2008 Nissan Rogue

Through July, Japan's big three-Honda, Nissan, and Toyota-had sold more than 637,000 sport/utility vehicles. Of that number, over a third were car-based small crossovers, with Toyota unloading nearly 102,000 RAV4s and Honda moving more than 124,000 CR-Vs. Nissan? Um, well, it didn't fare as well-it sold zero. Sure it's difficult to sell a compact crossover when one doesn't exist in the portfolio, but when exactly does Nissan plan to compete in this budding segment?

Not a brand to sit idle while the competition racks up booming sales, Nissan is answering that question with a resolute "now," thanks to the all-new Rogue, a small CUV based on the brand's C platform, which underpins the Sentra as well as Rogue's foreign twins, the Dualis in Japan and the Qashqai in Europe.

At 182.9 inches long, 70.9 wide, and 65.3 tall, the Rogue is longer than the RAV4 and the CR-V (although the Nissan is shorter and narrower than the Honda and the Toyota) and substantially bigger than its international brethren, which measure 13.2 and 2.9 inches less in length and height, respectively (it is for Americans, after all).

The Rogue was styled to evoke an "urban, contemporary" feel, according to product director Ken Kcomt, and its unique sheetmetal, penned at Nissan Design America in San Diego, succeeds in creating a modern, muscular look all its own. Meant to be a sporty alternative in the segment, the Rogue has ditched the Sentra's torsion-beam rear suspension in favor of an independent multilink setup, which allows for better ride, handling, and packaging. Further, the Rogue gets vented disc brakes front and rear, available all-wheel drive, standard stability and traction control, and, as on our SL test vehicle, 17-inch alloy wheels and steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

Similar to the Sentra SE-R's shifters, the Rogue's enable manual control of the Jatco CVT's gear ratios, so "shifters" is a bit of a misnomer. Still, the paddles work efficiently, firing off rapid ratio changes not that dissimilar in quickness or smoothness from the shifts with a dual-clutch manual gearbox like VW's DSG.

Those quick "shifts" come in handy when maximizing the 170 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque from the QR25DE I-4. With dual cams and continuously variable valve timing, the 2.5 is a refined, robust mill that spurred our 3350-pound front-drive SL from 0 to 60 in 8.2 seconds and through the quarter mile in 16.4 at 85.5 mph. For comparison, a four-wheel-drive CR-V, which weighs an extra 200 pounds, takes 9.9 ticks to 60 and 17.5 at 78.5 for the quarter.

Inside, the Rogue offers a cockpit-oriented interior whose sporty flavor-two-tone seats, oversize gauges, and soft-touch black trim-nicely complements the exterior. "This is no grocery getter," says Kcomt, comparing the Rogue with the CR-V. We agree it's the sportier, more stylish of the two, although its 28.9 cubic feet of cargo volume (57.9 with the 60/40-split rear seats folded) and foldable and washable cargo organizer do make it food-and-beverage friendly.

With prices starting under $20,000 for a base, front-drive S and topping out at roughly $26,000 for a loaded, all-wheel-drive SL with leather, sunroof, Bose audio, and Xenon headlamps, the Rogue should prove to be friendly on the wallet as well. Who'da thunk it? A friendly Rogue.