Nissan Takes on the RAV4: 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid First Look

SPEAKER: The Nissan Rogue is finally getting the hybrid powertrain that it deserves. But that isn't the only change that is excited to check out what this small SUV has to offer. Let's find out together. We're Edmunds, and we test hundreds of cars each year on the road and at our private track, so you get the most trusted reviews. If you want to know which car, truck, or SUV is the best, then stick with us. [ENGINE ROARING] Would you believe that our small SUV rankings run 20 vehicles deep? And the current generation of the Rogue, it sits all the way back in 14th place. So this new one, it's got its work cut out for it, but in reality, it's really only targeting a single benchmark. And that would be the Toyota RAV4, the best-selling vehicle in America. Now, hopefully Nissan brought along one of those so we can compare it directly to what the new Rogue Hybrid has to offer. But they didn't need to do that because we already have a Toyota RAV4 in our one-year road test fleet, and we know that vehicle quite well. Now, if we look at the overall Edmunds ratings for the two vehicles, there is a pretty significant gap. The RAV4, it's all the way up at 8.1 while the rogue is down at 6.4. And if you look a little bit closer, it lost pretty much every single category to the Toyota from value, to technology, to driving experience. The only one it really competed in was comfort. So that's a lot of ground for this Rogue Hybrid to make up. Let's see if it does. All compact SUVs, they are basically the same shape. So it becomes extra important for your SUV to have enough visual flair that's going to distinguish it from all of those competitors. And the new Nissan Rogue Hybrid definitely does that better than the old rogue did, starting up front here with this grill. It's got all these hexagonal kind of shapes on it, and it's a little bit busy for my taste. But I really like that this pattern sort repeats itself throughout the vehicle, a style and cohesiveness that we can get behind. Now, if you look the daytime running lights, they come in this 2-3 pattern. Now, two in Japanese is ni Japanese and three is san. Nissan. Now, if the grill verges on being too busy, these new wheels, they definitely go over the line. To me, they just got way too much going on, and they also look like they'll be tough to clean with all those crevices. Now, there's actually some angular body work going on the side of the rogue hybrid that you can't really see, because this light blue paint job kind of covers some of it up. But if you get a different color, it's definitely going to be more pronounced. But my favorite part of the styling down the side is going to be here near the D-pillar, where it kind of rises up. This is actually meant to evoke the view that you get of Mount Fuji, and it's always covered in clouds. So up in the glass here, there's five little hash marks that are meant to represent the clouds, and cool little touches like this that really hint at the brand's heritage and culture. They're always going to help when it comes to styling. First impressions of this new Rogue Hybrid interior, I really like it because the dashboard feels like it's been pushed back. And that makes the front of it feel a lot more airy and open than it used to. Now, you're also getting Nissan's zero-gravity front seats, which have plenty of bolstering and pretty good cushioning, as well. And you're also getting this cool quilted pattern on them. And Nissan says that this doesn't just look cool, it's also going to help keep you cooler on a hot day, as well. Now, heated seats are going to come standard on all trims, but not until the platinum are you going to get ventilated seats. Overall, I think the materials have definitely improved. I also really like that on the dashboard here, this kind of looks black, but it's actually this deep forest green. And that gives the interior a bit more dimension. Some very, very good choices in here when it comes to styling. The small item storage was an area in which the Rogue was behind the RAV4, and that's still going to be the case. The Toyota just has all these little cubbies and nooks for you to store things in a shelf in front of the passenger, which the rogue hybrid does not have. Now, you are getting this nice little area up here that's good for smaller items, and it's also got a new wireless charging pad, which we're going to talk about in just a little bit. But the cupholders, they are a bit small, and the center bin isn't that big. You are also getting this nice storage space down here, but the problem with it, just the same as it was in the previous generation of the Rogue. The opening isn't that big. So while you might be able to jam a small purse or bag in there, getting it out might be an issue. Now, here in the SR with the technology package, you're going to get the larger of the two available touchscreens. This one measures 14.3 inches. But the base screen, that one also measures 12.3 inches. So you're really not giving up that much real estate if you go to the smaller screen. But what you are giving up is Google built-in. That's only going to come with the larger screen, and that's going to make Google Maps the native map app. It's going to give you access to the Google Play store, the Google Voice assistant, and, of course, Gemini, If you want to throw a little AI into the mix. And if you don't like the sound of that, you're also getting wireless Android auto and Apple CarPlay on both, something that the Rogue lacks standard. Now, I like the responsiveness of this screen. You're able to get through these menus pretty smoothly and easily. And if we go to Maps here, as you can see, Pinch, and Zoom, and all that good stuff happens really, really fast. I also like this instrument cluster. It's going to give you a mix of different views, one of which will allow you to see the Maps view right in front of the driver, which is my favorite thing, because then you can see your directions here while doing other things with the screen. So if the passenger wants to change up something, you'll still know where you're going. The charging has also gotten a serious upgrade in the Rogue Hybrid. You're getting two USB-C ports here, two in the rear. That's standard. But there's wireless charging pad, that's going to be where the real update. This is a Qi2 wireless charging pad. Charges at 15 watts. So even if you're using wireless CarPlay or Auto, it's still going to add juice to your phone. And it's now MagSafe. So your phone is going to clip on there, and it won't move around when you're driving. Now, what if you don't have a MagSafe phone like me? I can put it on there, and it will still charge. But it's not clicked in. So anytime I turn, it's going to slide off. But if you do have it, this is going to be a much better charging solution for you. And on Platinum models, you're getting dual wireless charging pads, so you and a buddy can do it at the same time. But the thing that I really appreciate is that even though Nissan has packed more features into the screen, they haven't given up on physical controls at all. They've actually really doubled down on it. If you look down here, this is all the physical stuff for the climate. So this is where the heated seats are. The ventilated seat button would be here. Fan speed, temperature, all that good stuff right at your fingertips. You're even getting a dedicated camera button right here next to the volume jog dial. And if you look over here on the steering wheel, yeah, there's a good amount of buttons. But they resisted the urge to make any of them touch-sensitive. This is a layout that I could learn more quickly than most other new vehicles that are on the road today. Those updates that we just saw, they should really help the Rogue Hybrid bump up its technology score and its overall rating. And if you're looking for overall ratings, and rankings, and reviews of any other vehicle on the road, not just the Rogue Hybrid, be sure to check out Edmunds. We've got them all on our site, and we update them regularly. Now, for these small SUVs, the back seat is going to be just as important as the front. And on paper, the Rogue Hybrid is actually quite down on legroom to both the Honda CRV and the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid by over 4 inches. But sitting back here, it really doesn't feel that way to me. I'm just under 6 feet tall. This seat is set up where I like to drive. And as you can tell, I still have plenty of legroom. It does feel more spacious back here than it does in the RAV4. And even with this panoramic sunroof, you're still getting plenty of headroom. Now, this quilted pattern is going to be repeated from the front, and it feels good here, as well. There's also a very good natural angle of recline to the seats, so it's going to be pretty comfortable. And Nissan still offers one thing that its competitors don't. You're actually getting three sets of lower latch anchors. So you're going to be able to put three car seats across. And the door openings, they are super wide. The doors open to almost 90 degrees. So putting a seat in, that's also going to be easy, as well. Where the Rogue may struggle a bit is in the cargo department, where it's 31.1 cubic feet of cargo space behind the back seat is about 10 less than the CRV and the Tucson, and even 6 less than the RAV4. But we'll have to toss all of our luggage in there to find out for sure. We do like some of the cargo features you're getting, though. The load-in height is decent. There's a nice cubby towards the rear to put things you don't want sliding around, and the load floor will even drop down a few inches if you need to carry something tall. Now we're driving a prototype version of the Rogue Hybrid. Now, the parts of the Interior, they are covered up because of that, but you got a pretty good look at it earlier. And again, we really liked what we saw in terms of the changes on the inside. But what's happening under the hood, that is what really is going to differentiate the Rogue Hybrid from all of its competitors, because it's going to be the only one of them that is a true series hybrid. What does that mean? It's just a fancy way of saying that, even though there is a gas engine under the hood-- in this case, a turbocharged 1.5 three-cylinder-- there is no mechanical linkage between that engine and the wheels. It's instead working as a generator. And from there, it's sending power to the electric motors or to the battery to be stored for later. There are two electric motors on this vehicle because it's all-wheel drive, one of the front, one in the back. And you're going to get a total system horsepower of 225. But I can tell you right away, this drives more like an EV than any of the other hybrids, and I think that's a good thing. It's even got a one-pedal driving mode, so you can let off the throttle like this. And it's just going to crawl to a stop without you ever having to touch the brakes. That's not something you can do in any of its competitors. Now, the regenerative braking does feel quite dialed in. It's very easy to stop it smoothly, which is not true of all one-pedal driving systems. There's no jerkiness, especially at low speed. And if you don't want to use one-pedal, they actually have another new braking system that they have put into this vehicle. It's called smooth stop. So if I turn off one-pedal like this, and I just brake like a 15-year-old, it still sort of modulates the brake pressure for me. And it makes you come to a smooth stop, even if you're not trying to do so at all. And that means that if you're riding along in a Rogue Hybrid Uber, and the driver is driving in a way that's going to make you carsick, it might actually help you out of touch. The other thing that I'm really enjoying about driving the Rogue Hybrid is how quietly and seamlessly the gas engine turns on. In other hybrids, it can be very abrupt, especially because that engine is actually providing power to the wheels. But because of the setup of this, the gas engine actually kind of just eases its way on, and they actually try to control it when there's other ambient noise in the cabin. So you notice it even less. And again, that sort of just adds to that EV driving experience. It's quiet. It's comfortable. Yeah, and it's a surprise in a genuinely great way. Now, this is a pretty short drive route through the mountains. So I'm not really able to get a full sense of the acceleration and how the Rogue Hybrid might ride on the highway. That's stuff we're all going to have to get later. And they've also upgraded a lot of the safety features on this vehicle. It's got a new front camera and a new front radar powering the ProPILOT assist stuff. Again, stuff we're going to have to check on later, but early returns are very positive. This drives differently than any of the other hybrids on the market, again, in a good way. Now, if you like what you've seen so far out of this rogue hybrid and you want to get a head start on buying one, your current set of wheels is a great place to start. Just head over to edmunds.com/sellmycar, where you'll get an instant cash offer. Now, of course, the other question with a hybrid is always going to be fuel economy. And we're still waiting on EPA estimates. The only numbers that we have so far are Nissan's internal estimates, which are 40 MPG in the city, 36 on the highway, and 38 combined. Now, that is quite good for a compact SUV. A touch behind the RAV4, though. Most trims of that vehicle are going to get you just over 40 MPG combined. But again, we're going to have to wait for those full estimates closer to the car's on-sale date. Now, how does this match up with the Toyota RAV4, a vehicle where we really like how it drives because it demonstrates Toyota's know-how with hybrid systems? Well, what's here in the rogue hybrid is not new for Nissan. This is actually their third generation of E-Power, as they call it, and they've been selling it overseas for many years. And now it's finally powerful enough that they think it's suitable for American tastes. And I think that that development know-how also shows through in this vehicle. It is well-tuned. The powertrain is responsive, but not jumpy. I think it's a really worthy competitor to the Toyota from behind the wheel. Before we wrap things up, if you've been enjoying our videos and want to help us make more of them, a Like and Subscribe is the best way. And if any other questions about the Rogue Hybrid or any other new car, drop them in the comments below. We do read them all. Now, when it comes to value, the picture is going to be a bit murkier because the starting price has definitely increased with that new hybrid powertrain and all of that new equipment. So to get into one of these, to start, it's going to be about $37,000, including destination. That's a few thousand dollars more than the RAV4, even when you account for having all-wheel drive. Now, initially, only the SR trim is going to be available with the technology package. That's going to be about $43 grand. And the Platinum that we're seeing here, that's going to push all the way up to $45,000. So the Rogue Hybrid is definitely reaching new limits when it comes to price for this vehicle. However, as we saw, though, the interior, it's much improved with better materials and a more functional design. And I also enjoyed how it drove on the road. It's got an EV feeling that none of the other compact SUVs can really emulate. Now, will that resonate with consumers? We're not quite sure, but we'll have more on the rogue hybrid when we get to drive a non-prototype version in a couple of months. Now, remember, this vehicle going to arrive in dealerships before the end of the year in just that one trim level. If you want a base trim or if you want a platinum, you're going to have to wait until 2027 for that. And you're going to have to wait even longer. If you want a gas version of the rogue, which will be coming eventually. That'll arrive for the 2028 model year. Thanks for watching.