Car Auto Magazine

Those extra inches of height do allow the Rogue to sit higher off the ground than the Sentra and translate into 16 more cubic feet of cargo space. The high roofline lends an airy feel, and there is decent legroom in the back seat, although three adults sitting across the rear bench might not be a stellar idea as the Rogue is just a smidge wider than the Sentra. The Rogue’s innards are a bit smaller than those of a Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4 but about the same as a Saturn Vue’s. Some rivals in the Rogue’s class offer a third row, but the Rogue will go through life without one. What you do get in the way back is 29 cubic feet of cargo space, which is a few six-packs shy of the space in the CR-V and RAV4 and, again, about the same size as a Vue.

Having that extra space to haul the goods of an expanding family is what Nissan tells us most of its small-SUV buyers will want. Presumably, those shoppers will be less interested in the performance capabilities of the mandatory 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Unlike some others in the small-ute class that will haul out an optional six-cylinder for more spirited buyers, the Rogue only comes with a 170-hp four-cylinder, which is, however, slightly more than the 2.4-liter fours in the RAV4, CR-V, and Vue. The Rogue’s engine also enjoys more torque: 175 pound-feet.

Although we recognize that prospective Rogue buyers are going to be more concerned with fuel-economy numbers than burnout abilities, the forever-young goons in the home office rang up a semirespectable 21 mpg over a 550-mile mix of highway and city driving. Which turned out to equal the EPA’s city-driving mpg estimate for the Rogue. We don’t have a C/D-observed fuel-economy number for any other ’08 small four-cylinder utes, but the EPA city figures for the ’08 RAV4, CR-V, and Vue are expected to be 20, 19, and 19, respectively.