In 2017, Nissan launched a new standalone subcompact SUV called the Rogue Sport. The car, also known as ‘Qashqai’ in the global market, was a success in North America and Europe. Nissan went for the “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” approach and the car remained the same for four subsequent years. The 2021 model, however, gets a new design on both the exterior and the interior.
Nissan has big plans for 2021, and they have made the idea clear with the teaser that they launched, showing a completely refreshed line-up. Let’s get into what we know about the 2022 Nissan Rogue Sport.
A New Design Style
The Rogue Sport, placed between the Nissan Kicks and the Rogue, spotted in Europe when Nissan’s EU division started teasing the 2022 Qashqai (the same car). The Rogue Sport seems to have taken styling notes from its bigger sibling, the Rogue. From the front, it will have the newer split-style headlamp design and a bigger front grill (let’s hope next year they won’t do what BMW did with their front grills). Nissan has also revealed that the driver will have better forward visibility.
From the side, the very first thing that comes to notice is that it will have a 35 mm longer wheelbase than its previous model, hence the cargo space will be bigger. The side profile looks really concise and strongly defined as if they made it for its presence to be felt. The doors, fenders, and hood are said to be made of aluminum, making it lighter than the current model. On the back, new, sleeker taillights share the looks of their other car, the Ariya EV. The sail panels look broad and heavily raked, but nothing too sporty or coupe-like.
Updated Interiors
This is where Nissan got people talking. They will equip the 2022 gen with an all-new interior for both the driver ic display and the infotainment system. You may think that the JDM market is not the best place to find the most luxurious cars unless it’s a Lexus, but the Nissan Rogue Sport designed by Nissan’s European division in central London. With Nissan puts a lot of work into the interiors of their new line-up of cars, including this one, we will finally be free of their bland, frugal looking interior seen in their SUVs and CUVs today.
It replaces the middle infotainment system with a 9-inch hovering touchscreen featuring the NissanConnect system. The driver gets an even bigger 12.3-inch screen instead of the previous traditional analog instrument cluster. The Rogue Sport will also be compatible with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa. We presume wireless charging to be available along with a 10-speaker sound system from Bose. Not all of this will come as standard, though, it is hard to tell what features will be included in which trims as the car is yet to launch. But one thing we all know will be present on all trims levels is the increased cargo space thanks to the redesigned rear suspension allowing the floor to be even lower.
The number of seats is the same at 5, but the longer wheelbase might make it possible and frankly, probable for a subtle increase of legroom for the rear passengers. While the pleasant-looking interior will take care of mental comfort, the situation of physical comfort is up for debate as of now. Looking at the current model provides hope for a decent level of comfort, although the Rogue Sport will probably fall short in that category against the full-size Rogue.
If you think that the Rogue Sport will be a complete European car, it is almost true except. Since Nissan is Japanese, they paired up with a popular Japanese video game company Bandai Namco (Developers of Pac-Man, Dragon Ball Z, Tekken, and Project Car games) to develop the CUV’s warning sounds (like the seat-belt warning or lights-on warning). They say the sounds are melodious, two-tone chimes.
Changes Under The Hood
In the European market, we know that the CUV will come with all Hybrid powertrains. The engine will be a 1.3-liter turbocharged inline-four petrol engine along with 12-volt mild-hybrid technology. This powertrain will be available in a 138 HP front-wheel drive with a manual transmission, a 158 HP front-wheel-drive manual transmission, and a 157 HP all-wheel-drive CVT (constantly variable transmission) transmission. Nissan’s current CVT technology is not everybody’s favorite, so we will have to see how good the CVT is this time.
However, in the U.S. Market, we are yet to receive any news about the engine offered. Many are anticipating that the Rogue Sport will come with a traditional gasoline engine without a hybrid to the U.S. Market. An FWD or AWD with CVT alongside a 2.0-liter or a 2.5-liter inline-four without any kind of forced induction seems to be a safe bet. Nothing too exciting, but serves the purpose of a CUV.
But, for track-day enthusiasts, there is a bit of hope after all. When asked about a possible Nismo version, Marco Fioravanti, VP – Product Planning, Nissan (Europe) simply said that he cannot say anything, but he is smiling. Mr. Fioravanti also later stated that the next-Gen model will have a longer lifespan and that we are all in for some surprises in the future.