Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Crossovers/CUVs, Nissan
Nissan going Rogue with new CUV
by John Neff on Oct 13th 2006 at 12:25PM 
Today Nissan released a sneak peek at a new small crossover utility view called the Rogue that it will be debuting at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in January. Automotive News reports the Rogue will be smaller than the Murano and be powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine when it goes on sale late next year as a 2008 model. Since no other information is available on the Rogue, we can only speculate that it may be built on the same Nissan/Renault Alliance "C" platform as the recently unveiled Nissan Qashqai to be sold in Europe. We met up with the Qashqai at the Paris Motor Show and were very impressed with not only its design, but also its build quality and use of upper-end materials in the cabin. The 2.5-liter engine that will find its way into the Rogue, however, is larger than any of the four engines being offered in the Qashqai, which includes a 1.6-liter gas engine, 1.5-liter diesel and a pair of petrol and diesel 2.0-liters. Ignoring the fact that we in North America just love power, the larger engine might also indicate that this is a bigger CUV than the Qashqai. Who knows? We're just throwing out guesses here. [Source: Automotive News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
D-MAN 12:47PM (10/13/2006)
Nissan is coming out with some exciting designs. Only if the diesel could make it here!
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DPC car videos 12:55PM (10/13/2006)
Looking at the scetches it seems to be looking good.
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MattB 1:06PM (10/13/2006)
That partial sketch looks great. Nissan already has fantastic looking CUV's (Murano, FX35/45, Qashqai), hopefully the Rogue will follow trend.
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car details 1:10PM (10/13/2006)
I'm sure will have a nice look. Also it's an Nissan, doesn't it ?
http://www.carsprofile.com/
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Leather Bear 1:47PM (10/13/2006)
I suspect that this is the replacement for the X-Trail soft roader, sold in Canada but not the US. The current Canadian X-Trail comes with a 2.5 4-cyl. but is getting on a bit. It's an opportune time for Nissan to offer a cute ute in the US to slot below the rather crude Xterra and compete with the likes of the Jeep Compass/Patriot, Hyundai/Kia Tucson/Sportage, Suzuki SX4, etc.
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Dieter 2:00PM (10/13/2006)
I saw an X-trail here in the Dallas area a few days back, with a Mexican license plate. At first, I thought it was a new Nissan, kinda almost cool little X-tera thang (said with a Texas accent). But when I got close, could tell it was a bit dated, not sold here, not quite up to U.S. tastes. Perhaps this indeed (to #5's guess) is the replacement for it. But to compete with the small utes here in the U.S., I'm afraid a 2.5 won't cut it! And a name like "Rogue"? What's up with the name, haven't the Nissan folks looked up the meaning? "Dishonest", "Scoundrel", "Tramp", "Cheat"! Sounds like a vehicle I could really trust!?
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Eric L. 3:48PM (10/13/2006)
If Nissan builds this to be CRV or Rav4 sized, then a 2.5L will be enough. Maybe when the next Murano comes out they will add a V6 to the Rogue. Somehow "Rogue" doesn't sound right for a Nissan. More Dodge. Dodge Rogue - now that sounds like a mean car.
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Leather Bear 9:17PM (10/13/2006)
Back in what is now the fog of my teenage years (late 1960s), a friend owned a Rambler Rogue convertible. As I recall, that model was a valiant (but an ultimately failed) attempt by American Motors to compete with the more popular compact muscle cars such as the Falcon Sprint / Mustang, Nova SS / Camaro, and Barracuda. The Rambler didn’t have much cachet with the rest of us motorheads, but one thing that I do remember about the car is that my buddy was able to score with a much higher than average number of coeds because of it. It wasn’t the reclining front seats (though that surely helped), but a lot of fathers that wouldn’t have normally let their daughters out of sight were more than happy to grant permission for a date with that nice young man who drove a “sensible” AMC product. After his Lover’s Lane successes, the rest of us started calling his ragtop the Rambler “Pervertible”.
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Tony 7:10PM (10/15/2006)
Offer it with a V-6 and loaded for about 25-27k and i'll be first in line at my local dealer for one.
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Steve S 7:46PM (10/15/2006)
A mini Murano would be a good idea as a Rav 4 fighter. If you don't have a couple or more of kids then the Murano is more than what you need and they don't come cheap when you tick off some option blocks.
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Leo 9:40AM (10/16/2006)
that rear sketch looks nice
and this may the the answer to the CR-V RAV4
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Hoyt Hayden 6:01PM (5/04/2007)
Any mileage estimates for the all wheel drive version? I am hoping for 30 mpg.
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