Cue the "my '04 Quest was a dog to work on..." Nissan hate. 
Hell if any woman ever found me attractive enough to marry and have kids with I'd own one. Instead I'll lust after a NISMO Juke RS for now. 
One might expect the Rogue Sport to be, well, just a Rogue—maybe with a slightly different suspension and a different badge. But the Rogue Sport is actually a completely different crossover than the Rogue. In fact, it's a whole foot shorter.
I recently learned that the Rogue is Nissan’s best-selling model here in the U.S. During the month of September, they sold 38,969 copies of the Rogue. Toyota didn’t sell that many Camrys that month although, we should note, they did sell 42,395 RAV4s. (Mazda, by comparison, sold 25,735 vehicles in total during September.)
So, what does that mean? The Rogue is a really important vehicle for Nissan. I know that we get more excited about the 370Z (315 units sold in September) or the GT-R (32 units sold in September), but at the end of the day the Rogue is the one putting bread on the table.
For 2017 Nissan expanded the Rogue lineup with the addition to the Rogue Sport. This is not a Rogue simply wearing a Sport badge as it’s a different, smaller vehicle. I drove two Rogue Sports, one here in Florida and another while in Los Angeles for the Japanese Classic Car Show.
In L.A., I pretty much spent the entire time sitting in traffic. In that environment, it excels. I could listen to Kai Ryssdal host Marketplace while not going anywhere. The smaller size makes it easy to park, too, and my back seat occupants didn’t complain at all. (Full disclosure: They were Nissan employees, although they seemed fairly chill.)
Back in Florida, I got to spend a little more time behind the wheel. Yeah, it’s about the right size. Nissan’s CVT transmissions are getting better. They feel more like traditional automatics. They don’t leave you hanging. Would this be better with a real manual box option? Sure. Is anyone going to buy it? Probably not many.
Is the Rogue Sport your next autocross or track vehicle? No. But if you or someone you love is looking for a slightly smaller SUV, then this one would be worth a look. It looks modern yet distinctive, goes down the road nicely, and has enough carrying space for the average human.
I got to drive the Rogue Sport down to Sebring International Raceway while my friend was down for a track day. The Rogue Sport's job? Running back and forth between the track, hotels and restaurants with three guys and all of their stuff.
It was the perfect tool for the job. While it doesn't really have as much get-up-and-go as you would expect from something with a "Sport" badge, it doesn't really need it.
The CVT isn't bad, though I'd still prefer something with a traditional automatic. The rogue sport can get a little buzzy on acceleration.
Other than that, it was great.
Cue the "my '04 Quest was a dog to work on..." Nissan hate. Hell if any woman ever found me attractive enough to marry and have kids with I'd own one. Instead I'll lust after a NISMO Juke RS for now.
I hate when mfr's use the same name for completely different cars. Nissan is doing the same thing though with the Versa and Versa Note - but at least "Note" at least doesn't automatically just sound like a just a trim level like "Sport" does.
Here in Canada the "rogue sport" is called the Qashqai. I don't consider that an improvement.
Run_Away said:Here in Canada the "rogue sport" is called the Qashqai. I don't consider that an improvement.
Sounds like it might have a rear end like a Jaguar and be on TMZ a lot. 
We accidentally test drove one of these today. Went to the Nissan dealer to check out the Frontier, which honestly was a bit of a letdown.
SWMBO saw a blue Rogue Sport on the way through the lot, so we checked it out too. It was actually really nice, felt solid, handled well, and had adequate power. It also had a cool camera setup that not only did reverse, but also forward, right-front corner, and overhead(not quite sure how that worked). It's definitely on the potential list of new vehicles for her, but I'd need to find something capable of towing before we could replace our van with it.
So what’s the “sport” of this tag? 20$ says Nissan didn’t do ANYTHING different.
I have never driven a vehicle with a CVT that I like no matter how good it is. I have driven a few rental Nissans with them that I consider atrocious. The only CVT worse was the Ford Fiesta. I am at the point now that when I rent a car I research the available models first to make sure I don't get a CVT. Two basic rules for me.........no CVTs and no stop/Start features. Hate them both.
What isn't mentioned here is that besides being narrower and shorter, the Rogue Sport uses a different 4 cylinder engine than the "regular" Rogue. The Sport has a 2 liter engine to the non Sport's 2.4 liter engine.
The Sport / Qashqui is very popular in Europe where it's available with gas and diesel engines, as well as a manual transmission.
When the 1st generation Sport / Qashqui debuted (about a year or two before the Rogue reached the U. S. market), Nissan withdrew the Sentra from some markets and replaced it with the Sport.
And no, I'm not affiliated in any way with Nissan or it's dealers... I just read a lot of car magazines.
Feedyurhed said:I have never driven a vehicle with a CVT that I like no matter how good it is. I have driven a few rental Nissans with them that I consider atrocious. The only CVT worse was the Ford Fiesta. I am at the point now that when I rent a car I research the available models first to make sure I don't get a CVT. Two basic rules for me.........no CVTs and no stop/Start features. Hate them both.
The Fiesta has a dual clutch transmission (aka PowerShift), not a CVT.
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