Nissan Rogue rental review

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aquariuscsm

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We wanted to just take a road trip and drive this weekend,so wanted to rent the cheapest thing they had,so we reserved a Malibu. When we got there they didn't have it available,so they upgraded us to a Rogue. It was a 2018 with 26,000 miles.

First impression,it is so incredibly comfortable,and the ergonomics are perfect. The 4cyl engine pulls like crazy and feels very powerful,runs smooth as glass,and has an awesome upper rpm powerband (good ol Nissan engine!!). This is the first cvt I've ever driven and I must say I'm impressed!! It was so incredibly smooth and precise and never seemed to run out of power. I love the feel of the cvt transmission and can't understand why some people hate them.

The vehicle was built like a tank and the steering felt very smooth and precision. Taking it up to 90mph felt like nothing to this vehicle. I'm not an "suv" guy,but we both loved this vehicle.



C3EB9CB9-F452-48F1-A11D-86F6644BAEA7.jpeg


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I also wanted to add that we averaged 38 miles per gallon throughout the entire trip according to the gauge.
 
I have driven the(when new) 2014-15 Rogues and just last weekend in fact, my SIL(looking for a vehicle) & I test drove a 2019 Rogue SV awd and it is like you said. My 2015 Altima is similar in the way the CVT works and I love it. My only problem with the NISSAN & it's CVT is their reputation(concerns me), not any issues with the car itself. I love the way the CVT works as I am not a gear head so, shifts don't matter to me. It has the feeling of shift when I want it to. If I wanted something else(vehicle), I would have just bought something else!
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
The 4cyl engine pulls like crazy and feels very powerful,runs smooth as glass,and has an awesome upper rpm powerband (good ol Nissan engine!!).

On a side note, I'm surprised that Rogue Sport gets a smaller/weaker engine than Rogue. Seems backward.
 
I drove a 2014 Altima for a few weeks and I was shocked how comfortable it was for not being a luxury car, the front seats were very comfortable, if it didn't have the worst CVT transmission out there I would be driving one right now.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
The 4cyl engine pulls like crazy and feels very powerful,runs smooth as glass,and has an awesome upper rpm powerband (good ol Nissan engine!!).

On a side note, I'm surprised that Rogue Sport gets a smaller/weaker engine than Rogue. Seems backward.


"Sport" isn't a different trim level in this case, it's a completely different vehicle. Smaller.
 
Thanks for the review ( and pictures). If the car you drove had 26k miles on it and still felt great perhaps Nissan is turning the corner on cvt reliability. And if it was easy to drain and fill one might do as well as a conventional automatic. Makes you wish you could track that cars life to see when the trans does finally give out! Properly serviced, might be longer than you think.
 
Interesting … I drove the exact rental for 3 days and did not like CVT at all …

The 6 to 10 speeds work fine for me …
 
Originally Posted by diyjake
I drove a 2014 Altima for a few weeks and I was shocked how comfortable it was for not being a luxury car, the front seats were very comfortable, if it didn't have the worst CVT transmission out there I would be driving one right now.

I have a full size rental scheduled for later this week. I'll be doing a lot of highway driving this long weekend so I was thinking on requesting an Altima.
Hertz' other options are Sonata/Optima/Camry/Accord/Malibu. Considering I am the only driver and I've never driven a newer Nissan product, I'm thinking the Altima will be worth a shot.
It's just that pesky CVT that has me worried.

Overall the Camry and Accord are rated better, but I'm looking for comfort and fuel efficiency.
 
Originally Posted by Miller88
"Sport" isn't a different trim level in this case, it's a completely different vehicle. Smaller.

I know, but still. There is nothing sporty about a 2-liter NA engine in a 3300 lb SUV.
 
Originally Posted by 4WD
Interesting … I drove the exact rental for 3 days and did not like CVT at all …

Same here. I had a 2014 Altima rental, and hated the CVT.

This was from my quick review at the time:

Quote
#1 gripe: steering feel. It felt completely disconnected from the road, very unresponsive to steering inputs, very rubbery. Turning radius was pathetic as well. Felt like driving a truck.

#2 gripe: CVT. It was running at very low RPMs most of the time off hwy (for MPG reasons, I guess), and I had to really hit that gas pedal to get it to rev up and go. Otherwise, it would stay at less than 1.5K rpm or so and sound like it was lugging while it was trying to accelerate. Some resonance was also felt in the cabin at those low rpms. And if I did hit the gas pedal harder, the engine sounded very unrefined. And if I switched overdive off, then it held the RPMs above 3K. It was responsive then, but it just sounded like a POS. I would shoot myself if I had to live with it. I guess the "S" mode was there to help it rev up more freely, but still, I just did not like the way the engine sounded at higher rpms.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
The 4cyl engine pulls like crazy and feels very powerful,runs smooth as glass,and has an awesome upper rpm powerband (good ol Nissan engine!!).

On a side note, I'm surprised that Rogue Sport gets a smaller/weaker engine than Rogue. Seems backward.

Like the old Cherokee Sport.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by 4WD
Interesting … I drove the exact rental for 3 days and did not like CVT at all …

Same here. I had a 2014 Altima rental, and hated the CVT.

This was from my quick review at the time:

Quote
#1 gripe: steering feel. It felt completely disconnected from the road, very unresponsive to steering inputs, very rubbery. Turning radius was pathetic as well. Felt like driving a truck.

#2 gripe: CVT. It was running at very low RPMs most of the time off hwy (for MPG reasons, I guess), and I had to really hit that gas pedal to get it to rev up and go. Otherwise, it would stay at less than 1.5K rpm or so and sound like it was lugging while it was trying to accelerate. Some resonance was also felt in the cabin at those low rpms. And if I did hit the gas pedal harder, the engine sounded very unrefined. And if I switched overdive off, then it held the RPMs above 3K. It was responsive then, but it just sounded like a POS. I would shoot myself if I had to live with it. I guess the "S" mode was there to help it rev up more freely, but still, I just did not like the way the engine sounded at higher rpms.




So for those of you who hated the CVT, would you recommend I opt for the Camry/Accord?
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
We wanted to just take a road trip and drive this weekend,so wanted to rent the cheapest thing they had,so we reserved a Malibu.

Why not drive your own cars?
 
Originally Posted by zorobabel
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
We wanted to just take a road trip and drive this weekend,so wanted to rent the cheapest thing they had,so we reserved a Malibu.

Why not drive your own cars?


That's funny...I have a two week trip planned out of Cincinnati and the rental car company we used consider the Malibu one rung under Premium.
 
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
So for those of you who hated the CVT, would you recommend I opt for the Camry/Accord?

How about Mazda6 with the 2.5 turbo?
 
Originally Posted by zorobabel
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
The 4cyl engine pulls like crazy and feels very powerful,runs smooth as glass,and has an awesome upper rpm powerband (good ol Nissan engine!!).

On a side note, I'm surprised that Rogue Sport gets a smaller/weaker engine than Rogue. Seems backward.

Like the old Cherokee Sport.



I guess had they called it the Qashqai like the rest of the world, people would have thought it was menacing sounding plus they couldn't have added the totals from both cars to get a higher sales total. Personally think the Sport is the lesser car with lower MPG, but looks a lot better. My reservations on the CVT aren't how it drives, but its durability.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
So for those of you who hated the CVT, would you recommend I opt for the Camry/Accord?

How about Mazda6 with the 2.5 turbo?

Sadly I don't think that's offered
frown.gif
 
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