It was by no means offensive, but it was darned near invisible.
By contrast, this edition has adopted much of the same design language applied to the 2013 Altima sedan with some sweeping curves and a more prominent detailing applied to the sheet metal. The face in particular now has some character with larger headlamps featuring the ubiquitous LED eyeliners and a chromed grille. It looks as though the Rogue has been working out at the gym, chiseling its muscles.
The second row seats in the Rogue have nine inches of fore-aft adjustment
The cabin also has a much more upscale look to it with some nice detailing and plenty of soft-touch surfaces. The overall effect is more subdued but perhaps a bit better thought out than the competing Ford Escape. The front seats are reasonably comfortable but don’t have a huge amount of lateral support. Like the Chevy Equinox, the second row seats can actually be adjusted fore and aft with nine-inches of travel available.
Pushed all the way back, rear leg room is almost cavernous. However, putting the second row seats back, pushes them almost all the way to the optional third row seats. In order for occupants of those seats to have room for feet, second row passengers will have to sacrifice most of their legroom. Putting adults into both the second and third rows is pretty much a non-starter. However if you mostly carry four or five people and only occasionally need space for a couple of extra kids, the option may be worthwhile. The rest of the time, those third row seats are best left folded down for cargo space. If you actually need room for up to seven on a regular basis, you’d be better served skipping the both the Rogue and Murano, and going all the way up to the Pathfinder or some other large crossover.
The Rogue SV I drove was well equipped with lots of interior features such as dual-zone automatic climate control with second row A/C vents, navigation and the NissanConnect system. Much like Toyota Entune, NissanConnect utilizes a custom smartphone app that incorporates features like Google search, Pandora and iHeartRadio streaming that can be controlled through the touch screen or voice commands.
The cabin of the 2014 Rogue is well laid out and looks more upscale than the first generation
While this allows the automaker to control the interface and the experience for drivers, it seems like an inferior solution to Ford SYNC AppLink which doesn’t require the use of a special app. Developers can just add the AppLink hooks to their apps and it will work through the vehicle. NissanConnect requires registering the app online with the vehicle serial number, something I wasn’t able to do with the loaner I had. Nissan provides the service free for three years after which it costs $20 per year. AppLink is free forever.
In lieu of using NissanConnect, I had to settle for Bluetooth audio streaming from my phone. When streaming music or podcasts, I had to launch the apps on my phone which is not a good in-vehicle solution while driving. The play/pause buttons that showed up on the touchscreen only worked intermittently over bluetooth.
The built-in navigation system worked reasonably well, but like most such systems, the points of interest database had only a tiny fraction of the data available through online mapping systems from Google, Apple or Nokia. The sooner every automaker incorporates support for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and whatever Microsoft hopefully releases for Windows phone users, the better.
Cameras on the underside of the mirror housings combine with the front and rear cameras for the 360-degree AroundView
The Rogue was also equipped with Nissan’s 360-degree, AroundView monitor system that uses front and rear cameras plus a pair of downward looking cameras in the mirror housings to provide an “overhead” view of what’s around the car while backing up. This is a particularly handy feature that Nissan debuted on some Infiniti models several years back and is being adopted by other automakers now.
The forward-looking camera for AroundView and lane departure warning is mounted in the front badge
The front-facing camera also does double duty for the lane-departure warning while radar sensors behind the rear bumper cover power the blind spot warning system. The blind spot warning illuminates amber lights at the base of the A-pillars when a vehicle might not be visible to the driver while the lane departure system issues a rather annoying beep if you drift toward the lane markers without a turn signal on.
From a propulsion standpoint, the Rogue is powered by the same 2.5-liter four cylinder engine paired with Nissan’s Xtronic continuously variable transmission that can be found under the hood of the Altima. The engine is largely vibration free and produces adequate grunt for this application with 170-horsepower and 175 lb.-ft. of torque. Nissan has definitely done the best job of any automaker I’ve experienced tuning its CVTs to behave like conventional step ratio automatics.
Driving the Rogue, you never experience any of the disconcerting constant engine note as the vehicle accelerates. Speaking of the engine tone, with the radio off, it does sound a bit coarse, but no worse than most big four-bangers. Even with all-wheel-drive on this test unit, I averaged a bit of 26 mpg which is quite reasonable.
The Active Trace Control is an enhancement to the electronic stability control that selectively applies brakes to one of the wheels to help maintain the right trajectory and combat understeer if you enter or exit a curve too quickly. The system seems to work pretty seamlessly with the only indication that it was active being the display in the instrument cluster.
Another seamless assist came in the form of active engine braking that uses the CVT to effectively downshift during the braking to reduce the load on the brakes. The active ride control also uses the brakes and engine to make small adjustments when rough road surfaces are detected to help keep the vehicle from pitching back and forth. While I couldn’t really feel the system intervening, the overall ride quality of the Rogue was quite good throughout the test period.
At $29,215 for this well-equipped Rogue, it makes a nice ride although the infotainment system is just so-so and the third-row seat is strictly for emergencies. With four adults on board, everyone will be happy with the seating comfort and the ride.
Click here for full specs of the Nissan Rogue
Disclosure: Nissan loaned the author the vehicle used for this test.