2016 Nissan Rogue Skide Plate Hardware

Concluding yr, Nissan sold almost 330,000 Rogues in the U.Southward., making it by far the make's most pop model.

For 2017, the meaty crossover utility vehicle has added a new model, a hybrid that competes with the very successful Toyota RAV4 Hybrid—of which 44,000 were delivered last year.

We recently spent four days and nigh 380 miles with the hybrid Rogue, to see if its fuel economy lives upward to its EPA ratings.

DON'T MISS: 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review (Feb 2016)

We also wanted to meet how the Rogue Hybrid compared to the RAV4 Hybrid nosotros tested 11 months ago.

In the Toyota, we covered 450 miles over roughly the same examination cycle: about two-thirds highway and 1-third around-town lower-speed use.

Our Rogue Hybrid test even had the aforementioned blustery Northeastern wintertime conditions, with temperatures ranging from 25 to forty degrees F.

2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Jan 2017

That 2016 RAV4 Hybrid delivered an indicated 30.4 miles per gallon per the trip computer, confronting an EPA rating of 32 mpg combined (lower than Toyota'due south projected 33 mpg).

Our new hybrid Rogue test motorcar was fitted with all-wheel drive, making it a directly comparing to the 2016 RAV4 Hybrid, offered only in AWD form.

The 2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid AWD is EPA-rated at 31 mpg metropolis, 34 mpg highway, and a combined 33 mpg—1 mpg higher than the AWD Toyota meaty crossover. (The front-wheel-drive version comes in at 33 city, 35 highway, and 34 mpg combined.)

ALSO SEE: 2017 Nissan Rogue - review

Over our 377-mile test, our AWD Rogue Hybrid returned an indicated 28.four mpg—xiv pct beneath the combined rating, versus a 5-percent difference for the Toyota.

Note that our tests aren't really rigorous enough to determine effective fuel economy to the tenth of a mile per gallon; weather, routes, and oft weather vary.

Just we consider them a good directional indicator of how close many buyers may go to the rated gas mileage, e'er depending on their personal driving styles.

2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid

The hybrid Rogue'due south higher rating confronting the RAV4 Hybrid was a slight surprise, because the Toyota uses a more powerful two-motor hybrid organization similar to the previous-generation Prius.

Out of the pair of motor-generators, the one that powers the vehicle is rated at 105 kilowatts (141 horsepower).

In combination with a 150-hp 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine tuned to run on the Atkinson cycle, the RAV4 Hybrid's powertrain output is a combined 194 hp.

READ THIS: 2016 Nissan Murano Hybrid slips quietly into lineup, minimal book expected

The Rogue Hybrid, on the other hand, has simply a single thirty-kw (40-hp) electric motor, sandwiched between the 141-hp 2.v-liter 4-cylinder engine and an adjusted version of Nissan's continuously variable manual (CVT). Total summit powertrain output for the Rogue Hybrid is 176 hp.

A further departure between the two is that Nissan has retained mechanical all-bike drive, like the old Ford Escape Hybrid.

The hybrid RAV4 blends torque from the gasoline-electric powertrain up front and an additional l-kw (67-hp) electric motor between the rear wheels that kicks in just equally needed.

2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid

Nissan's powertrain is a more powerful version of the previous mild-hybrid system fitted to the Pathfinder Hybrid and the Murano Hybrid, which used a 15-kw (20-hp) motor in the same setup.

The Pathfinder Hybrid was yanked off the market afterward a single model year (2014), and Nissan has suggested the Murano Hybrid is likely to sell less than one,000 units in total.

We found the Pathfinder Hybrid unsatisfying and woefully brusque of its rated fuel economic system during a winter test three years agone.

Bank check OUT: 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid: Gas Mileage Test Disappointing (Feb 2014)

But Nissan conspicuously has higher hopes for the Rogue Hybrid, and the capacious SUV may in fact sell decently well.

While our 28.four mpg wasn't within the 10 pct we consider to be the maximum reasonable variation from the 33-mpg EPA combined rating, it was slightly better than the 27-mpg combined rating for the conventional Rogue Hybrid.

And most importantly, the Rogue's racket suppression and sound insulation was proficient enough that many engine starts and stops weren't noticeable with the sound system on.

2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Jan 2017

That substantially camouflaged the frequent engine starts from a system that still has only the weakest ability to accelerate in all-electrical fashion.

The Rogue Hybrid can motility away from rest on electricity alone—quite sloooooowly, if you accelerate gently on level roads—but you won't make any friends in traffic if you do so.

Still, the 30-kw motor provided more electric boost and more electric-merely running and the engine switched off more frequently than in the less powerful and heavier Pathfinder Hybrid.

No Rogue is particularly sporty, and whatever commuter will have to get used to the CVT behavior, in which engine speed is decoupled from road speed and acceleration will spin the engine up to high revs if needed while the machine gradually gathers speed.

Nissan's CVTs aren't as bad in that respect as they were a few years ago, just they're notwithstanding not every bit good as those from Subaru and a few others who've focused on improving the driver experience in CVT-equipped vehicles.

2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, Jan 2017

In the example of the Rogue Hybrid, the usual "CVT nature" is slightly alleviated past the immediate torque of the electric motor at the commencement.

Just we also noticed a few pauses and sharp changes every bit the powertrain command software clutched in the electrical motor, and so switched on the engine, while spinning upwards the CVT.

It'south non horrible, simply two-motor systems are just smoother across the board.

Nissan does get points, however, for good and largely imperceptible blending between regenerative and friction braking.

Based on the Pathfinder Hybrid system, our expectations for the Rogue Hybrid were depression, and then overall we were pleasantly surprised past its capabilities.

Information technology has the Rogue'due south aforementioned big cabin (one of the bigger among compact crossovers) minus a fleck of cargo book, decent interior finishes, and expressive styling, plus higher fuel economy—and, down the road, perchance the generous purchase incentives Nissan is known for.

2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid

A few other notes from our 4-solar day drive:

• In 40-degree F weather condition, the engine stayed off less than a minute at stops with battery capacity showing more than half-full; that's less than Toyota
• The dashboard climate controls were simple and intuitive
• Nissan'south infotainment systems go on to suffer from small screens, slow operation, and not-intuitive icons and command structures
• The load-bay floor in the Rogue Hybrid is several inches higher than that of the regular Rogue, cut cargo volume with the rear seat upwards from 39.3 to 27.three cubic feet
• It does, nonetheless, take a compartment under the back half of that floor; the battery sits ahead of information technology behind the rear seat
• The vestigial tertiary-row seat on the regular Rogue is not offered in the hybrid version; information technology's no loss

Prices for the base 2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid start at $27,440, or nigh $4,000 more than a base conventional Rogue. Our Nissan Rogue Hybrid SL AWD started at $32,050; a mandatory delivery fee will add together nearly $one,000 more than.

Options on our test vehicle included the "Palatial Ruby" maroon metallic paint task (that'south really what it's called), and a Premium Package consisting of a power-operated panoramic sunroof that extended over the rear seat ,and emergency crash braking.

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