A few months ago, we got our first drive of the 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid. It was extremely brief, and it was with a covered-up prototype. Even then, the prototype showed promise, especially from Nissan’s latest series hybrid powertrain. Of course, being such a short experience, we’ve been anxious to spend a bit more time with the new SUV. We’ve also had some lingering questions about key factors such as fuel economy and pricing.
Base Trim Engine
1.5-liter Turbo Hybrid
Base Trim Transmission
CVT
Base Trim Drivetrain
All-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
225 hp
Pros & Cons
- Silky powertrain with solid fuel economy
- Stylish design
- Well-equipped and appointed cabin
- No budget-oriented front-drive model
- Fuel economy lags behind RAV4
- Reduced cargo space and low towing capacity
So, when Nissan invited us for a preview drive of the model in Utah, we quickly accepted. The drive itself was still quite limited. We had about an hour to wind around some ski resort roads, as well as spend a bit of time with the SUV’s arch-rival, the RAV4. However, we still learned a fair bit about the driving experience, and we were able to check out the Rogue inside and out with no coverings or camouflage. Additionally, we finally got the details on how efficient and expensive it will be. Just as before, we think the Rogue Hybrid is showing loads of promise.
First Drive events provide our initial impressions of a vehicle in a restricted environment under certain time constraints. Keep an eye on CarBuzz for our comprehensive Test Drive review which will follow soon.
What Is It?
The 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid is the first completely new Rogue since the 2021 model year, and it’s the first hybrid Rogue since 2019. While a conventional combustion version of this new Rogue is on the way, clearly Nissan feels that it’s critical that it get a true competitor to the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V hybrids on the market before anything else. Nissan’s coming out swinging with this Rogue, too, as it will be the most powerful Rogue ever offered, the most efficient, and it comes standard with all-wheel drive. It also features the latest version of its series hybrid powertrain that promises to offer impressive smoothness and refinement compared with those in the competition.
Exterior Looks: A Simple Shape With Slick Details
Strengths
Weaknesses
- Cool details
- Bold wheels
- Crisp lines
- SR’s gloss black trim hides detail
- Wheel design might put off some
For years now, Nissan has forced all of its vehicles to feature the same basic corporate styling, and the lynchpin of that styling has been a V-shaped fascia. While unifying, the design had varying levels of success depending on the vehicle. The outgoing Rogue was a bit middle of the road in this regard. It had a fairly conventional body, and a somewhat extreme rendition of the V grille with squinting running lights. It didn’t look horrible, but it didn’t look particularly attractive, either.
The newest Nissans, though, are no longer bound to use the exact same styling cues as everything else. If you look at a new Kicks, Leaf, and Murano, they all look distinctly different with unique grille and light designs. The Rogue continues this, and it looks far more handsome. The body is more chiseled with creases down the sides that highlight fender bulges like facets on a gem. The front fascia is made up of hexagonal shapes that blend from the running lights into the grille, and those are echoed in the taillights.
Nissan also included plenty of nifty details. While difficult to see, there are lozenge-shaped non-tinted spots in the rear quarter glass. Combined with the triangular body-color pillar, they’re meant to evoke clouds around Mount Fuji. The spots are also a set of two, and a set of three. In Japanese, those numbers are pronounced “nee” and “san”, so they represent the brand. Nissan did the same thing with the taillights on the Leaf. The wheel designs are striking, too, with their geometric patterns.
Our only real gripe with the exterior design, besides the wheels potentially being a bit much for some buyers, is that the details of the fascia are lost on the SR trim. The first Rogue Hybrids that reach America will all be SR trims, and they all have a gloss black grille. While gloss black is fashionable nowadays, it causes all the intricate shapes of the grille to vanish, leaving just a big black hole at the front of the vehicle.
Despite all the significant styling changes, the new Rogue Hybrid is almost the same size as the old Rogue. It’s about an inch taller, but less than an inch wider and longer. It does pick up a couple tenths of an inch in ground clearance, but for all intents and purposes, it’s the same size as before.
Interior: Stylish, Comfy, And Well-Equipped
Strengths
Weaknesses
- Comfortable seats
- Good controls
- Well-equipped
- Reduced cargo space
- Low towing capacity
- Tiny volume knob
Whereas the current Rogue has an interior seemingly more akin to the current Pathfinder, the new hybrid borrows more from Nissan’s EVs and the Murano. It has the now signature two-spoke steering wheel ahead of the driver, and a low and wide dash with screens perched atop a lower dash pad. It’s a bit more angular than those other recent Nissans, but the family resemblance is certainly there.
Nissan has also incorporated some neat patterns and colors for some Rogue Hybrids. The SR with Technology Package that we had access to featured a soft, dark teal upholstery on the dash and door panels. Those upholstered panels definitely make the cabin feel more premium, and they fit nicely with the high-quality plastics. Nissan had a Toyota RAV4 Limited on hand for comparison, and despite having a far higher price tag, it felt far cheaper inside with plenty of hard black plastics. The seats also had concentric ribbing on the back, which not only looked neat, but Nissan representatives said also helps provide a bit of ventilation.
Wide shot of the 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid dashboardNissan
While we weren’t in those seats long enough to test the efficacy of those ventilating ridges, we were seated long enough to find the Rogue’s seats impressively comfortable. Really, Nissan has been excelling at seat comfort for years now, and it hasn’t stopped. The fronts have loads of cushioning, and provide support in all the right places. If we had a criticism, it would be that they could be a tad wider, with perhaps a bit more bolstering, but it’s not like people are going to be pushing Rogues around like sports cars. The rear seats are a bit more firm, but comfortable enough, and there’s a load of room in every direction, front and rear. As standard, those seats are covered in cloth, but leatherette is available optionally.
Forward visibility is strong, too, thanks to the low sills and decently thin pillars, though the thick rear pillar adds a bit of a blind spot. Access is great, too, particularly for the rear where the doors open to 90 degrees. Unfortunately, cargo space has taken a hit compared to the outgoing Rogue. With the seats up, the Rogue Hybrid has 31.1 cubic feet of space, only 0.5 behind the old Rogue. However, folding the rear seats brings space to 65.9 cu. ft, a reduction of 8.2 cu. ft. Towing capacity is also just 1,500 pounds with the towing package, which trails competitors such as the RAV4.
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Infotainment: A Good Blend Of Buttons And Screens
Another area where the Nissan shines is with its screens and controls. Every Rogue Hybrid will come standard with dual 12.3-inch screens for instruments and infotainment. They’re bright and legible, and the infotainment system works smoothly and promptly. The infotainment screen can even be optioned up to a huge 14.3-inch unit, though we wouldn’t say it’s necessary.
We were also quite pleased to find that Nissan skipped the touch-sensitive climate controls from its recent EVs in favor of buttons and toggles. There’s even a volume roller. It’s small, maybe a little too small, but it’s there. The steering wheel is full of beautiful physical buttons, too. The layout does leave a few unsightly blanks, and some bigger knobs would probably be more functional, but it’s a solid setup overall.
2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid interior photo showing the infotainment screenJoel Stocksdale / CarBuzz / Valnet
Nissan packs the Rogue Hybrid’s interior with loads of features, too. Every model comes standard with a power-adjustable driver seat, heated front seats, wireless phone charger, dual-zone automatic climate control, remote start, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That wireless phone charger also has a magnet for more secure placement with iPhones and any Android phone with magnets built in or with a magnetic case.
On the safety side, they all get blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane-centering, and automatic emergency braking. Available as options are a panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel, surround view cameras, upgraded ProPilot drive assist with low-speed hands-off highway capability, parking sensors, a head-up display, rear seat heating, front seat ventilation, and Google built-in for navigation and apps.
2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid from the front three-quarter angleNissan
Powertrain & Driving: Nissan Worked Some Magic
Strengths
Weaknesses
- Incredible smoothness
- Incredible quietness
- Standard all-wheel drive
- Feels heavy
- Not a particularly engaging chassis
- Efficient, but not the most efficient
The main attraction of the Nissan Rogue Hybrid is, of course, the hybrid powertrain. It’s the third-generation of Nissan’s E-Power powertrain, which has been available overseas for years now. What makes the E-Power system different from, say, what you’ll find in a Toyota RAV4 hybrid, is that the combustion engine cannot power the wheels directly. The engine only exists to generate electricity as needed. All the motive power comes from the Rogue’s dual electric motors.
2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid
Engine
Turbo 1.5-liter I3 Dual-motor Hybrid
Transmission
Single-speed
Drivetrain
AWD
Power (Combined)
225 hp
Torque (Front and Rear Motors)
Front: 243 lb-ft / Rear: 144 lb-ft
Engine Output
148 hp / 171 lb-ft
Fuel Economy
38 comb. / 40 city / 36 hwy
Towing Capacity
1,500 lbs
Close-up of the 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid engineNissan
The generator, in the Rogue’s case, is a turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder. It is not the variable-compression engine currently fitted to the outgoing Rogue. It’s actually a completely new engine, and Nissan claims that it’s the most thermally-efficient engine in America at 42%. It doesn’t make a huge amount of power at 148 horsepower and 171 pound-feet of torque, but again, it’s only there to make electricity to keep the battery topped up.
The electric motors actually move the vehicle, and combined, they provide 225 hp, which is 21 more than the CR-V hybrid regardless of whether the Honda has front- or all-wheel drive. The Rogue is slightly behind the RAV4 hybrid, which makes 226 hp with front drive, and 236 hp with all-wheel drive. Combined torque from the electric motors hasn’t been announced, but the front motor makes a peak of 243 lb-ft from 0 to 4,300 rpm, and the rear motor makes 144 from 0 to 3,000 rpm. So, at the very least, you should get 243 lb-ft, but the total could top 300 depending on how the motors deploy power.
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Power is all well and good, but the main appeal of a hybrid is fuel economy, and the Rogue also lands squarely between the Honda and Toyota. Nissan only has fuel economy numbers for the launch trim, the SR, and it gets 38 mpg combined, 40 in the city, and 36 on the highway. That means it beats every all-wheel-drive version of the CR-V, which get between 35 and 37 mpg combined. Only the front-drive CR-V hybrid tops the Nissan at 40 mpg combined. Toyota remains the efficiency king, as the Rogue only matches the 38 combined mpg of the all-wheel-drive RAV4 Woodland Edition, the least efficient trim. The most efficient all-wheel-drive RAV4 manages 42 mpg combined, and front-drive can hit 43.
The Rogue Is Incredibly Refined
By the numbers, the Rogue Hybrid might not be the ultimate class leader, but it’s near the top. Also, the slight ding on fuel economy compared to the RAV4 is worth it if you value a quiet cabin. In fact, on our particularly brief test drive of a pre-production Rogue, we also had a chance to drive that same RAV4 Limited we mentioned in the interior section back-to-back with the Nissan. The difference in driving experience was stark.
Most of Toyota’s more entry-level hybrid powertrains are anything but refined, and that absolutely applies to the RAV4. Its four-cylinder is loud and coarse, and you hear a lot from it as it has to spin up to help contribute power to the wheels. Toyota hasn’t gone to much trouble to simulate a conventional transmission, resulting in a droning CVT-style experience. That also leads to a slightly disconnected feeling between your throttle inputs, acceleration, and engine noise. It is possible, though, to switch to manually selectable preset ratios if you want.
Jumping into the Rogue, it sounds and feels like an electric luxury car in comparison. The electric part comes from the fact that it’s propelled by electric motors with single-speed transmissions, so there’s no shifting, and you get instant torque. It’s also possible to have one-pedal driving with regenerative braking. The throttle tuning is such that the Rogue is never jumpy, with acceleration and deceleration requests that ease in slightly to keep things smooth. In fact, even the Sport drive mode doesn’t feel especially snappy, but at least you’re unlikely to feel any nausea, even if you have a clumsy right foot.
It’s the minimal engine noise that’s truly impressive, though. You won’t be able to go particularly long distances with the engine off, but much of the time the engine will run, it’ll be running at super low rpm, just enough to keep the battery topped off. You might pick up a hint of a thrum at low rpm, but it’s still easily one of the most silent hybrids we’ve experienced.
The revs will have to rise eventually if the battery is drained significantly, or if you’re demanding lots of electricity that has to be replenished. Even then, the Rogue is shockingly quiet. That’s partly accomplished by powertrain programming that monitors ambient noise and adjusts how hard the engine revs so that it can blend in. But even under full throttle, with the engine running hard, it’s far quieter than the Toyota rival, suggesting Nissan has used loads of sound deadening to keep the cabin quiet.
2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid from the rear three-quarter angleNissan
Nissan Seems To Have Prioritized Comfort Over Fun
While the extremely short mountain resort loop we drove on was decent for putting the powertrain through its paces, it was trickier to gauge ride and handling. The roads were fairly smooth, and we couldn’t carry much speed either on straight sections or in corners. However, the Rogue certainly seemed comfy, a nice complement to the hushed powertrain. Nothing about it felt like it would be hurried, though. In fact, it felt a bit heavy, or perhaps robust if we’re being more generous, which also translated to the somewhat weighty steering. That steering also seemed plenty accurate and precise, if lacking in feel.
In fact, in comparison, the RAV4 felt significantly lighter and more nimble, but maybe not quite as softly and comfortably tuned. The lighter aspect isn’t just feel, either, as the RAV4 is about 250 pounds lighter (3,847 pounds for the RAV4 Limited versus the 4,107 pounds of the Rogue SR). However, we’ll reserve our final opinions on ride and handling until we can get more seat time in the Rogue.
Verdict & Pricing: Giant-Slayer
When the Rogue Hybrid first reaches dealers by the end of the year, it will only be available in the SR trim with the Technology Package fitted. That model fits in the middle of the range, with the base SV and Platinum trims coming early next year. If you’re able to wait, you can get the Rogue Hybrid SV for as little as $35,490, or $37,065 with the $1,575 destination charge. That makes it basically the same price as the base Honda CR-V hybrid with front-wheel drive, whereas the Nissan comes with all-wheel drive. It is a bit more expensive than the cheapest all-wheel-drive RAV4 hybrid, though, and a few thousand more than the front-drive one.
The mid-level SR starts at $39,065 with destination. With that Technology Package, the early examples will start at $43,065 with destination. The Platinum comes in at $45,065 with the destination fee, putting it basically on par with the top-level hybrid CR-V and RAV4.
2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid fromt the frontJoel Stocksdale / CarBuzz / Valnet
Nissan has been giving us larger and larger tastes of the Rogue Hybrid, and each time, we’ve been more and more impressed. This has been our biggest yet, getting to really see everything, including what it costs. While it doesn’t quite hit the value proposition of the Toyota RAV4, the slight premium in up-front price and slightly reduced fuel economy seems more than worth it. You get a far more refined driving experience, more premium cabin, and loads of equipment. Plus, it undercuts the similarly refined CR-V Hybrid. After being out of the hybrid SUV game for years, Nissan has come back with a vengeance.
