2017 Nissan Rogue Sport

As the crossover boom expands to smaller vehicles, automakers have looked to their global lineups to scrounge up itty-bitty SUVs for American customers. Honda turned the Japan-market Vezel into the HR-V, Chevrolet’s Trax had been on sale in several foreign countries before it was introduced here, and Ford soon will bring the South American EcoSport to our shores. Now Nissan joins the trend by tapping its European Qashqai for duty as the new Rogue Sport.

Good-Looking Trucklet

In contrast to some of the models rushed to this segment, which can feel half baked, the Qashqai-cum-Rogue Sport crossover already is on its second generation and is a proven success in Europe, where it’s Nissan’s best-selling model. A handsome little thing, the Rogue Sport is far less overwrought than many of Nissan’s current designs. In a segment where funkiness is in fashion—look no further than the Toyota C-HR, the Jeep Renegade, or Nissan’s own Juke for evidence—the Rogue Sport is normal but not boring. Attractive proportions, sharp creases, and tasteful detailing give it a smart and upscale appearance, especially in the SL model with its 19-inch wheels. The only concession to strangeness is the color palette, which includes a few wild choices such as Monarch Orange and the eye-searing Nitro Lime.

The Rogue Sport also is a useful size: At 172.4 inches long, it’s a bit bigger than the smallest subcompacts, but it’s more petite than compacts such as the 180.6-inch Honda CR-V and the standard, 184.5-inch Nissan Rogue (we’ll call it the big Rogue). The closest competitor to the Rogue Sport, sizewise, is the new, 173.0-inch 2017 Jeep Compass, another tweener. Smart interior packaging means that the Rogue Sport’s cargo space—23 cubic feet behind the second row and 61 cubes with the rear seats folded—is in the hunt with the Compass and the remarkably cavernous HR-V with the rear seats up and ahead of both rivals with all seats folded.

Unhurried Pace

The Rogue Sport’s chassis clears the low bar set for driving dynamics in this segment. This might sound as if we’re damning it with faint praise, but the suspension provides good body control, making for a tauter, firmer feel than the big Rogue offers without introducing much harshness over large bumps. Brake-pedal response is progressive. The steering is light—overly so in the standard steering mode, acceptably so in Sport—and lifeless regardless of setting, preventing the Rogue Sport from being much fun to drive in the twisties. At least it’s easy to maneuver in parking lots, which is appropriate for a vehicle this size that will see plenty of urban use.

Few baby SUVs have cracked the 9.0-second barrier in our zero-to-60-mph testing, and the Nissan’s 141-hp 2.0-liter inline-four isn’t enough to make this a scorcher, either. This is a slow vehicle, and a lack of torque low in the rev range limits around-town peppiness. A turbo engine like the Juke’s 1.6-liter would liven things up considerably.

That said, we were pleasantly surprised by this new direct-injected engine’s refinement, which far surpasses that of the grainy port-injected 2.5-liter four found in the big Rogue. The Rogue Sport’s four-cylinder revs much more smoothly and quietly, making the occasional high-rpm droning of the continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) less obtrusive and bothersome. Even so, the CVT annoyingly slurs its faux shift points and suffers from some rubber-band effect. That made us jealous of Canadians, whose version of this vehicle (it keeps the Qashqai branding) gets a standard six-speed manual transmission, which won’t be offered in the United States.

Disappointingly, the Rogue Sport achieves lower EPA ratings than the big Rogue despite weighing about 200 pounds less. Comparing front-drive models, the Rogue Sport falls 1 mpg short of its bigger brother in the EPA’s combined rating, while all-wheel-drive versions achieve the same 27 mpg combined rating despite significant size and powertrain differences. We wonder if the Rogue Sport might beat its big brother in the real world, however, given that the big Rogue underperformed its 32-mpg highway EPA rating by 4 mpg in our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test.

Nice Price

Buyers get a lot for the Rogue Sport’s $22,380 base price. Standard equipment for the base S model includes Bluetooth, cruise control, a backup camera, rear HVAC vents, and a USB port. Step up to the $23,980 SV, and you get 17-inch wheels, automatic headlights, proximity entry, and a power driver’s seat. The top-spec SL loaded with all the active-safety features and the optional $1350 all-wheel-drive system can top $30,000, but, since a big Rogue can exceed $35,000 with all the options, the price seems reasonable.

The interior is nicely trimmed for those prices, even if some of the cheaper plastic surfaces keep it from being as rich-looking as the cabins of the Mazda CX-3 or the Kia Soul. Infotainment offerings are a letdown, though: A tiny 5.0-inch screen with limited functionality comes standard, and even the optional 7.0-inch touchscreen looks stale, with dated graphics and no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto compatibility. That’s a significant omission considering the young, tech-savvy buyers Nissan has set squarely in its sights.

That miss is hardly a fatal flaw, however. The attractive, practical, and reasonably priced Rogue Sport benefits from a lack of strong competition and is for now among the most well-rounded entries in its class. It’s not a stretch to see it being as much of a hit in the States as it has been across the pond.

Specifications >

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback

BASE PRICES: S, $22,380;
SV, $23,980;
SL, $27,030

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 122 cu in, 1997 cc
Power: 141 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 147 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm

TRANSMISSION: continuously variable automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 104.2 in
Length: 172.4 in
Width: 72.3 in Height: 62.5–63.3 in
Passenger volume: 94–96 cu ft
Cargo volume: 20–23 cu ft
Curb weight (C/D est): 3350–3450 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 9.4–9.5 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 34.0–34.5 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 17.3–17.4 sec
Top speed: 120 mph

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA combined/city/highway: 27–28/24–25/30–32 mpg