10 Things You Need to Know About the 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport

The Nissan brand is growing. In 2016, it was the top-selling brand amongst millennial buyers. The Nissan Rogue market is growing. As of late 2016, the affordable compact SUV was the brand’s top seller. Those two factors, combined with overall growth in the compact crossover and SUV market, make the perfect climate for Nissan to expand the Rogue nameplate. That’s why Nissan invited journalists to Nashville, near the company’s corporate headquarters, to check out the all-new 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport lineup.

Nashville proved the perfect setting for testing a Rogue Sport in the fully loaded SL trim with all-wheel drive, and a trip to Nissan’s offices provided a more in-depth look at this new model. Here’s what you need to know about the all-new, 5-passenger 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport.

Side-by-side, the Rogue and the Rogue Sport don’t look all that different. The Rogue Sport is obviously slightly smaller, but a basic comparison doesn’t reveal that these two vehicles are intended for completely different markets. Yet, Nissan maintains that’s the case. The Rogue Sport’s ideal buyer is younger and “more urban” than Rogue customers, which suggests young, city-dwelling, child-free couples.

To illustrate this market segmentation, Nissan briefly showed how the Rogue Sport relates to the brand’s other crossovers and SUVs in terms of size and demographics. Curiously, Nissan’s own Juke subcompact SUV was omitted from this analysis, but when questioned, Nissan said that, yes, the Rogue Sport has a different target customer than the Juke. In short, the new model is expected to bring in new buyers rather than cannibalize the brand’s existing sales.

If the Rogue Sport is filling a void in Nissan’s lineup, then it only stands to reason that Nissan plans to make inroads in the super-hot compact and subcompact crossover market. The prey? Only the segment’s heaviest hitters — the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, and Hyundai Tucson, and the fresh-off-the-line Toyota C-HR. The HR-V, for its part, is only a couple years old, but quickly established itself as the front-runner of this relatively new and fast-growing class, and Nissan’s identified the Honda as its top target.

Even though Nissan is banking on converting new customers to make the Rogue Sport a success, it’ll be a challenge to make inroads, which helps explain why Nissan is using the Rogue nameplate despite the desire to differentiate the two models.

Nissan says the Rogue Sport’s dimensions were designed with customer preference in mind. Thinking of smaller as better is an interesting shift, but the fast-growing subcompact SUV segment supports Nissan’s decision to develop a smaller version of the Rogue.

The difference in size between the two vehicles is more apparent in person than in photos. The Rogue Sport is about 5.5 inches shorter in height (which is nice if you’re carrying gear on the roof) and it’s about 12 inches shorter than length (making it easier to park and turn). The Rogue Sport’s cargo area is 22.9 cubic feet, about 9 cubic feet less than the Rogue, but still enough for a weekend getaway. The second row folds out of the way to open up a total of 61.1 cubic feet of storage space.

Nissan wants to make clear that while there are obvious similarities between the Rogue and its new offspring, the two models are different vehicles with different styling. When comparing the front ends, for example, the Rogue looks slightly more aggressive, because it has more cutouts around the grille and front bumper. The Rogue Sport incorporates many of the same styling elements, but the body flows more, which gives the new vehicle a more calm look. Maybe this is what Nissan means when it describes the exterior design as “Emotional Geometry.” The vehicles are also going to evolve differently, Nissan says. That is, changes to one of the vehicles won’t necessarily correspond to or indicate changes to the other vehicle. That’s because the vehicle we know as the Rogue Sport is actually the Nissan Qashqai, which is already sold in other countries around the world.

So, why carry over the Rogue branding? It’s simple, Nissan says: They’ve invested a lot into the Rogue and want to make the most of its name.

There’s an early front-runner for the Rogue Sport’s most popular color: Monarch Orange. True to its name, the vehicle’s contours shift toward brown in certain light and the hue takes on a red tint in others. It looks good in person (most of the trip’s test vehicles were Monarch Orange) and photographs well (which is why most of Nissan’s early publicity photos were in this color).

The Rogue Sport is also available in Mocha Almond, Magnetic Black, Brilliant Silver, Gun Metallic, Palatial Ruby, Pearl White, Glacier White, Caspian Blue, and Nitro Lime (which we’re particularly eager to see).

I’ve never experienced Nissan’s legendary NASA-inspired Zero Gravity seats, and I was excited for a chance to check them out. I have some back problems, and though I’m rarely actually uncomfortable while driving, an awesome seat is a surefire way to make me feel warm and fuzzy about a new vehicle. 

But, nope. No Zero Gravity seats on the Rogue Sport. They’re standard on the Rogue, but not even an option in the new model. Obviously, Nissan needs to make some hard decisions to keep costs in check and make sure the original Rogue retains its hierarchy in the lineup.

That’s not to say the Rogue Sport’s seats weren’t comfortable. They absolutely were, all day, and it was easy to find a supportive driving position. No complaints except that they weren’t the seats I’ve heard so much about.

Despite the previous minor gripe about the seats, the Rogue Sport’s interior is impressive. The cabin design feels simultaneously airy and cozy — big windows bring in lots of light, while the supportive seats and high-quality materials coddle passengers. Leather comes standard on the test vehicle’s SL trim level.

Nissan offers a long list of standard and optional features on the Rogue Sport, enough to compete with the class leaders. The infotainment system was particularly helpful, since it displayed the local speed limit on the navigation map.

The Rogue Sport is designed for city dwellers, and that means it needs to slip through traffic and park easily. In short, it needs to be more maneuverable than the Rogue, a feat that Nissan easily accomplishes. Our trek through downtown Nashville demonstrated that the Rogue Sport is well-suited to a city environment.

However, don’t let the name persuade you that there’s anything truly sporty about the Rogue Sport. It’s much more oriented toward comfort, with a compliant and absorbent suspension. Steering is soft — maybe too soft. Though the vehicle is competent through turns, it can be a little awkward for the driver — simple 90-degree turns required shuffling the steering wheel through the hands rather than simply turning the wheel with hands kept in place, which is a personal pet-peeve and feels just a little bit sloppy.

The Rogue Sport is powered by a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that makes 141 hp. Frankly, that doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s the same number achieved by the Honda HR-V, which shows that it’s perfectly appropriate for this class. Too bad Nissan isn’t squeezing out a few more ponies, which would give the Rogue Sport a useful advantage even if just on paper.

That said, the Rogue Sport actually wears its modest power well. We’d prefer if the acceleration was a bit stronger and more purposeful off the line, but it does the job. The crossover easily achieves cruising speed and holds it comfortably, even with four adults in the vehicle. Overall, the engine and Xtronic CVT transmission are a well-matched pair.

Nissan has a tough uphill battle with the Rogue Sport, but welcomes the challenge. The next several weeks will be critical to the vehicle’s success. The base trim, Sport S with front-wheel drive, starts at $21,420; all-wheel drive can be added to this, and every, trim level for $1,350. The Sport SV starts at $23,020, and our test vehicle, the Sport SL, starts at $26,070.

At the entry level, the Rogue Sport represents a savings of about $2,400 over the original Rogue. However, the base model of the class-leading Honda HR-V, which Nissan has identified as its prime competition, costs about $2,000 less than a base Rogue Sport. 

The Nissan Rogue Sport officially goes on sale May 11, though actual availability on that date will vary by region and by dealership.