Nissan Rogue

[JTK]

After some hours of car shopping frustration with my FIL, a new 2008 Rogue S, AWD sits in their driveway. They finally decided to pull the plug on their 1998 Maxima. This time it needed a ~$2000 Catalytic converter assy, new ball joints (dealer prices) and she was getting rusty underneath. Over $3K work per the dealer. They only had 90Kmi on it. I really didn't think my FIL was going to dig a CVT + 4cyl combo, but he LOVES the thing. I was quite surprised myself. The only other CVT/4cyl I've driven was a Saturn Vue back in ~2002 and I HATED it. The Rogue is definitely improved. No boggy/slipping feeling and a great feeling of power to it. The sales person, FIL and myself, none of which are petite, a/c on, she still moved out very well. It has a dash button to lock it supposedly in a 50/50 4x4 split, for speeds up to 10mph, then it kicks itself back into it's automatic AWD mode. It's comfortable and fairly roomy inside. It's MUCH higher off the ground than the Maxima was so it will be better in the snow for them. They get a ridiculous amount of snow where they live. I don't know if I'm that thrilled with Nissan these days, but that's what it HAD to be to make my FIL happy. He finally got his AWD. He wound-up leasing too, which was a shock to me that that's the way my in-laws wanted to go. In the end, they gave him a $2K trade in allowance for the Maxima [first offer was $1200]. Nothing else down, $299/mo for a 39month/39Kmi lease. $0.15/mile overage. Not too shabby if you ask me!

Joel

 

[Camu Mahubah]

Congrats!

Now show us some pics!

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Those Saturn Vue CVT's were utter khrap. Made in East Germany, quality was never associated with this design. Saturn went to the tried-n-true 4 speed auto.

Good to hear they area happy with their purchase. A coworker owns a new Rogue and she loves it.

 

[JTK]

Thanks guys. Yep, it's a basic S, AWD model, silver, grey interior, plastic wheel covers, MSRP was $21800. It could be purchased for $20K-ish. Can anyone confirm if the CVT is a Jatco JF011E model? http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/PRODUCTS/cvt.html From the quick peak I took underneath, the rear diff was a fairly large aluminum housing. Kind of like a small manual transmision case. I believe I saw a drain and fill plug on the rear diff as well. Other than that, the under-hood layout looked decent. No big goofy plastic engine covers to speak of. You could actually see the coil-overs poking out at you which is nice. Hopefully their 39mo 'rental' will be a pleasure for them.

Joel

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
Those Saturn Vue CVT's were utter khrap. Made in East Germany, quality was never associated with this design. Saturn went to the tried-n-true 4 speed auto.


There is no more East Germany. The Vue's CVT was built in Hungary.

 

[Cutehumor]

good thing they leased, since you don't know the uncertainity of high gas prices, plus it's a NISSAN

 

[JTK]

Yeah, the sticker lists 21/26 for avg MPG. I warned my FIL that he wont see the MPG figures he was used to with the Maxima. He's in a different 'class' of vehicle now. The Nissan dealership was busy as all get out. The Rogue is the hot ticket item for them currently. They had lots of them and lots of activity associated with them. Quite a few Altimas, not so many Versi and maybe 2 Sentras were on the lot. They had 1 or 2 Quest MVs left due to the recent HUGE discounts on them. A small handful of trucks/suvs and Muranos were off in the distance. Honestly, I was trying to push him towards a Subaru, Hyundai, Rav4 or used Highlander, but he'd have nothing to do with it. He loved that Maxima so much, Nissan was it for him.

 

[JTK]

Just got back from a ~1400mi round-trip (Buffalo to Louisville) with the in-laws. They in their Rogue, us in the Odyssey. The Rogue averaged 27mpg hywy and that was with long stretches of 70mph+, A/C on, non-steady throttle, weaving all over as is my FIL's custom. I drove the Rogue a few time on some super curvy, hilly Kentucky roads. I like the feel of that CVT in the Rogue. It really is a good match for this vehicle/engine. It doesn't lug the engine, nor wind it out too badly. You actually don't even notice it with normal driving. It's not a bad vehicle. Not as comfortable or nearly as roomy (and nice looking

) as our Odyssey though. FWIW, we avg'd 25mpg with the 2008 Ody. Wow what a nice long haul cruiser the Ody is! It was our first with it.

Joel