The 2010 Nissan Rogue is distinctive, comfortable, and can go just about anywhere. It can be driven to school, errands, and date night. It has some pretty basic, attractive amenities, but nothing over the top. It’s like my Ugg boots.
Listen up, I love my Ugg boots. I wear them everywhere and all the time between the months of October and May (I do live in Colorado, after all). They keep my feet warm, they’re easy to put on and take off, and they do register as moderately hip on the style meter.
But the boots and the Rogue do lack a little something extra. In the Rogue’s case, it needs a few more storage cubbies and usable space in the front seat. There are two cupholders and one open storage slot for a small phone or device. My iPhone didn’t fit well and fell out regularly, but some other types might work well. Because of this, one of the cupholders was always in use housing my phone. Of course, there is the center console you can put your stuff into, and it houses an aux jack as well. But most people like some sort of cubby out in the open.
The boots lack a bit of performance. There’s not a lot of tread on the bottom, so they’re not great for shoveling snow. While the Rogue certainly does fine with traction, because it’s got intuitive all wheel drive, Vehicle Dynamic Control, and a traction control system, it doesn’t do well in the transmission department. The Rogue is equipped with a CVT. In the past, Nissan has done well with the CVT and the execution of it has been good. But the Rogue’s CVT was annoying. It revved really high before switching gears. It was also noisy. It gave the impression that I was riding the clutch, despite the absence of a clutch.
But beyond those two issues, there’s not a thing left to complain about. The Rogue is easy to like. The Rogue’s seats are comfortable. The smaller size means that everything is within reach for me. The kids are great in the back, the legroom is good and no one has issues with their car seats. If you need some extra cargo room, the front passenger seat folds down. The stereo was simple to use. No fuss, no crazy IT degree to figure out the climate controls. Like my Uggs I just pull on and step out the door, with the Rogue I just get in and go.
The power you get in the Rogue is about what you’d expect from a 2.5l 4-cylinder engine with 170 hp. And that’s what I like, its power is fine, it’ll get you where you need to go without incident. It will do this getting an estimated 21/26 mpgs. Which isn’t phenomenal for a 4-cylinder, but not sucky either. The Rogue is a little bigger than your average compact car, so it’s going to be a little more thirsty.
What is also not sucky about the Rogue is the base price of $23,130. My test came with a Premium Package that included a really great-sounding audio system with all the bells and whistles, even a hands-free Bluetooth system. Nice! With that and a moonroof package, the Rogue rang up at an MSRP of $27,295.00.
If you are interested in the Rogue, pay attention to the CVT. If you’re fine with the funkiness of it,
On the TFLcar.com recommendation scale of:
– Buy it
– Lease it
– Rent it or
-Forget it
I give the Rogue a TFLar.com rating of: Buy It!
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Growing up in Colorado Sara Lacey was always kind to her cars. These days however, she spends her time punishing automobiles with the help of her children. Reviewing cars from the unique perspective of a woman and mom, Sara also writes for MotherProof.com and Cars.com. In addition, she sits on the board of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press Association.
Follow on twitter @TFLcar or watch latest car
review videos on YouTube.
