The Nissan Rogue SV FWD is a great looking crossover, it impresses for the price in this segment, and it has a semi-usable third row.
When you first see Nissan’s small crossover from a distance, it immediately looks like the larger, and older, brother, the Pathfinder. Then as you see it pass it becomes immediately evident which model it is in the lineup. Personally, I love the way the Rogue looks. It’s aggressive, but still “cute” to some. More so, it definitely isn’t the first generation Rogue, which was, for me, an ugly thing that stole sales from me when I was trying to sell a Mazda3 wagon. So you can understand my annoyance.
- None of that takes away from the fact that the Nissan Rogue is a usable vehicle, having three rows of seats, LED daytime running lights, a sporty appearance, and a ready to go driving nature.
- That being said, the Rogue SV front-wheel drive is a showcase of great family values and safety for the price. The as-tested price of my Rogue came to $27,865 with just four options and an $800 destination charge.
- Options included roof rail cross bars ($200), floor mats? ($125), SV premium package ($1,420), and the SV family package ($940).
- The SV family package adds the third row seat and run flat tires, while the SV premium pack adds a 7-inch touchscreen with navigation and Nissan apps, voice control, SiriusXM radio, traffic, and weather, AroundView monitor (allows you to see from the top down when reversing), power liftgate, heated mirrors, blind spot and moving object detection, along with a lane departure warning system.
- The interior on the Rogue SV is simple and a familiar place for any Nissan owner. I like the navigation screen and the buttons around it, as well as the rearview camera that allows me to see from a heavenly perspective when backing into a parking space, or parallel parking.
- Unlike the photos shown above, my Rogue came equipped with charcoal cloth interior. Leather is only standard on the SL trim that starts out at just over 28 grand, not optional on any other trim level.
- Which brings me to my next point: why would I spend nearly 30 grand on a crossover with no optional leather? The Hyundai Elantra GT has similar interior space as the Rogue and only costs 25,000. But that’s apples to oranges, understandably. You can always get the popular Honda CR-V or Toyota Rav4 for this price, too. Although the CR-V is the only other one in this segment with a third row option.
- A third row is important to many families who are car shopping right now. No longer can you buy a Chevy Tahoe at 15,000 dollars under sticker, plus everyone wants good gas mileage. But this third row seems really high in the air with no real place for kids to put their feet, except on the back of the seats in front of them. So expect lots of, “Mom, he’s kicking my seat!” whines from the peanut gallery. I guess that’s why there isn’t leather… It should still be an option.
- Powering the Nissan Rogue SV is a 2.5-liter I-4 making 170 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque, all attached to a CVT, a Nissan favorite. While I’m no fan of CVTs, there’s no denying the the winning qualities of it when you see the Rogue gets 26 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, respectively.
- Ride quality is somewhat firm, as are the seating surfaces. This seems to lend itself, in my view, to a more than an around-town nature that most CUVs suffer from. The Rogue seems like it would actually be able to handle a small off-road adventure if it had to. That can’t be said about most vehicles in this segment, quite honestly.
- Road and wind noise is also a feature you’ll get on the Nissan Rogue. It’s not so terrible that’s a deal breaker, mostly because of other features, but it’s certainly noticeable.
- And that’s where the Rogue SV seems to move past the competition. Its ability to have a “sport” button, a more rough and ready nature, along with good looks and great safety appeal show that Nissan takes the Rogue’s value very seriously. The power liftgate comes in handy for anyone who knows what it’s like to carry a child and lots of groceries.
At first I was rather hesitant to like the Nissan Rogue SV due to its $27,865 price tag, small third row seat, and cloth interior. But once I started doing my research and thinking like a parent on a tight budget, the Rogue started to make more and more sense. It seems it would be my personal choice if I had a small but active family. Because of its looks, but mostly the fact that it wants to work hard. It can do the mall parking lot thing on Black Friday, but it also does the twisty stuff and bad weather thing better than the others (outside of the Mazda CX-5. That baby does back roads like a champ).
