Rogue: An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal. A wandering beggar; a vagrant.

...An all-new all-wheel drive system with yaw moment control is also available on both S and SL models.

For years, Nissan Rogues across America have taunted me with what—from a distance—looks like a heat exchanger under their rear fascias. “What could this mystery heat-exchanger be?” I’ve spent many sleepless nights agonizing. Well, after finally looking at a Rogue up close, and talking with Nissan, I have the answer.

“Son of a bitch, I can’t take it any longer!” I cried last week after seeing another “heat exchanger” on the apparently Rogue-infested streets of suburban Detroit. It was time to stalk one of these crossovers, get up close, and find out once and for all what this heat-exchanger-looking thing was.

Lucky for me, the very moment I decided to do something about my longstanding “Rogue problem,” I looked up and saw one cruise right into a parking spot at Walmart. So, after the owner went in to buy dirt-cheap gear oil, SuperTech oil filters or whatever people buy from Walmart, I did what any normal person just like you would do: I hopped underneath a total stranger’s car.

That’s when I saw this:

“Whoa! This isn’t a heat exchanger at all!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, prompting a few folks to stare at me in bewilderment as I laid under some random person’s car. I was amazed that I’d gotten it so wrong for all these years.

Usually when I see sheetmetal surrounding hot exhaust components, I assume it’s there as a heat shield, in this case, perhaps to protect the plastic rear fascia. But looking at this component carefully, it was clear that this bit of metal was not there to protect plastic from thermal degradation.

For one, the metal only covered the very bottom rear part of the muffler; the area above it still had a nonzero radiation view factor; if this were a heat shield, it’d likely cover more of the rear of the muffler. It would also likely more closely follow the contours of the muffler (the muffler may actually just have a second “wall” built in), instead of having such a weird shape. More importantly, the fascia was fairly far away from the muffler, and muffler surface temps don’t tend to be that high. As such, I ruled out the heat shield thing.

Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that this shield—bolted to the muffler—served an aerodynamic purpose. In particular, I theorized, it was there to “detach” the flow from the airfoil-ish-shaped muffler, so that flow didn’t get trapped in the plastic rear fascia, which would act as a “parachute” and add drag (it’s worth noting that there also appears to be a vent in the rear fascia to reduce this effect).

Today, a Nissan representative confirmed my theory, though he would not divulge how many counts (drag coefficient thousandths) the formed piece of sheetmetal reduced. “That is a diffuser bolted onto the muffler,” he said. “The purpose of this diffuser is to push air downward so that air flowing underneath the muffler does not get trapped into the rear fascia.”

So there you have it; don’t be like me and this poor bastard on Reddit (and I’m sure dozens of others)and let the shadows between the bends of that sheetmetal confuse you into thinking there’s a heat exchanger on the back of the Nissan Rogue. There is not. It’s a diffuser, and it’s there to reduce drag by preventing air from flowing up into the rear fascia.

There, now we can all once again enjoy full nights of toss and turn-less sleep.

The 2021 Nissan Rogue is finally here, replacing the version that has been around since the 2015 model with minor updates. The new model is completely redesigned inside and out, and it boasts a large array of standard safety features.

From the outside, the Rogue looks like a blocky, more conservative version of the new Juke that's offered overseas. At the front is Nissan's big chrome "V" grille sitting very upright. It blends into upper daytime running lights, and below those are large LED headlights. The sides are very smooth except for pumped-up sheetmetal above the wheel arches reminiscent of some new Audis. The roof is available in a contrasting color fitting the design trend of the day. The back is fairly plain, and it's beefed up with a rear bumper covered in black plastic and a faux skid plate. Nissan has increased use of high-strength steel and even added aluminum doors, fenders and a hood, all of which helps the new Rogue weight about 100 pounds less than the last one.

The inside is more impressive. The company has only shown higher-trim models, but they look quite plush. The SL and Platinum get leather upholstery on the seats with fancy stitching, and at least some kind of stitched leatherette adorning most of the dashboard. There are even splashes of natural-finish wood or fake wood trim. The lower SV trim gets leatherette upholstery, and the base S trim gets cloth.



Some of Nissan's flashy technology is on display in the interior, too. The standard Rogue gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system and 7-inch instrument display. Higher-trim models are available with a 9-inch infotainment screen, a 12.3-inch instrument display and a 10.8-inch heads-up display. All Rogues come standard with Bluetooth connectivity and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Wireless CarPlay and cellphone charging will also be available on some trims. The rear passengers will be able to take advantage of multiple optional amenities such as heated seats, a separate climate control zone for three total (driver, passenger, rear passengers) and integrated sunshades.

As for safety equipment, all Rogues come standard with front automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, rear cross-traffic warning and automatic high-beam headlights. ProPilot Assist is available and has had retuned steering assist and can detect traffic sooner for smoother braking. It can remain active at a stop for longer (30 seconds vs. 3), too. On Rogue's equipped with navigation, ProPilot Assist will use the navigation to preemptively slow the vehicle for curves and ramps on the interstate. It can also use traffic sign recognition to automatically change the cruise control speed.

The powertrain of the Rogue is the least exciting part of the crossover. It once again has a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder, and it does make more power, but not a whole lot. It picks up 11 ponies for 181 horsepower and torque is up by 6 pound-feet for 181 as well. It's coupled to a CVT and either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Fuel economy has improved a bit. The S with front-wheel drive gains 1 mpg in city and combined driving, and 2 in highway driving, whereas the higher trims only gain 1 mpg in the highway and unchanged in city and combined. With all-wheel drive, the S improves by 1 mpg in city and highway driving, and by 2 mpg in combined. The higher trims only gain 1 mpg in combined and nowhere else. The full numbers:

• FWD (City / Highway / Combined)
  • S: 27 / 35 / 30
  • SV, SL, Platinum: 26 / 34 / 29

• AWD
  • S: 26 / 33 / 29
  • SV, SL, Platinum: 25 / 32 / 28

When asked about the possibility of either the VC-Turbo engine or a hybrid coming to market, Nissan representatives said that there's no turbo version in development at the moment, and no comment on a hybrid. They did note that they're always keeping an eye on possible variants, and they're watching the new hybrid competition closely.

The Rogue goes on sale this fall. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but we would expect a similar starting price to the current model, right around $26,000.

“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 creates a multi-tiered cargo area with two separate floor panels that can be placed in several positions. 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.
Without a doubt, the most impressive element of the new Rogue is its interior, which moves right to the top of its class in both design and quality. We only got to test the top Platinum trim, but even lower level Rogues look to be nice enough for their price. A number of two-tone interior combinations are offered. The open pore "wood" is fake but convincing to the eye. The Platinum is adorned with contrast stitching on the doors, dash and the seats, which are covered in semi-aniline leather and feature Nissan’s incredibly comfortable “Zero Gravity” seat design front and rear. The driver seat also gains additional adjustment travel, which should be good news for taller drivers who might've struggled to get comfortable in the old Rogue.

The updated dash and center console have been updated for the rapidly changing times with a pleasing combination of digital screens and physical controls. The Platinum trim gets a 9-inch central touchscreen, but the rest of the trims make do with a fully competitive 8-inch screen. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both standard, but the 9-inch screen has wireless CarPlay capability (but not wireless Android Auto). Lower grades get an analog instrument panel with a 7-inch display in the center, but the Platinum trim comes with a fully-digital 12.3-inch panel that's easy to read and moves through the various screens and menus quickly via steering wheel buttons. A large head-up display comes paired with the fully digital instrument panel, too.

One tech innovation we don’t need, however, is another reinvention of the gear selector. We're calling it the "gear puck" because it's roughly the same size as one and slides back and forth. It's also just technology for technology’s sake. You press a cheap-feeling little button on the side and slide it backward past two detents to go into Drive, forward to go into Reverse and somewhere in the middle for Neutral. There’s a clearly-labeled button on top for Park. It’s easy enough to learn, and similar to those employed by other brands, but it takes up just as much room on the center console as a more intuitive shifter would. The biggest benefit is its short stature, which makes for easier access to the phone tray/wireless charging mat.



We’re generally pleased with the rest of the tech Nissan offers in the new Rogue, though. It's the only compact crossover that offers tri-zone climate control for separate front and rear temperature settings. There’s a USB port (mix of A and C) for everybody in the car. A panoramic sunroof is available as an option. Plus, the Rogue is the first Nissan to get the latest version of ProPilot Assist. Nissan says it has smoother braking, improved lane marker detection and is better at keeping you centered in the lane. The X-factor this year is Nissan’s Navi-link technology. It uses precise navigation mapping that will reduce your speed automatically for freeway junctions, exits or tight curves. We noticed it dropping our speed by 2-3 mph on tighter highway curves, but the more useful aspect of this tech is being able to keep it on even as you’re changing highways. We’ll need more time to fully assess its smoothness, but the lane-centering and braking movements it exhibited in our hour-long highway drive were top notch.

You won’t pay much more for the 2021 Rogue, as the base price for the S only goes up $160 to $26,745. The peak of the lineup is the Platinum, which goes for $36,525. All-wheel drive adds $1,400 to any trim (S, SV, SL and Platinum). This puts the Rogue right smack dab in the center of the competition when it comes to pricing.

The improved driving dynamics are a big win, and the interior styling on its more expensive trims helps it stand out. However, nearly every entry in this segment is damn good at being a small family runabout. The new Rogue isn't good enough to climb to the top of the heap, but it is much closer than before. Top 10 sales seem destined to continue, and this time, its success will be much easier to understand.