Sport version wins points as basic, simple and good enough
The Nissan Rogue Sport is a simple vehicle in complex crossover times. It’s easy to get in and out of, easy to operate, easy to use the technology and easy to get along with in a simple yet unexciting way.
That is not a bad thing. Consumers wary of all the newfangled advanced driver assistance systems, wary of the touch screens and multimedia systems, suffering from information overload, will be pleased with the basic simplicity of the Rogue Sport. It doesn’t stand out in any way, but simple can be good enough.
The Sport is a smaller version of the Nissan Rogue — the best-selling vehicle that is not a truck through the first half of 2018. Compared with the 2019 Rogue, which costs about $4,000 US more, the Sport uses a smaller though less-efficient engine. It’s five inches shorter in height and a foot shorter in length, yet the wheelbase is only a couple of inches shorter. That must be why Nissan calls it Sport, as in “Hey, ol’ sport!” not as in “Wow, that’s sporty!”
It is more nimble while turning, but still has the higher position of a crossover, just not as high as the Rogue. There’s not as much roll, and getting in and out of tight urban areas will be easier. Parking is considerably easier.
Accelerating is not so easy. The 141-horsepower four-cylinder engine launches more like a train than anything sporty. It’s not quick at speed, either, and pushing the pedal through the floor at on ramps won’t overtake much of anything except, yeah, a train.
So “Sport” in this sense means smaller, and the handling advantages that come with it, especially in the tester’s AWD. We didn’t test it in any weather other than a light fall rain, and it responded capably and competently enough.
Power is distributed to all four wheels through an improved continuously variable transmission. Nissan has been pushing the CVT for a while now and has overcome the old complaints that the engine just drones on and on as drivers expect a gear shift. The Xtronic CVT mimics gear shifts to minimize the droning of not using stepped gear shifts. During the first drive, I wasn’t sure it was a CVT until I floored it and the RPM gradually climbed without “shifting” until I let off the gas. Around town it’s smooth and unnoticeable, and overall the CVT is meant to improve efficiency.
Yet the larger Rogue has an EPA-estimated 8.5 litres per 100 kilometres combined from its 170-horsepower larger four-cylinder engine, which is slightly better than the Sport. At 50 km/h we averaged 9 L/100 km, and got about 8.1 L/100 km highway. The Sport trails most AWD small crossovers, including the Subaru Crosstrek and the larger Honda CR-V. It is better than the bottom-dwelling Ford EcoSport and Jeep Renegade. Nissan’s new subcompact crossover — the Kicks — gets 7.1 L/100 km combined by using a smaller engine than either Rogue.
The charm of the Sport resides in its uncluttered cabin and above-average cargo space. Rear seats are tight, but that goes with the territory. Passengers above six feet will want out; kids will be fine. We stacked two hockey bags in the cargo area with rear seats up, but it was a crowded, stinky ride — the stink attributable to the other “sports” in the Sport.
Even in leather-appointed top SL trim, the climate controls are basic, the multimedia display is basic, the tuning and volume knobs are basic. I say this with praise because so many car shoppers want something simple to use instead of the icon and button cluster-chaos presented by automakers.
The seven-inch colour touch screen is clear enough, though the on-screen navigation buttons are narrow and tedious compared to more advanced systems. There is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and there is only one USB port (though two more can be installed for the rear seat). Overall, the system is responsive and easy to use while driving, and the voice commands are as good as how you name your contacts; it might take a try or two to get “Mom,” but “Mother” should work better.
Most of the touch screen’s functions can be handled through steering-wheel controls, and the vehicle info display in the instrument cluster does a decent enough job of finding what you want without much distraction. Adaptive cruise works well, but the gap between the lead car is much too far even in the narrowest setting. Other advanced driver assistance systems, such as the automatic emergency braking and lane-departure warning (part of the $1,990 Premium Package), gave subtle but significant notifications.
The market is overrun with small crossovers, so the Sport doesn’t stand out in any particular way — few of the small crossovers do. But its basic simplicity is welcomed.