Nissan reworked the Rogue for the 2017 model year to be more attractive to buyers in the highly competitive compact crossover segment. An aggressive new exterior look complements a handsome interior redesign, combined with new-for-Rogue safety features and in-dash technology. Nissan’s goal: to make the Rogue its best-selling model in the U.S. Not surprisingly, Nissan succeeded thanks to these updates and the explosive crossover market. But Nissan isn't leaving the Rogue alone. For 2018, more enhancements have been added.

"There are so many enhancements to Rogue for 2017, with every one of them designed to enhance its appeal with the fastest growing segment of buyers in the industry," said Michael Bunce, vice president of product planning for Nissan North America. "The crowning achievement is the addition of the new Rogue Hybrid, which increases fuel efficiency without compromising passenger roominess or cargo utility."

And while Nissan should be proud of adding a hybrid model to the Rogue’s lineup, the gasoline-electric won’t likely be the Rogue’s most popular guise. For those interested in the Rogue Hybrid, check out TopSpeed’s full coverage here. No, rather than the new 2.0-liter four-cylinder and 30-kW electric motor, most Rogues will come equipped with the familiar 2.5-liter four-cylinder, CVT Xtronic transmission, and the choice of FWD or AWD.

Since its introduction for the 2008 model year, the Rogue has been growing its annual sales figures by leaps and bounds. Impressively, Nissan moved 287,190 Rogues during the 2015 calendar year – that’s more than the Jeep Cherokee at 220,260 examples sold and far more than either the Hyundai Tucson or Kia Sportage, both of which were under 64,000 units sold. Still, there’s room to grow. Honda’s CR-V leads the pack with 345,600 examples sold in the 2015 calendar year and Ford was right behind with 306,500 examples of the Escape moving off dealer lots.

There's no doubt 2017's improvements pushed the Rogue upward in popularity, but 2018's addition of self-driving tech and a few appearance package options should bring even more customers to Nissan dealerships. Let’s have a detailed look at what Nissan has done with the Rogue for 2018.

Update 10/18/2017: Nissan announced upgrades for the 2018 Rogue, including ProPilot Assist, NissanConnect coming as standard, and changes to the Midnight Edition.

Continue reading for the full review.

2017 Nissan Rogue

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2017 Nissan Rogue
  • Engine/Motor: inline-4
  • Horsepower: 170
  • Torque: 175
  • Transmission: CVT
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

What’s New For 2018

Nissan aims to keep the Rogue selling in high numbers as 2017 comes to a close. Though only a year old, the current Rogue crossover is getting several big updates for the 2018 model year. These models will be available starting October 24, 2017 with a starting price of $24,680 for the Rogue S in front-wheel drive.

ProPilot Assist

Leading the 2018 updates is Nissan’s autonomous driving system, ProPilot Assist. Nissan’s goal is to continually update ProPilot to where it has full autonomous capabilities, but for now, it offers some impressive self-driving tech designed to keep drivers safe while adding convenience to mundane drives. ProPilot Assist currently assists with steering, braking, and accelerating within a single lane on the highway. What’s more, the system will work in stop and go traffic, making crowded commutes much less frustrating. And like other adaptive cruise control systems, ProPilot Assist keeps a set speed on the open road and will automatically slow down and keep a set distance from a slower vehicle in front. ProPilot Assist is only offered on the highest trim, the Rogue SL with the Platinum Package.

Nissan says that within two years it plans on ProPilot Assist working on multi-lane highways and within four years to handle city driving. Like Volvo and other automakers, Nissan’s end goal is zero fatalities and zero emissions.

Other Changes

Now for 2018, NissanConnect has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus an additional USB port in the center console. This comes standard on all trim levels and includes a 7.0-inch infotainment screen. The Rogue SL now shares its Motion-Activated Liftgate with the SV trim, leaving only the S trim with a manually opening hatch to the rear cargo area.

Rogue SL trims without the optional ProPilot Assist now come standard with Intelligent Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Intelligent Lane Intervention (lane keeping), and Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection.

Option packages are also updated. The SV Sun and Sound Touring Package comes with features normally found in the Premium Package. The SV Premium Package now comes with Intelligent Cruise Control and memory functions for the driver’s seat and outside mirrors. The Midnight Edition is upgraded with more “blackout” trim bits, too, meaning the package now has black mirror caps, black accents on the bumpers, a black “V-Motion” grille, black roof rails, a black license plate surround, black 17-inch alloy wheels, black mud flaps, and black badging on the rear liftgate.

Exterior

The 2017 now enjoys a heavily revised front clip and modestly updated rear end. The bits in between, at least on the outside, haven’t changed much. Nevertheless, the 2017 Rogue has a completely new feel to its exterior thanks to the updates. This sharper lines, more detailed styling, and more expressive nature of the crossover should indeed help Nissan attract more buyers. A dull crossover this isn’t.

Up front, the Rogue now sports a large V-motion grille with chromework and piano black trim surrounding the large Nissan logo. The bold front bumper matches the more expressive grille thanks to sharply creased edges, integrated vents and fog lights. Speaking of lights, the Rogue’s main headlights now feature a striking new design with both LED lighting and reflective elements that appear like they’re floating within the lens.

Down low, the Rogue’s new face features a large chin splitter that curves around the sides, runs the length of the car, and meets together at the redesigned rear bumper. The Rogue’s fender flares and creases fenders carry over unchanged. The same can be said for the Rogue’s greenhouse. The windshield, side windows, and rear glass all remain true to the 2016 design. In all honesty, that doesn’t really detract for the 2017’s design.

Out back, the Rogue’s taillights have received some design love, gaining a new V-Motion-style LED lighting element with no imbedded chrome pieces. Smoked turn signals and reverse lights give the taillights a more modern feel. Nissan offers several sets of wheels on the Rogue, all based on trim level. There’s 17-inch wheels on the base S trim, 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels on the SV, 18-inch alloy wheel wheels on the SL, and 19-inch wheels on the range-topping Platinum package, which is optional on the SL. Lastly, there are three new colors to choose from.

Side-by-side comparison

Interior

Nissan designers took the same expressive design language and vastly updated the Rogue’s interior. Though the same basic layout exists, the detailing and finishes are all very much improved. It all starts with the steering wheel. Gone is the hokey three-spoke steering wheel, replaced with a modern-looking four-spoke, flat-bottom wheel that looks borrowed from Mazda. Newly designed buttons give the driver better control over the driver information screen and the infotainment system. The bottom spokes are made of metal, bringing a new level of class and refinement to the Rogue.

The center stack features a similar 7.0-inch infotainment screen as the 2016 model, but it comes with updated technology. This includes Nissan’s 360-degree camera system called the Around View Monitor. It comes with Moving Object Detection, helping the driver stay clear of people or other cars when backing up. Radar-based Blind Spot Warning and Rear Cross Traffic Alert are now available on the SV grade. Also new is Lane Departure Warning with Land Departure Prevention, Intelligent Cruise Control, and Forward Emergency Braking with pedestrian Detection.

Besides the new safety tech, the interior also boasts a new center console with an updated shifter design. Piano black accents dress things up and a leather-wrapped shifter boot looks much classier than the plastic-laden shifter of last year. Forward of the shifter, Nissan includes a USB and AUX inputs, along with a 12-volt power port.

Along with the updated dash, the seats are new. They feature taller side bolsters with French stitching and secondary accent colors in the top SL Platinum trim. Base and mid-grade trims now have a new cloth seat material as well. Both the cloth and leather seats can be had with seat heaters and memory settings. A heated steering wheel is available as well.

The Rogue still offers standard seating for five and optional seating for seven. In order to reach the seven-passenger limit, the third row has to be included. On the smallish side, the third row splits 50/50 style and is perfect for tweens or young adults in around-town driving.

And of course, both second and third rows can be folded flat, allowing the Rogue to haul an impressive amount of cargo. Even the front passenger seat folds flat, making room to haul an eight-foot ladder.

For those with more expensive tastes, the Rogue can be had two new high-class trim packages: the Platinum and Platinum Reserve.

Side-by-side comparison

Drivetrain

Despite the Rogue’s new appearances, the powertrain carries over unchanged. For the non-hybrid Rogue, that means the familiar 2.5-liter four-cylinder is pulling duty. The engine makes 170 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque. The transversely mounted, all-aluminum engine is mated to a Continually Variable Transmission Nissan calls its Xtronic. The CVT come with three drive modes: Eco, Normal, and Sport. And while there is technically a sport mode, this powertrain combination is definitely not built for straight-line performance or blasting around a canyon road.

No, the Rogue is designed to be a smooth operator. It’s an efficient one, too. The Rogue is EPA-rated at 26 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, and 29 mpg combined. Fuel economy drops 25/32/27 mpg each category for models with the optional AWD system – not a bad trade-off for the added confidence of all-weather traction.

Prices

Nissan is inclreasing prices for the 2018 Rogue, but not by much. The 2017 Rogue S carries a starting price of $24,420; the mid-range SV starts at $25,640; and the range-topping SL starts at $30,360. Adding AWD adds another $1,350 to each trim.

2018 Rogue Prices

Rogue S FWD

$24,680 USD

Rogue SV FWD

$25,900 USD

Rogue SL FWD

$31,060 USD

Rogue S AWD

$26,030 USD

Rogue SV AWD

$27,250 USD

Rogue SL AWD

$32,410 USD


Competition

Jeep Cherokee

For those wanting something on the more rugged side, Jeep offers the Cherokee. It’s a modern take on the classic name, delivering moderate off-roading abilities yet a certain level of civility around town.

The Jeep can be had with either the 2.4-liter Tigershark four-cylinder making 184 horsepower and 171 pound-feet of torque, or the more potent 3.2-liter Pentastar V-6 with 271 horsepower and 239 pound-feet of torque. FWD comes standard, but the Cherokee is best served with one of its available AWD systems.

Prices for the 2016 Jeep Cherokee start around $23,495 for the base Sport trim. Opt for the rugged Trailhawk version for $30,995 or the plus Overland trim at $34,695.

Read our full review on the Jeep Cherokee here.

Honda CR-V

The CR-V is the bread-n-butter of the compact crossover segment and accounts for a large majority of Honda’s SUV sales. Only offered with two rows of seating, the CR-V is down on available passenger room, but it still treats all five passengers to a comfortable, high-riding driving experience. Based on the Honda Civic, the CR-V comes standard with FWD, but can be had with AWD as an option.

Power comes from a smooth 2.4-liter four-cylinder making 185 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque. A CVT does the work of power delivery, and like the Rogue’s CVT, is designed for comfort and economy over performance and driver engagement. Nevertheless, the CR-V is a fun crossover to drive and a practical one to live with.

Pricing starts at $23,845 for the base XL in FWD. Five trim levels are available, with the range-topping Touring offering the most comfort and passenger convenience features. Prices for the Touring start at $32,195, but can crest into the upper $30,000 range with most of the option boxes checked.

Learn more about the Honda CR-V here.

Conclusion

Nissan has done a great job bringing new life to the Rogue. The heavily refreshed front and rear ends pull this crossover closer to Nissan’s other heavily stylized products, which generates both brand recognition and interest from consumers. It’s also exciting to see Nissan add a hybrid powertrain option to the Rogue, along with the laundry list of technology and safety features.

It is a bit sad to see the same 2.5-liter and CVT soldier on unchanged from the pre-2017 models, but we’re betting Nissan has something major in the works for the Rogue’s next generation change. Expect that to happen around 2020 or so.

Nevertheless, the addition of a swanky new outside, high-class interior, an available hybrid drivetrain, and the new-for-2018 ProPilot Assist, and the Rogue should have no trouble expanding its sales far beyond what it’ already has.