Road Test: 2018 Nissan Rogue SL

Nissan recently revised the Rogue and did an impressive job. We think this is one of the best crossovers on the market today, and for 2018, the company went a step further to really set the Rogue apart from the competition with the launch of a new technology called ProPILOT Assist that first debuted on their 2018 LEAF EV.

We definitely would’ve expected this tech to be on Infiniti vehicles first, but at the same time we like how Nissan thinks, making this advanced technology (among many others) available without the need to pony up for a vehicle costing twice as much as the Rogue.

ProPILOT Assist is a relatively new offering from Nissan in the U.S. that takes a bit of the stress out of highway and commuter driving. It uses a combination of inputs from the radar cruise system and the front facing camera system to locate vehicles ahead as well as lane markings, and centers the Rogue in the lane while maintaining a driver-set distance from vehicles. A press of a button is all it takes to activate ProPILOT Assist.

We went on a long highway road trip, through clear and inclement weather, in the day and night, and the system worked incredibly well. The lane-centering aspect is smooth and builds confidence, and stop-and-go traffic operation makes commuting in heavily congested areas a breeze.

The camera was able to pick up faded lane markings, even in the rain, but the system deactivates if the wipers are on constantly instead of intermittent mode.

The only area where ProPILOT Assist struggled was curvy hilly terrain, as we found the camera has a hard time deciphering depth of changing road grades, and reading lines on the other side of a hill (which is expected).

Feedback is provided via the LCD display located in the instrument cluster, showing a large green steering wheel when the system is engaged. If it has any issues interpreting any of the necessary inputs, that green steering wheel doesn’t appear. Regular cruise or cruise without ProPILOT Assist and just the radar component can also be used.

Nissan’s ProPILOT Assist is designed to be “hands-on” and eyes on the road, but it definitely does reduce fatigue on long and/or mundane drives. If the driver doesn’t provide input to the steering wheel, a series of visual and audible alerts begin and continue all the way to turning the hazard lights on automatically and bringing the Rogue to a stop.

Aside from this very impressive assisted driving tech, we also sampled Nissan’s first application of Apple CarPlay and loved it! It responds quickly and works beautifully. Android Auto is also standard.

The 2018 Rogue also comes with more new features including an electronic parking brake with auto hold, which holds the brakes at traffic lights so the driver’s foot doesn’t have to sit on the brake pedal.

We averaged 33 mpg across our week of driving, exceeding the EPA 32 mpg highway rating. The EPA city rating of 25 mpg sounds like a mistake!

Summary Scorecard (1-10)
Ride and Handling 10
Braking 10
Powertrain and Fuel Economy 10
Noise 10
Headlights 10
Interior Fit and Finish 10
Seating 10
Visibility 10
Gauges and Controls 10
Infotainment 10
Crash-Avoidance 10
Total Score  100


Make: Nissan
Model: Rogue
Trim Level: SL AWD
Engine: 2.5L
Transmission: CVT
Options: Premium, Platinum, Platinum Reserve Pkgs, Premium Paint

Base Price: $32,410
As-Tested Price: $36,915

Tags: , , , , ,

There are no comments yet

Why not be the first

Leave a Reply

More 138 posts in Review category
Recommended for you
Road Test: 2021 Toyota Highlander XSE AWD

We've always been fans of the Highlander. It has the tech, utility, ride quality, and…

%d bloggers like this: