Proficient Driving

The Rogue typifies the small-crossover driving experience. Its steering wheel turns with a light touch at low speeds and tracks reasonably well on the highway, and the sole drivetrain — a 2.5-liter four-cylinder and continuously variable automatic transmission — offers adequate power. Accelerate out of a corner, and the transmission isn't particularly quick to kick up the engine revs, as some of Nissan's other CVTs are. Once it does, however, the Rogue scoots back up to speed well enough.

Our test cars exhibited some road noise but little wind noise. Ride quality is fine overall — certainly better than the choppy Sportage and Tucson. If outright comfort is your goal, however, the Ford Escape and non-Sport RAV4 do a better job.

Four-wheel-disc antilock brakes are standard. The pedal ought to provide more linearity; press it down, and the first inch or so of travel brings only slight deceleration.

Combined EPA mileage for the front-wheel-drive Rogue is 25 mpg. All-wheel drive drops that to 24 mpg. Those figures put the Rogue in the same company as the Equinox, Sportage and Tucson — all at the higher end of the class.

    See also:

    Automatic door locks
    ● All doors lock automatically when the vehicle speed reaches 15 MPH (24 km/h). ● All doors unlock automatically when the ignition is placed in the OFF position (models with Intelli ...

    Summer tires
    NISSAN specifies summer tires on some models to provide superior performance on dry roads. Summer tire performance is substantially reduced in snow and ice. Summer tires do not have the tire t ...

    Small children
    Children that are over one year old and weigh at least 20 lbs (9 kg) can be placed in a forwardfacing child restraint. Refer to the manufacturers instructions for minimum and maximum weight an ...