Yahoo Autos 2021 Nissan Rogue First Drive | It’s good now!
“Why do so many people buy the Nissan Rogue?” It’s something we ponder and lament every time we see it on a top 10 list of best-selling cars. We're not alone. Perhaps it's because its styling, size and interior quality made a good first impression at a dealer, but the more you drove it, the worse it got. "Dreary" is a word that comes to mind. With the all-new 2021 Rogue, Nissan is aiming to change the story, and after a couple hours of driving it on a chilly fall day in Michigan, we think Nissan has done exactly that.
But first, to properly add perspective, back to its predecessor. The steering was a mess; the handling ponderous and the ride hardly special; its droning continuously variable transmission was unresponsive, and the annoyingly buzzy engine was woefully underpowered even in a segment where power is a low priority. Nissan responded with a clean-sheet redesign underpinned by a totally new platform not currently shared with another Nissan. It uses more aluminum and ultra-high-strength steel than the outgoing model, contributing to less weight and higher chassis rigidity.
Nissan designed a new multi-link rear suspension to replace the trailing arm design, popped in new dual-piston dampers and put together a new rack-mounted electric power steering system to provide more feel than what the old column-mounted system managed (virtually none). All of the above translates into a crossover that rides and handles significantly better than the previous Rogue. The new quick-ratio steering is immediately noticeable with turn-in that verges on alarmingly quick for a family crossover. It makes the Rogue feel more agile and lively, but the lack of feel and vague, light connection between road and driver remains an issue. Most Rogue owners will simply be surprised when they dial in way too much lock in corners during the first week of driving.
The engine is still a total bore, but it is better. Shared with the Altima, the 2.5-liter inline-four has approximately 80% new parts versus the outgoing engine. It makes 181 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque, increases of 11 and 6, respectively, that bring the Rogue closer to average for the segment. Nissan mates it to the same CVT as before, but it’s running a new tune. Its enhanced software makes the Rogue quicker to react to pedal prodding, but acceleration remains achingly slow. Noise from the engine bay into the cabin is down, which makes full-throttle applications and sedate around-town driving easier on the ears. If wind noise were tamped down a smidge more, it would make for an even more premium drive.
Front-wheel drive is standard, and all-wheel drive is optional as before. If you opt for the all-wheel-drive model, you get a mode dial with five modes (front-drive models have three modes). The all-wheel-drive system itself is updated this year, as it’s now employing predictive software that will send power to the rear wheels even before the fronts begin to slip. You can prime it for certain conditions by switching into Standard, Snow, Sport, Off-road or Eco.
Styling was arguably one of the old Rogue's strong points, but the new one improves upon it any way with a look that's trying to be premium, adventurous and techy all at the same time. The shape is squarer and more sharp-edged than the flowy and rounded-off Rogue it’s replacing. Bold shapes and lighting elements dominate its face. It comes across as less busy in person than photos appear to depict, though the thin LED running lights at hood level never stop squinting at us.
Interestingly, the Rogue actually shrunk a bit for 2021. Specifically, it's 1.5 inches shorter in length and 0.2 inch lower in height. The old model was actually quite big for its segment, though, and thankfully, interior space and utility don't suffer as a result. Quite the opposite. Rear seat legroom ticks up by half an inch, and the rear doors open wider (nearly 90 degrees) to make getting child seats in and out a simpler process (not to mention the children themselves).
Maximum cargo capacity (second row dropped) also goes up by 4.1 cubic-feet to 74.1, a number that just barely trails the Honda CR-V for class best. Space behind the raised second-row is reduced by a token amount, but at least it still has the innovative and useful “Divide-N-Hide” cargo floor that consists of two movable floor boards — keep them in for a flat floor; remove them for additional depth, or arrange them into a stacked formation to divide the cargo area into separate parts. A new milk gallon holder aft of the wheels is built into the cargo area floor, so now your gallon of milk or whatever won’t annihilate the rest of your groceries on the way back from the grocery store.
