2008 Nissan Rogue priced under $20,000
When Nissan's small CUV, the Rogue, goes on sale in just a couple of weeks, it'll carry a sub-$20,000 base MSRP. That just undercuts the popular Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, which are right in the Rogue's crosshairs.
Based on the Sentra platform, the Rogue is a few inches longer than both the Toyota and Honda, but offers less interior room. Rogue's 2.5 liter 4-cylinder will be paired with a CVT to counter the CR-V's 2.4 liter and RAV4's 2.4 liter base engine. No 6-cylinder is planned, Automotive News reports.
[Source: Automotive News via Winding Road]
UPDATE: Check out the first review we found of the 2008 Nissan Rogue over at Cars.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Drewboy 2:44PM (8/26/2007)
Looks good to me! I just wish they'd put the 3.5 VQ in it.
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Arthur 2:51PM (8/26/2007)
I like the design of the gear shifter, though it looks like it tapers down to a pencil-thin thickness (?). Maybe it's me, but the door handles look liked they were phoned in.
Otherwise, overall nice design and of course the timing is right for this type of vehicle.
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Reality Check 3:07PM (8/26/2007)
The CVT sucks!!!!! It is so boring and slow you might just die waiting to get on the highway. After getting a CVT for my son I feel bad everytime I look at his car and wish I got him a 5 speed.
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Dave 5:00PM (8/26/2007)
I'd take a manual over a CVT any day, but I'd definitely take a CVT over any automatic. I've had a chance to drive the Sentra and Altima with the CVT and they are great in those cars. It definitely isn't slow. All you do is floor it and the engine just stays right in the powerband and goes like a bat out of hell. The Sentra I drove was a rental, and I beat on that thing and still got 33 mpg. It's an awesome transmission.
Reality Check 7:24PM (8/26/2007)
Thanks Dave, but from what I have seen with CVT's is a total lack of that specail feel that I expect with most automatics. I also doubt that they will last past 100K! They also cost a small fourture to rebuild and are being subsidized by Nissian so they wont be looked at as a total falure.
Don 3:07PM (8/27/2007)
For some odd reason, Nissan's managed to put pretty good CVT's in their cars, something no other manufacturer's managed to do.
I'm intrigued.
Reality Check 3:23PM (8/27/2007)
I was also intrigued untill I saw the falure rates and the lack of support from most other car makers! If you want shift points on a CVT then there are no real savings and it adds stress points that lead to early ware. Also Nissian hasn't had the best repair record with most of their current cars. I guess time will tell but with all the other drive trains hitting the markets it wont really be that big of deal.
Jugomugo 3:35PM (8/26/2007)
I wish companies would stop this fake SUV BS and just start making station wagons again...
I'm still saving for my Volvo V50.
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emailphil 5:43PM (8/26/2007)
Do yourself a favor and skip that V50. Although it is a great looking car, its reliability record is horrible. Checkout the S40/V50 forums on swedespeed.com and you will think different. I just dumped my 05 V50. It was a royal P.O.S.
Seminole 6:55PM (8/26/2007)
I can back that up, my 05 S40 is a hunk of crap. The newest problem is the seatbelts are wearing out the leather seats and scratching them. Volvo's response? "Ordinary wear and tear" BTW my car only has 25,000 miles.
db25 2:31PM (8/27/2007)
Agreed!
Don 3:55PM (8/27/2007)
The S40 reminds me of the Focus...both were pieces of unreliable junk out the door.
1337 12:39AM (8/28/2007)
Jugomugo,
Save yourself a few bucks and get a loaded Mazda3 wagon for under 20k. It handles better than the V50 and shares the European Focus' architecture. Hell, for less money than a decently equipped V50 you could have a MazdaSpeed3!
mark 4:30PM (8/26/2007)
looking at the instrument cluster, where is the COOLANT gauge? I found the center orange circle has the fuel gauge,transmission gear indicator, and outside temp. BUT NO COOLANT GAUGE??!?!? Even the new saturn vue is doing this.. CHEAP! CHEAP!! CHEAP!! what's next? no fuel gauge, just a light to tell you it's near empty?!? This cost cutting thing has gone too far.
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Tony 5:57PM (8/26/2007)
Are you blind? Take a closer look to the right of where the fuel gauge is in that center orange circle and you'll see a coolant gauge. Next time be more careful before you post and rant about something being "CHEAP".
Jeff Gilleran 5:52PM (8/26/2007)
Mark,
It does have a coolant gauge.
Its in the same cluster where the fuel level is, but on the opposite side.
It follows the 5 o'clock to 1 o'clock position, as the fuel gauge follows the 7 o'clock to 11 o'clock position.
The only thing thats not good about the gauge is its alittle small in my opinion.
Not as easy, "at a glance" as it appears "busy" from being more cluttered with other operations, such as outside temp and such.
I get tired of "orange" being used by several automakers as the primary cluster lighting as well.
Overall, not a bad cluster, but it could be better.
mark 7:56PM (8/26/2007)
Jeff- well i did look on the net for some pics of that orange center gauge, and i never saw the coolant part in the pic. Maybe you could share a link where I can see the entire gauge?
And yes Tony... the saturn vue doesn't have a coolant gauge for 08. So my other comments do stand for manufacturers getting cheap.
Jeff Gilleran 8:11PM (8/26/2007)
Mark heres the link.
Its in the gallery listed with the post..
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/nissan-rogue-1/126015/
Jeff Gilleran 7:08AM (8/28/2007)
Mark,
I find a slightly smaller picture of the exact same photo before Hamud does and he gets the credit?
Sheesh.. (rolls eyes).
LOL
the friendly grizzly 4:41PM (8/26/2007)
Mark: when VW offered only a lever you pulled when the engine started to cough from fuel starvation, folks thought it "cute", or "one of those quirks that gives VW its unique personality". No need for a light, for heaven sake!
So, how about cutting Nissan some slack about the missing coolant gauge?
/sarc
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