The Rogue is Nissan’s best-selling car in North America, having ousted the regular saloon models that used to dominate the sales charts, just as arch rival Toyota’s RAV4 now sells in greater volume than the Camry or Corolla. The third generation Rogue was launched early in 2020, going on sale later in the year when Covid still ruled us all, as a 2021 model year car. As with its immediate predecessor, but what was not the case for the first model to bear the name, the American market Rogue and the X-Trail that is sold in Europe and elsewhere are the same car, just with trim and equipment differences, so this car will be familiar to many in Europe even if the model name is different. The third generation car changed little about the concept but as well as new blockier styling, it came with completely refreshed mechanicals, and a slew of additional technology and safety kit, even though it is still based on the Renault-Nissan CMF-CD platform. The past Rogue was a doyen of the rental fleets, and once things got back to normal in the post Covid, post chip-supply era, the third generation car is equally ubiquitous. There are so many of them, that I have been deliberately avoiding them and selecting something that is harder to course leaving the Rogue for that day when there is nothing else on offer that I’ve not already driven. That day came on the fifth evening of my trip to Las Vegas when car supply seemed even worse than it had been in the preceding days. Indeed, it was so bad that I actually saw this car being returned, a couple ahead of me, and by the time I had wandered around to see if there was anything of interest available, it was back out available to rent again. Relishing the fact that I could have a car that was not white, I took it, eager to see how the latest Rogue would fare, with memories of most of its key rivals at varying stages of fresh in my mind.

All Rogue models now come with a 1.5 litre 3 cylinder engine, which for 2022 replaced the less powerful 2.0 litre four that featured for the first year of production of the third generation Rogue. To be honest, you might only really know it is a 3 cylinder on start up, as the sound is quite distinctive. After that, it just sounds like any other modern petrol engine. There is 201 bhp on offer here which is perhaps a few more than you will get from any of the rivals, but it is definitely not enough to give a truly sparkling performance. As with almost all modern Nissan models, the engine is coupled to a continuously variable automatic gearbox, though there are also column paddles which give some pre-defined ratios. The match generally works quite well, and in ordinary motoring, you will find the Rogue smooth and well able to hold its own in traffic with plenty of low-end punch available. Work it harder though and it can get quite noisy. I covered 190 miles in my day with this Rogue and it needed 6.18 gallons to refill it, which works out at 30.74 mpg US or 36.73 mpg Imperial, a decent result for a car of this size.

Whilst the Rogue is perfectly acceptable to drive, with no real vices, keen drivers really should look away, or rather head to their nearest Mazda showroom. Like its closest rival, the RAV4, the Rogue is utterly unremarkable behind the wheel. The steering is light, which makes the car easy to drive and manoeuvre, but it lacks much in the way of feel. Handling is utterly safe and predictable, but you won’t be seeking out the bendy roads for the journey, and even with good levels of grip and not much in the way of body roll, this car does come across more as an appliance built to do a job, where entertaining the driver was not on the list of requirements The SV version of the Rogue comes on 235/60 R18 tyres and these are not too large or low in profile to challenge the ride which generally proved quite comfortable, thanks to relatively soft suspension. I had no concerns with the brakes which simply did their job. All-round visibility is pretty much par for the 2023 course, with the rear-view camera helping when parking up. There are a full complement of ADAS features here with all Rogue models including: Forward collision warning; Forward automatic emergency braking; Pedestrian and cyclist detection; Blind-spot monitoring; Rear cross-traffic alert; Lane-departure warning; Driver-attention monitoring; Rearview camera; and Rear parking sensors. Additional features are available in the Option Packages.

My first reaction on opening the door is that there are an awful lot of different colours used for the dash and door casings: Black, Dark Brown, Gloss Black and Silver all feature on the dash and there is a lot of grey on the door casings. Whilst you do get some leather-effect material on the dash, as well as that regrettable gloss black plastic and silver inlays, the steering wheel is a plastic moulded item. The dashboard layout itself is utterly conventional and there is nothing wrong with that. The instrument cluster contains two large dials for speedometer and rev counter, with smaller fuel level and water temperature gauges inset. Between them is a large trip display area with various menus through which you can cycle using buttons on the steering wheel, where you will also find audio repeaters and cruise control. There are a pair of column stalks, which include the lights which have an auto function.  The centre of the dash has what by current standards is a relatively small 8” infotainment screen. This has a touch interface but mercifully, there are still some buttons as well for audio functions. Features here also include wired Apple Car Play and Android Auto but not navigation which only comes with plusher trims. Lower down are the buttons for the dual-zone climate control system.

SV trim means cloth seats with inserts which match the door casings. You do, however, get 8 way electrical adjustment for the driver’s seat. The passenger seat is still manually adjusted. There is also a telescoping steering column as you might expect. This means that it was easy to get the driving position I wanted. There is quite a feeling of space here, with particularly generous headroom.

The rear doors open especially wide, to almost 90 degrees which makes getting in and out very easy. There is a generous amount of space here, with ample leg room even if the front seats are set well back, even though some rivals such as the Honda CR-V do actually have a couple of inches more space. There is negligible interference from a central tunnel. The centre console has air vents and two USB ports on its rear face. Occupants here also get a drop-down central armrest with cup holders in the upper surface. There are map pockets on the back of the front seats and some rather small bins on the doors.

The boot is a good size, being both wide and long. More space can be created by dropping down the asymmetrically split rear seat backrests. There is a space saver wheel under the boot floor. Inside the cabin, the Rogue follows current form with a reasonably sized glovebox, a central armrest cubby, some rather small pockets on the doors, a recess in front of the gearlever area and then a very large under console tray which is a bit awkward to access. Combined this all should prove more than enough for most people.

The 2023 Nissan Rogue is available in four trims: S, SV, SL and Platinum. All models come standard with a 201 bhp three-cylinder engine, a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and front-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is available. The S trim comes with cloth upholstery, a six-way manually adjustable driver’s seat, a four-way manually adjustable front passenger seat, an 8-inch touch screen, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a four-speaker stereo, Bluetooth, two USB ports, satellite radio and 17-inch wheels. Several active safety features are also standard, including forward collision warning, forward automatic emergency braking, pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, driver-attention monitoring, a rearview camera and rear parking sensors. The Rogue SV adds an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, a Wi-Fi hot spot, a six-speaker stereo, two rear-seat USB ports, dual-zone automatic climate control, proximity keyless entry, remote start, push-button start, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, ProPilot Assist and 18-inch wheels. Models with the SV Premium package come with synthetic leather upholstery, heated front seats, a heated and leather-wrapped steering wheel, a panoramic moonroof, a power liftgate and roof rails. Models with the Midnight Edition package boast black exterior accents for the wheels, grille, bumpers, outside mirrors, roof rails and badging. The SL trim gains genuine leather upholstery, a four-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, heated front seats, a heated and leather-wrapped steering wheel, a panoramic moonroof, Nissan’s Divide-N-Hide cargo system, a surround-view camera system, roof rails and 19-inch wheels. The SL Premium package adds a 9-inch touch screen, wireless Apple CarPlay, navigation, Amazon Alexa, a 10-speaker Bose audio system, navigation-linked ProPilot Assist, traffic-sign recognition a hands-free liftgate and front parking sensors. The Platinum trim builds on the previous trim by adding the contents of the SL Premium package plus a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, quilted leather upholstery, rear sunshades and remote-folding rear seats. The Platinum Premium package adds heated rear seats, tri-zone automatic climate control and a head-up display.

The Rogue really is not an exciting car, but it did not set out to be one, as the focus instead was very much on providing practical and affordable family transport and in that respect, it hits the brief pretty well. Performance and fuel economy are just where you would expect them to be, the car is viceless to drive, the interior is nicely finished and there is lots of space for people and things. If that is all you want from a car, then the Rogue is worthy of serious consideration. Of course, it has a lot of rivals, this being perhaps the most hotly contested segment of the market and the one where the biggest sales are to be found. The Rogue is Nissan’s best selling car by far these days, and that is equally true of its closest rivals such as the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson. Standards are high, and so picking a car from the long list of alternatives may well come down to personal choice and just what sort of financial deal you can agree. It is as a rental proposition, well, the fleets, certainly Hertz’ but also its rivals are particularly well stocked with Rogue models, and you are more likely to get one of these than any competitor. That should not have you going to the counter to ask to swap, though the keen driver would certainly enjoy the Mazda CX-5 or Ford Bronco Sport more than this one, and they remain my pick of the class.