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    2026 Nissan Rogue Plug-In Hybrid Review: Electrified Pinch Hitter

    5 days ago

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      Do you remember about 30 years ago, when automakers would sell what was essentially the same vehicle under different brand names with minimal tweaks? Badge engineering still happens in a sense, but not quite like it used to—not like the newest member of the Nissan family, the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid. It’s a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with different trim. That’s not necessarily the worst thing, as I came to discover after spending less than an hour with the SUV. Before this, I’d never driven the latest Outlander in any form, though I was always curious about it. And now that I have, I understand why Nissan made this move: It needed a hybrid in a pinch, and the Outlander PHEV is pretty potent. The manufacturer even hinted that once its homegrown E-Power system arrives in the next-generation Rogue, due for the 2027 model year, this Rogue Plug-In Hybrid could disappear as quickly as it arrived. Or, it could stick around; Nissan says it’s open to whatever buyers want. In the meantime, here’s what they’ll get. The Nissan Rogue Plug-In Hybrid will arrive at dealers early next year. Just like Mitsubishi’s version, it features a 131-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and two electric motors—one on each axle, producing 114 horsepower up front and 134 horsepower in the rear. Total system power is not quite the sum of all those energy sources, though, and Nissan calculates it at 248 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. That is indeed a lot of torque, especially for an otherwise normal SUV like the Rogue (or, more accurately, Outlander). With a full tank of gas and a full battery, Nissan estimates a total driving range of 420 miles. On electric power alone, it can travel up to 38 miles, but fuel economy is rather disappointing at 25 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. The SUV’s 20-kWh lithium-ion battery should take 7.5 hours to top up over a Level 2 charger, which is not quick. The Rogue Plug-In Hybrid really makes minimal changes to the Outlander’s design. There’s a bit more black and body-color trim replacing the Outlander’s chrome, which I personally think detracts from the original design. The real Rogue and the Outlander are actually built on the same platform—which makes it even stranger that Nissan decided not to fit the PHEV powertrain inside the existing Rogue’s shell—but at least Mitsubishi’s SUV was already decently smart-looking. In the cabin, I couldn’t help but notice that all the buttons use Mitsubishi’s font, rather than Nissan’s. Switchgear is expensive to replace. That said, the infotainment system is still Nissan’s own, albeit the last-generation version, unlike the new interface featured in the Pathfinder and Murano, for example. I’ve always felt the Outlander’s cabin could look good, particularly in that partially tan colorway Mitsubishi offers. But in all black, like my range-topping, Platinum-grade tester here, it doesn’t stand out quite as much. The quilted diamond pattern on the leather seats and door inserts is appreciated, and the materials are fine, though not especially remarkable to the touch. The Rogue Plug-In Hybrid offers decent second-row space, despite its rather compact-seeming dimensions. Its 38.5 inches of legroom is equal to the gas Rogue’s and just a tick off the Honda CR-V’s 41 inches. And, unlike a regular Rogue, you get the option of third-row seating in this car. Now, it’s not a good third row; I’ll let our friend Ezra Dyer, the utmost authority on this topic, explain that as only he can. The second row needs to be fixed forward of its roomiest position to give passengers behind any legroom at all. But it’s there, and it folds flat when it’s not in use. There’s bound to be a time in your ownership of this vehicle when you’d wish you could carry a sixth or possibly even seventh person, and for that eventuality, the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid is prepared. Interestingly, while Mitsubishi offers the Outlander with the option of a 12-speaker Yamaha sound system—a name you don’t often see in cars on this side of the Pacific—the Rogue Plug-In comes with a nine-speaker Bose setup. I wasn’t really focused on evaluating sound quality, given my short time with the vehicle, but I thought that was an interesting detail worth pointing out. With so much torque and the ability to seamlessly blend battery power with thrust from the four-cylinder engine, the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid is decently peppy for its segment. That’s probably one of the reasons why Nissan opted to copy Mitsubishi’s homework here. There’s an option for one-pedal driving called E-Step, which makes the experience behind the wheel akin to that of a battery electric vehicle, with high regen off-throttle, so you only have to use the accelerator unless you’re coming to a complete stop. Most of the time, it’s a smooth drive. The only little issues that get in the way of that are E-Step’s tendency for the gas pedal to jitter under very light pressure on the accelerator, and, more frustratingly, the electric motor whine. Yeah, the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid produced this faint yet high-pitched whine during my entire 45 minutes with it. It never went away, and it increased in intensity the harder I asked those motors to work. You probably wouldn’t hear it with music on, so I wouldn’t call it a dealbreaker, but it’s definitely there. The Rogue Plug-In’s chassis is especially well-sorted, benefitting from Mitsubishi’s torque-managing Super All-Wheel Control system that offers seven (count ’em) driving modes. Channeling Mitsubishi’s rallying tradition, most pertain to specific surface types, such as mud, gravel, or snow. I didn’t take the Rogue off-road, and while it was very cold during this trip down to Nissan’s U.S. base in Tennessee, it wasn’t quite snowing, so I can’t speak to the vehicle’s prowess off the black stuff. Strangely, this dial gives drivers the choice of a power mode or a tarmac mode, and it’s not especially clear which I’d choose for “spirited” driving, let alone why. Still, the Rogue Plug-In, much like its Mitsubishi cousin, is a fine-handling SUV—one that’s definitely geared toward comfort, with its pedal feel, light steering, and soft suspension, but not lethargic and perfectly competent for commuting. I only wish it were less noisy. At the moment, Nissan hasn’t published a price for the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid. Unfortunately, I think that might just be the nail in its coffin. This is a good car, just like the Outlander PHEV is. But unless Nissan can undercut Mitsubishi’s $42,190 starting price substantially (why would it?), I fear this is going to be too expensive a proposition. See, what makes the Outlander work is how little it costs to begin with. A starting price of $32,205 earns it a look, because it doesn’t take much option-box ticking to spec a pretty nice one. But once you’re firmly in the low-to-mid $40K range, there are so many alternatives out there. Adam Ismail Alternatives like the 37-mpg CR-V Hybrid, which positively smokes the Rogue Plug-In’s underwhelming fuel economy, even with all-wheel drive. Or the Mazda CX-50, which isn’t necessarily a spicier drive than the Rogue, given its hybrid system’s Toyota roots, but claims a considerably richer interior. And if you’re particularly interested in this Rogue because you can plug it in, Hyundai also offers a Tucson with the privilege, and it’s significantly better on gas mileage and has a similar all-electric range. Oh, and the 324-hp plug-in RAV4 that Toyota has waiting in the wings deserves a mention, too. With all that said, the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t come across as a vehicle built to lead its segment or excel in any particular area, aside from having the most terrain modes. It feels like a foot in the door by a company that needed one. And if it indeed vanishes after next year and is replaced by an all-new Rogue with a totally different hybrid powertrain, then we’ll know it served its purpose. Nissan provided The Drive with travel and accommodations, along with the use of a vehicle for the purpose of writing this review. The Nissan Rogue Plug-In Hybrid, like the Mitsubishi Outlander it really is, is a fair plug-in hybrid SUV in a crowd of stronger contenders. Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories. Car Buying Service By Joel Feder By Byron Hurd
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