South Colorado Springs Nissan

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Walk Around

The compact SUV market has been a successful one for Japanese juggernauts Honda and Toyota since the mid-to-late 1990s, but Japan's other major automaker, Nissan, has been late to the party. Well, Nissan is finally arriving and it's bringing the Rogue as its date.

Nissan waited quite some time to finally get into the cute-ute game, but the Rogue is finally here and it appears to be aimed squarely at the Honda CR-V. The styling is swoopy, with rounded lines and a wedge shape from front to rear. Flared rear shoulders and an upswept window line give the Rogue a sporty feel.

Ornamentation is minimal. A black and chrome Nissan badge up front is flanked by a body color grille. Only that badge and the headlights lend any contrast to the front end. There is even less character to the sides, which have no ornamentation at all. The mirrors are black on the S model and body color on SL. Chrome or black rub strips would help here, as would chrome door handles. The 17-inch aluminum wheels on the SL help, but the S has plain old steel wheels with hubcaps.

We think the Rogue looks best from the rear, where the dark rear glass, eye-shaped taillights, rounded panels, and license plate recess give it some definition. Unfortunately, the rear liftgate lacks separate opening glass.

The look is not unattractive, but it's plain. Among compact SUVs, the Rogue has a sleeker, car-based crossover look, like the CR-V, as opposed to the upright mini-SUVs like Ford Escape or Jeep Liberty. There is good reason for this, as the Rogue is based on Nissan's C platform, which also hosts the compact Sentra four-door sedan.

Onlookers will be surprised to learn that the Rogue is the longest vehicle in the class. At 182.9 inches overall, it is even longer than the seven-passenger Toyota RAV4 and the seemingly large Jeep Liberty.

Interior

2008 Nissan Rogue

At first glance, the interior of the Nissan Rogue seems nice if somewhat plain. Closer inspection reveals some quality materials that are impressive for its starting price. The dash, for instance, is molded in a soft-touch material that would be right at home in a Lexus. The door tops also have a nice soft-touch material. The remainder of the materials are price-appropriate plastic that fits together well.

The instrument panel features only two gauges, the tachometer and speedometer. There is also a motorcycle-inspired round graphic readout that displays the fuel level and water temperature, and on Rogues so equipped, trip computer information.

The center stack features three easily used round climate control knobs, and Nissan's unique radio layout. It has substantially sized buttons, but the presets are grouped in A, B and C folders, instead of AM and FM sets. It takes some getting used to, but with 18 total presets, most drivers will be able to program all of their favorite stations. An auxiliary input jack is provided for MP3 player connectivity.

Storage for small items up front is adequate. The center console has two integral cupholders and a small tray that will work for holding life's minutiae. If that's not enough, the console bin is very deep and is available with a removable tray to give it two levels of storage.

The driver's seat is comfortable and offers a good driving position, even though there aren't many seat adjustments. The tilt steering wheel helps, and there is enough head and leg room for all but the tallest drivers. There is good visibility to the front and the side mirrors are large, but over-the shoulder visibility is compromised by a smallish rear window and rear side windows that are pinched at the rear. The ride height makes getting in and out of the Rogue very easy.

The second row is usefully roomy, with head and leg room that can accommodate adults, even with the front seats moved far back. Three adults in the rear will be cramped, but they should be able to deal with short trips. Toe space under the front seats is plentiful.

Cargo space is good but not at the top of the class. The second-row seats are split 60/40, and they fold flat in an easy one-step motion to open up the maximum 57.9 cubic feet of cargo space.

The available Premium Package option includes a folding front passenger seat. It folds almost flat to allow loading of longer items. The Premium Package also has a rear cargo organizer. It has a recessed floor and removable nets to act as partitions, both of which help prevent groceries from rolling around in the back.

While the low floor makes loading items easy, separate opening rear glass would make the cargo area even easier to access.

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