This week, I am taking a first look at the 2025 Nissan Rogue, one of the most popular SUVs in America. In fact, it was only outsold in 2024 SUV sales by RAV4 and Honda CR-V. The Rogue was completely redesigned for 2024 and looking at sales, America liked what they saw. My evaluation vehicle is the Rock Creek Edition, intended to compete with the likes of other compact off-road SUVs such as the popular Subaru CrossTrek.
Exterior
In this very competitive crossover SUV segment, exterior looks can make or break the success of an SUV, and the designers at Nissan really pulled off a tough look. The Rock Creek Edition only comes in three color choices.
Starting in the front of this SUV, the front fascia is mostly black and surrounded by LED headlights and running lamps. The front area is heavily vented to feed air into the turbocharged engine. The raised hood looks awesome and is very aerodynamic. 17” beadlock-styled wheels look fantastic and modern, and the rear spoiler is a nice addition.
There are hints of orange around it, which has become common on off-road vehicles. This SUV is a real looker, especially in Baja Storm Metallic. I was a bit surprised it did not have the ever-popular black roof, but it does have a cool and unique tubular roof rack on top.
Powertrain
Under the hood is a 1.5-liter dual-overhead cam inline 3-cylinder engine that is turbocharged. It is mated to the Xtronic continuously variable transmission (CVT), and it has shift paddles. On the CVT, the concerns about the older transmission are long gone and it is a very reliable CVT. Nissan programs simulated shifts into the transmission to give the illusion of actually shifting, and that made it way more enjoyable.
Stats are good on the drive train with the horsepower coming in at 201-horses, and it has 225 pound-feet of torque. Will you get a whiplash when you floor it? No, but it’s more than ample for getting up on the freeway. The review vehicle Nissan supplied me with for a week has the Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system, and I am a huge fan, even if you don’t live where the weather gets rough in the winter.
Interior
As you open the door, you will see leatherette seats that are orange stitched and bolstered, and the Rock Creek logo is embroidered into them. The seats are power on both sides, they are heated, and they are the famous NASA-designed zero-gravity seats that are both comfortable and supportive.
The flat-bottomed steering wheel is heated, and as you hit the start button, an 8” digital dash comes to life, and it is really pleasant and easy to read, also colorful. If you move up to the Platinum trim, the dash is 12.3”, but of course that will cost you.
To operate everything, the infotainment system is center dash, up high, which is also 8” and colorful, too. The Rogue is loaded with new tech featuring enhanced voice recognition, wireless Android Auto, wireless Apple CarPlay integration, Wi-Fi, and convenient USB-C ports. The cameras are fantastic, especially the 360-degree view that circles the Rogue to make sure everything is good to go. The Rock Creek has a front camera as well when you go to off-road mode.
I really like the center console, there is storage under it, two cup holders, an electronic emergency brake, the Auto Hold button, a wireless phone charger, a stubby gear shifter, and a large butterfly-opening soft-touch glove box between the seats. All this was very well thought out for ease of reaching things easily. This is also where you find the rotary terrain-mode selector which includes snow mode and sport mode, with a hill descent control button right in the middle.
Moving to the back seat, which has more legroom than I expected, there are air conditioner vents and there is a soft fold-down armrest with cup holders.
The back seats split in a 60/40 configuration. One thing jumped out at me when I opened the back doors was how wide the opening is. The doors open to almost 90-degrees, and entry height is high, too. That means entry and exit out of the Rogue back seat is easy, as is putting a car seat in. Very well thought out Nissan!
Utility
The cargo area is spacious, also. Open the electric tailgate which you can also operate by waving your foot under the bumper (note: you really look stupid doing this, so unless your hands are full, use the key fob) and you open up to a very large cargo area that even has a spare tire underneath.
There are levers in back to drop either or both of the rear seats for longer cargo, and with everything folded down, there is an incredibly flat load floor to give you 74.1 cubic feet of cargo.
Safety
Let’s look at what you get with the new Rogue on the safety side, which is impressive with the Nissan Safety Shield 360 protection. You get automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot monitoring with intervention, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure warning with lane intervention, automatic high beam headlight assist, and forward collision warning.
My tester also has ProPilot Assist, which is a form of self-driving technology that gives you steering assist, adaptive cruise control with full speed stop-and-go capability for those times you want to let the car do the driving when cruising down the highway.
Standard Features and Options
Standard features on the Rock Creek include dual-zone automatic temperature control, remote start, heated steering wheel with controls, wireless phone charging, traffic sign recognition, voice recognition, premium audio, automatic headlamps, and dual electric heated outside mirrors.
Options on my tester include the $800 Premium package that gets you the foot-activated rear tailgate, reverse tilting mirrors, memory driver’s seat, power front passenger seat, the wireless charging, and heated steering wheel. Premium paint adds $425.
Ride and Drive
This Rogue Rock Creek rides and drives well, and the road noise aspect has improved for sure. Engine noise is fairly loud as you accelerate hard in Sport mode, and that is my only complaint. I wish there were more insulation between the cabin and the engine compartment, but overall, it’s OK, just turn the radio up a little. The Rogue changes pretty drastically as you choose the drive modes, from Sport, to Off-Road, to Snow, to Auto, and finally Eco.
Verdict
Fuel economy is 27 city, 32 highway, and 29 overall, really good mileage for an all-wheel drive SUV. Equipped as this one is, MSRP is $38,035, which is great for these days as compared to some of the competition. Nissan is really good about keeping the incentives aggressive on its top-selling vehicle.
- What I Liked Most: The looks inside and outside, and the great value.
- What I would change: A little less engine noise inside would make me happy.
- MSRP: Base price $35,420/Total MSRP $38,035 with transportation and options.
- Fuel Economy: Rated at 27 City/32 highway/29 combined.
- Odometer reading when tested: 5,300 miles.
- Weight: 3,713 pounds, GVWR 4,685 pounds.
- Spare tire: Compact temporary spare.
- Length-Width-Height: 183” long/72.4” wide/66.5” high.
- Fuel Tank Capacity: 14.5 gallons with the filler on the passenger side.
- Towing Capacity: 1,500 pounds.
- Official Color: Baja Storm Metallic.
- 2025 Rogue Rock Creek in a few words: Adventure calls when you drive the Rogue Rock Creek and it answers nicely.
- Warranty: 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper, 5-year/60,000 mile power train warranty with roadside assistance, and 2-years or 24,000 miles of free scheduled maintenance.
- Final Assembly Location: Smyrna, TN.
- Manufacturer's website: Nissan
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