Needing a crossover model that is slightly smaller and cheaper than the established Rogue, to fill out their US range, starting with the 2017 model year, Nissan decided to offer the car featured in this test, which to Europeans will look awfully like one of the UK’s best-selling cars, the Qashqai. That’s because it is essentially the same car, just tweaked a little for local market needs, and the US market cars are built in Japan as opposed to Sunderland which supplies the European market cars. The Rogue undergoes the same sort of transformation when it crosses the Atlantic, where it becomes the X-Trail, so we now have two mid-market Nissans with different names depending on where they are sold. Perhaps it was thought that Americans would have a hard time pronouncing the name “Qashqai” (the name is not used in Australia, either), or perhaps it was because they hoped that the brand association with the Rogue would help it in the market. In Europe, of course, this is a big-selling car, that has found favour with large numbers of people, especially in the UK, where it is made, but in America it has not done that well, as cars of this size are still seen as “too small” by many, and the equivalent sized saloons, the Sentra in Nissan’s case, do still sell in significant numbers in a market that has very traditional tastes. That means that Nissan US have decided not to take the third generation Qashqai that is on sale in Europe now and that the Rogue Sport will not be replaced. 2022 is the last model year for the car, but when I found one at Hertz’ Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, it turned out to be a 2019 model year car, so far from new. I wanted to see if this European family favourite would impress on US soil or whether its appeal had truly evaporated on crossing the Atlantic.

All US market Rogue Sports get the same 2.0 litre four cylinder engine, which puts out 141 bhp, and which is coupled, as is the Nissan way, to a continuously variable automatic gearbox. There is no manual option. You would have thought that this sort of output should be ample for a car of this size and weight. Slightly surprisingly, that’s not really the case as the figures show that this is one of the slowest accelerating cars in its class. I certainly found it to prove necessary to work the engine quite hard to get decent acceleration and when doing so, it became quite noisy, especially once past 4000 rpm. The gearbox was less frustrating than CVTs can be generally reacting quite well to what the accelerator pedal was telling it. At a steady speed on the freeway, the engine was smooth and refined and noise levels were low. I covered a total of 325 miles in my time with the Rogue Sport and it needed 10.82 gallons to fill it, which works out at 30.03 mpg US or 35.89 mpg Imperial, which is a good result for a car of this size.

The Rogue Sport is not only the car to have the word “Sport” in its name, when it is anything but. This is a family car, on the small side for Americans perhaps, that has absolutely no sporting pretension whatsoever, so the name oxymoronic name choice seems as iil-judged as it is with rival Mitsubishi’s Outlander Sport. Whilst it is no way sporting, it is pleasingly free of vices, though. The steering is light, which makes it easy to drive and pretty devoid of feel which means that you really won’t enjoy doing so very much. It goes around corners just as you might expect a family-hauler to do, which means with not much in the way of body-roll, more than adequate grip and some understeer if you really push it hard. The test car had the optional AWD system fitted, but you really could not detect that it was there in the conditions of my test. This being a top spec car, it came on larger 225/45 R19 wheels which give a fairly firm ride, though I found, on the well-surfaced roads of Arizona, that it was smooth and comfortable enough. The brakes presented no concerns. All-round visibility was generally good and there is a Blind Spot Warning system which is helpful. A surround camera is also fitted which makes precise parking a lot easier. There are a number of other electronic safety features also included in SL spec which meant an annoying number of beeps, often for no discernible reason. The Lane Departure Warning system was certainly responsible for some of them.

Reading the reviews, the US press don’t seem very impressed with the interior which seemed a little odd to me, as this is pretty much identical to the one you will find in the European market Qashqai and I recall commenting favourably on it when I have sampled the car in Europe. For sure, apart from the lashings of leather and the sunroof, it was perhaps not immediately obvious that this test car was a top of the range model, but the quality of what was there was decent enough and certainly well up to class standards. The lower dash is trimmed to match the seat colour. There are the increasingly ubiquitous black plastic inlays and there is a leather-wrapped wheel. The dash itself is pretty conventional. A single binnacle covers the instrument dials which comprise two large ones for speedometer and rev counter with smaller ones inset for fuel level and water temperature. Between them is the trip computer display area. The menu structure for this did seem quite complex. You cycle between the different screen with small buttons on the left hand steering wheel spoke. Unusually these days, there is no digital speed repeater. There are a pair of column stalks whose function include the lights which have an auto setting. The centre of the dash contains the integrated colour touch screen. There are buttons to either side of this unit which makes it easy to use. It includes XM satellite radio as well as Apple Car Play and Android Auto and there is a good quality Bose sound system with nine speakers. Beneath this are the setting for the dual-zone automated climate control system which include seat and steering wheel heating. Although the overall layout of the dash is simple and easy to use, there are quite a lot of buttons, with plenty on the steering wheel hub and two banks of buttons on the dash over the driver’s left knee.

Seat upholstery in the top spec SL is leather and you can adjust the driver’s chair electrically. The front passenger seat still has manual adjusters on it. There’s quite a wide range of movement, and combined with a telescoping steering wheel, it should prove easy for most people to get the driving position they want. I certainly had no issues. There is a general feeling of light and airiness, perhaps helped by the inclusion in this spec of a glass sunroof.

Rear room is class competitive, with adequate space for passenger legs even if the front seats are set well back. Like many cars these days, the centre console unit comes well back so knee room for a middle seat occupant would be quite a challenge, but think of this as a four seater and all will be fine. There is a drop-down armrest with cup-holders in the upper surface. Oddments are taken care of in map pockets on the back of the front seats and door bins.

There is a good-sized boot, notably bigger than that of direct rivals and it was pleasing to see that – unlike so many US market cars – it came with a load cover. There is a false floor, which means that there is additional space under the floor. The rear seats are asymmetrically split and the backrests simply drop down to create a much longer and flat load platform. There is plenty of oddments space inside the cabin with the huge glovebox that until recently has characterised all Nissan models, as well as plenty of places in the centre console including an armrest cubby and there are some useful door pockets.

The 2019 Nissan Rogue Sport is offered in three trim levels: S, SV and SL. The S trim is pretty basic, but SV and SL get some desirable upgrades. All Rogue Sport trims come with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine (141 bhp, 147 lb/ft of torque) and a continuously variable automatic transmission that sends power to the front wheels. All-wheel drive is optional on all trims. Standard feature highlights for the S include 16-inch steel wheels, LED daytime running lights, a rear spoiler, cruise control, air conditioning, rear air vents, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, a driver information display, a height-adjustable driver seat, 60/40-split folding rear seats that slide and recline, a cargo cover, a rearview camera, Bluetooth, a 7-inch touchscreen, and a four-speaker audio system with satellite radio and smartphone integration via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Also included are a blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert and forward collision warning with automatic braking. The Rogue Sport’s SV trim adds upgrades such as 17-inch alloy wheels, roof rails, automatic headlights and high-beam control, keyless entry and ignition, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, and a six-speaker audio system. Additional safety features include lane departure warning and mitigation, a pedestrian detection function for the forward collision warning system, and rear parking sensors with automatic braking. The top-of-the-line SL trim includes 19-inch wheels, foglights, heated mirrors, remote engine start, leather upholstery, a heated and leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats, a surround-view camera system, NissanConnect emergency communications, a navigation system, and a nine-speaker Bose audio system with HD radio. Nissan’s ProPilot Assist suite is also added, which pairs adaptive cruise control and steering assist. Seventeen-inch wheels are available for base models via the S Appearance package. And many of the SL’s standard features, such as heated seats and the navigation system, are optional for SV trims in the SV Technology package. For the SL only, you can opt for a Premium package that adds a sunroof, LED headlights and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.

It is very hard to get excited about the Rogue Sport. It’s just not that sort of car. But that is true about the European Qashqai, too. Detach emotion from your assessment, and you quickly realise, as all those buyers of two generations of Qashqai going back to 2007 have done, that this is exactly the sort of car that is needed to provide family transport. With bucket loads of practicality in a sensibly-sized and priced package, and no significant demerits, this car hits the spot pretty much dead-centre. And the Rogue Sport is really no different. For sure the engine can get a little raucous, and the rear seats are not that roomy, but if you want a small-ish crossover this is definitely a car to put on the short-list. I suspect that the only reason why it has not sold that well in the US is simply because the number of people who want a car of this size is not that large – American buys still feel the need to go large, and in that context, Nissan’s decision to concentrate on the Rogue is perhaps understandable. In rental car terms, it is actually categorised the same, and does offer a bit more space. There’s a new third generation one of those on the market now so I need to try to secure one to see how it compares, but in the meantime, if you find yourself looking at a Rogue Sport and have not got vast amounts of luggage with you, a Rogue Sport should do just fine.