Nissan's Rogue proves its worth in the wild

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento Bee’s website – www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

Sacramento, California -- I liked the Nissan Rogue when it made a series of saucy debuts for the 2008 model year.  I didn't appreciate how much I truly liked it until a recent jaunt into the Sierra Nevada high country.

A recent week in the 2018.5 Rogue Sport SV AWD was pleasant enough.  The compact crossover sport-utility vehicle was easy to maneuver in all situations, and while the 141-horsepower, four-cylinder engine was not a rubber-burning monster, the tested Rogue responded well on dicey freeways and amid urban gridlock.

Shortly after that, a 2018 Nissan Rogue SL AWD arrived at my door, just hours before taking it up to 7,400 feet, high above the south shore of Lake Tahoe.

OK, getting the Rogue from sea level to 7,400 feet was interesting.  I was impressed with the Rogue's ability to hug the sharp, high-speed curves of eastbound Highway 50.  Indeed, it dug in like a champ and cruised easily through the fall scenery.

Up at Tahoe, with a nearly straight-up drive to a Sierra summit, the engine did growl and grumble, but again, it handled the situation admirably.

It was at night that the tested Rogue imprinted itself in my memory for life.  In short, I did a lap around Lake Tahoe in the darkness, on those winding, dipping and diving roadways that highway engineers somehow carved along the lake's shoreline.  If you want a true definition of darkness, try driving the Tahoe loop late at night.

And yet, the Rogue made me feel secure.  The automatic on-off triggering of the bright headlights saved my bacon, functioning quickly and flawlessly with the approach of oncoming vehicles.  Had I been responsible for triggering the brights on and off during my lap of the lake, I would have had to make more than a hundred moves.  The Rogue's sensors did it for me, with perfect, split-second timing.  Other systems I've used have either been slow on the draw, or sometimes failed to function at all.

The driving loop near Lake Tahoe's southwestern shore sometimes resembles a mule trail in the Grand Canyon, with super-slow switchbacks.  The Rogue easily negotiated these dangerous gyrations in the darkness and brought me down safely and securely.

In short, the vehicle performed way beyond my expectations in a driving situation that intimidated me from the start.  Throw in the Rogue's good looks, SUV-style versatility and a state-of-the-art ProPilot Assist system that helps the driver stay alert and focused, and well, what more can I say?

Of the dozens of small crossover SUVs I've driven in 2018, I've found my favorite.  Hands down.