By Chad Haire
The compact Rogue SUV is a popular seller for Nissan with over 300 thousand units a year moving off the showroom, of which, about 44 thousand are the hybrid version featured in this review. The main selling feature of the Rogue SUV is an improvement in fuel economy.
While the standard Rogue has a 170 horsepower engine and is rated at 25/32 mpg, with 27 average in all-wheel drive (AWD), the hybrid version has 176 horsepower and is rated at 31/34 mpg, with an average of 33 in AWD. Although adding a hybrid system may increase fuel economy numbers, it also increases overall weight by about 400 pounds. So we drove the Rogue for a week to get the real world figures.
As expected, acceleration was reduced due to the additional weight, something the driver would notice when attempting to rush on freeway ramps. Nissan does provide a “sport” mode setting to liven-up transmission shift points for those in a hurry. During our test, we drove on the freeway, in the city, and in mixed commuting. Our average in all three environments came to 28 mpg, falling short of the 31/34 mpg estimates. In all fairness, it was scorching hot outside during our test runs, with temps running as high as 110 degrees, and hybrid systems don’t like heat. I found that in cooler weather there is a slight improvement in the economy, usually about 10 percent.
During our test, we drove on the freeway, in the city, and in mixed commuting. Our average in all three environments came to 28 mpg, falling short of the 31/34 mpg estimates. In all fairness, it was scorching hot outside during our test runs, with temps running as high as 110 degrees, and hybrid systems don’t like heat. I found that in cooler weather there is a slight improvement in the economy, usually about 10 percent.
The factory requires that the tire pressures be set at 41 pounds to decrease rolling resistance and give the maximum fuel economy. This results in a bone-jarring ride. As an experiment, we lowered the tire pressures to 33 pounds, the same specs as the non-hybrid Rogue. It softened the ride quality but dropped overall fuel economy to only 23 mpg. Therefore, we decided to pump up the tires back to the suggested 41 pounds.
The base price of the hybrid edition of the Rogue starts at $27,600. With a luxury package and shipping, the total tab was $31,625. Nissan dealers are good at giving big discounts, so the actual price may be far less. Work your best deal.
