The 2018.5 Nissan Rogue Sport SV AWD had me at “.5.”
Typo? No. This mid-year marker is a sign of the speed in which Nissan is rolling out models with loads of standard safety features, namely auto emergency braking, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert as part of its suite of Nissan Intelligent Safety Shield technologies.
This update provides younger, urban buyers in the SUV market a unique layer of protection that doesn’t come with most subcompact SUVs. This is in addition to the affordability, sporty styling and space sure to attract this audience.
Case in point: My test drive, occurring mostly at night, caught the attention of a young man who happened to see me and my passenger pull up in a well-lit city parking lot. We stepped out and began to take photos. There was no “Hello” or “What are you guys doing?” With a smile on his face he rushed up to us and said, “I’ll buy it from you!”
Anyone in sales must love hearing these words. Adrenaline rush? No doubt.
This young man quickly learned that this particular Palatial Ruby-colored SUV with Charcoal interior was not on the market. He hung around for a couple of minutes admiring the aggressively sculpted exterior punctuated with 17-inch alloy wheels, signature V-motion grille and brilliantly shining cluster of headlights.
Before slowly pulling himself away, he studied the Divide-N-Hide cargo area with us. So many places to store items, big and small! Up to 61.1 cu.ft. opens up with the 60-40 split second row folded down.
Sitting about a foot shorter than the standard Rogue, this Sport version gave me room to breathe easy as I turned the flat-bottom steering wheel to park in a small car port shared with another vehicle. No problem. First, I sat fairly high in the eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat. I also had access to the class-leading intelligent around view monitor.
In spite of the bold exterior of this Sport version, the 2.0 liter, 4-cylinder engine and Xtronic CVT automatic transmission with manual shift mode offered a fairly quiet ride. So, I was surprised to hear a juicy growl purring from the engine while driving up a short incline. Hello!
The 2018 Nissan Rogue Sport SV AWD MSRP: $25,090; Combined City/Highway MPG: 27.
Visit Nissan.
