Review: 2025 Nissan Rogue SV Comes with a Droid Copilot

It seemed fitting that we pulled a 2025 Nissan Rogue SV from the Hertz rental lot for our Disney World vacation.  We were on the way to see Disney’s new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land, and in 2017, Nissan collaborated with LucasFilm on a Star Wars: Rogue One promotion.  While that 2017 Rogue got transformed into an X-wing, our 2025 rental Rogue SV was simply painted in stormtrooper white.

My family is a good test case for the Nissan Rogue.  We have one child in elementary school and another in preschool, so we travel with the strollers and child seats that littles require.  Installing my youngest’s car seat on the rear bench was a cinch—the top LATCH tether threaded between the headrest bars and the lower LATCH anchors were easy to access.

The Millennium Falcon spaceship has a premier ride in Disney’s Star Wars land. This ship is known to have smuggling compartments under its floors, and since the Rogue’s trunk floor was suspiciously high—it’s level with the bumper for snag-free loading—I checked for secret compartments.  To my surprise, a spare tire was nestled beneath the trunk floor!  There wasn’t any room for additional contraband, so I stowed our large 25” suitcase, smaller roll-aboard bag, and compact stroller in the trunk.  The Rogue could have easily taken twice the load.

The SV is a $1740 upgrade over the Rogue’s entry-level S trim.  That cash upgrades the Rogue with 18-inch wheels, premium cloth seats, a six-speaker stereo system, and ProPILOT Assist.  My rental also had AWD ($1400) and tri-coat white paint ($425), plumping its price to $34,185 (including the $1390 destination fee).  The more expensive SL and Platinum trims unlock even larger wheels, leather upholstery, high-resolution infotainment screens, improved (wireless) smartphone connectivity, and more.

As built, our Rogue SV’s cabin was full of enough dark plastics to make Darth Vader a new space suit.  Smartly stitched vinyl adorned the armrests and mid dash, spongy plastics ran to the windscreen, piano black plastic (with a unique brushed-metal pattern) surrounded the shifter and door controls, and durable plastics were used for the cabin lowers.  I was happy to see buttons and knobs for the two-zone climate control, radio and drive modes, but I would have appreciated a higher-resolution center screen. (It’s available on the SL and Platinum.) The Rogue’s interior was functional and pleasing to my eyes but could have used a few dashes of color.

The driver’s seat was comfortable, especially after I discovered its lumbar adjustments.  My passengers were happy with their accommodations and appreciated the views of Orlando from the large side windows.

While the Rogue didn’t have TIE-fighter levels of outward visibility, the Nissan’s generous daylight openings minimized blindspots; I didn’t have any trouble maneuvering the SUV around unfamiliar Orlando.

Once we reached Disney, our first Star Wars ride was Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run.  In this space flight simulator, my family worked together to steer the ship, fire its guns and launch grappling hooks.  It was a thrilling five-minute amusement in which we frantically mashed buttons and jostled controls as the ride bounced around on hydraulic legs, simulating the g-forces of dodging space debris and jumping to lightspeed.

Unlike the Millennium Falcon, the Rogue is not the fastest “hunk of junk” in its class. (Mazda offers more powerful options.)  Its tiny but mighty 1.5L three-cylinder turbocharged engine produces 201 hp and 225 lb-ft of torque. The engine is smooth and refined and sounds pleasant at full throttle.  The EPA rates the Rogue AWD at 28 mpg city/35 mpg highway, making it one of the more efficient compact SUVs.

While 201 hp isn’t oodles of power for a ~3650 vehicle, Nissan’s quick-acting continuously variable transmission (CVT) helps the Rogue scoot through cross-traffic and run in the fast lane.  The CVT programming is seamlessly smooth in normal driving and intelligently mimics fixed-ratio gears under heavy acceleration.  In Sport mode with the gas pinned, the Rogue runs the engine to the 6k rpm redline and then “upshifts,” dropping the revs to 4k rpm.  This creates the aural experience buyers are accustomed to when the engine is working hard.  In quieter/calmer driving, Nissan employs more efficient gear strategies.

One fakery that I found superfluous in pancake-flat Florida was the Rogue’s paddle shifters.  I had little use for flapping between the eight “gears” when the Sport mode programming was already on point.  Perhaps they can help manage engine braking in the mountains, or possibly Nissan just wanted fun buttons for drivers to mash, like on Disney World’s Millennium Falcon?

My only complaint about the drivetrain was that the throttle was as touchy as a speeder bike’s: even modest applications of gas caused the SUV to leap off the line!  The sensitive throttle was matched by the highly-boosted brakes.  It took me a day or two to acclimate to the pedal tuning.

The rest of the Rogue’s dynamic tuning was comfort-oriented.  Its steering had a moderate pace and weight and communicated a quiet tickle of road texture.  (The road feel was stronger through the floorboards.)   On the highway, the Rogue tracked cleanly without any nervousness, and the suspension rode well over all but the most severe bumps. The Rogue kept wind and road noise in check, too.

When I whipped the SUV through cloverleaf interchanges, the Rogue exhibited lots of body roll but still gripped well and felt neutrally balanced. I was happy hustling the Rogue down on and off ramps regardless of the topsy-turvy body roll.

The second Star Wars ride we enjoyed was Rise of the Resistance.  This highly immersive experience surprised us by blending the online wait with the ride itself.  Before we buckled into the ride vehicle, we flew on a Resistance shuttle, got captured by a First Order battleship, were escorted by soldiers to an interrogation cell, and then were blasted out of jail by the Resistance!  Finally, a droid piloted our escape vehicle on a whirlwind route through the battleship’s corridors and bays.

While the Rogue can’t match the spectacular thrills of Rise of the Resistance, its active safety suite and ProPILOT Assist did surprise and delight.  

The SUV’s active safety features included alerts for lane departure, blindspots, rear cross-traffic, front and rear collisions, and more.  (The rear cross-traffic warnings were especially helpful when backing out of parking spots in the busy Disney parks!)  Nissan also tattletales on unbuckled rear-bench passengers, helping me confirm that my children were safe before I drove off.

ProPILOT Assist is a bit like having R2-D2 as a copilot.  The system is Nissan’s advanced cruise control, and it paces traffic and keeps the Rogue centered in its lane through corners. 

My rental Rogue SV had the most basic version of ProPILOT Assist, which required me to keep my hands on the wheel and make my own lane changes.  The SL and Platinum trims levels get ProPILOT Assist 1.1, which uses mapping data to anticipate corners and slow for them.  SL and Platinum buyers can option the $3200 Tech package for ProPILOT Assist 2.1 if they want hands-free cruising.

In my experience, even the SV’s base ProPILOT Assist worked well when tracking traffic. It didn’t overreact when cars merged into my lane, and it followed the highway’s curves faithfully.  I did detect some slight side-to-side ping-ponging as the system kept the Rogue centered, but overall, it was nicely tuned, and I’d use it in traffic and on highways.

Our Disney trip was unforgettable fun, and the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge capped the experience. The 2025 Rogue SV didn’t deliver theme-park thrills but left a good impression on me after five days and 100 miles.  It is a spacious compact SUV with comfortable driving dynamics and an efficient drivetrain.  While the economical SV trim was thin on glitz, it has features that make the Rogue safer day-to-day and easier on long trips.  I’d recommend it for your Disney vacation, too!