Upcoming Nissan Rogue Due for a Power, Economy Bump

The Nissan Rogue compact crossover might not be everyone’s idea of a fun ride, to say the least, but it’s a crucial product for the automaker that builds it. By far Nissan’s best selling vehicle in North America, the Rogue is key to the automaker’s comeback hopes.

Maybe comeback is too strong a word…

Fiscal stabilization. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

As production schedules and launch dates suffer from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Nissan is readying a new generation of Rogue. Apparently we can’t expect something exciting, powertrain-wise, right out of the gate, but that doesn’t mean things won’t change under the 2021 Rogue’s hood.

According to a document meant for fleet customers’ eyes, the updated Rogue due for 2021 will receive a modest boost in potency. The document seen by CarsDirect shows an output of 180 horsepower, up from the current generation’s 170 hp. Torque will rise 9 foot-pounds, from 175 to 184.

This sounds like a direct injection 2.5-liter four-cylinder, like that found in the new-for-2019 Altima sedan, so the engine’s displacement and makeup (minus its fuel delivery system) will remain generally the same as previous.

Expected to ride atop a revised version of the previous-gen’s architecture, the 2021 Rogue is an important product for Nissan. Despite the overall slump experienced by Nissan (and indeed, the U.S. market as a whole) in 2019, some 350,447 Americans still showed up to buy an aging compact crossover from Nissan last year. That’s down 15 percent from the previous year, but the Rogue had no shortage of competition.

A bonus stemming from a rejigged engine is a slight increase in fuel economy — 30 mpg combined in front-drive guise, according to the doc seen by CarsDirect. An increase of just 1 mpg, yes, but a significant 1 mpg from an advertising and competition standpoint.

At this point, there’s no indication the next Rogue will don a hybrid drivetrain like that seen in the very short-lived current-gen variant. Mitsubishi’s plug-in hybrid tech remains a point of interest for Nissan and, with rivals like Toyota, Ford, and Honda all heading down the optional electrification road, it wouldn’t be odd to see Nissan go this route. That said, if Nissan bean counters don’t see decent volume in such an endeavor, forget it. Let the companies sitting on fatter stacks go after that crowd.

[Image: Nissan]