2013 Nissan Rogue S AWD Review: Design
What’s New:
- The 2013 Nissan Rogue is unchanged from the 2012 model.
The 2013 Nissan Rogue looks a lot like a baby Murano, the popular mid-size crossover that slots in above the compact Nissan in the company's lineup. The resemblance is particularly prominent when the Rogue is viewed from the front, as its grille and headlight arrangement are unmistakably cut from the same cloth as its larger sibling. The smaller platform does the Rogue well, however, as it avoids some of the awkwardness inherent in the Murano's design, especially from the side and three-quarter angles.
The Nissan Rogue is no styling standout - its inoffensive looks allow it to blend in a little too well when surrounded by traffic. There's nothing individual about the Rogue that grabs you by the throat viewing it for the first time, but in a segment where crossover design seems polarized between generic, universal styling cues and look-at-me body work, this will certainly appeal to buyers who are interested more in what the SUV can do for them on a daily basis than in how fashionable it makes them feel.
The passenger compartment of the Nissan Rogue is arranged in a simple, straightforward fashion, with our S model featuring cloth seats with manual adjustments and a general lack of adornment on the dash and door panels. Compact crossovers haven't been hit by the same wave of extreme individuality that is slowly taking over the small car segment, and moving from a 2013 model year hatchback into an SUV like the Rogue is almost jarring. The general sense inside the Rogue is one of function over form, and the basic nature of the SUV's interior almost feels old-fashioned in this respect.