The new, 2025 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek allows drivers to take the compact crossover SUV off the beaten path to a more remote trailhead or scenic camping spot.
| What’s Good: Looks the part. Enough luxuries to keep comfortable. Enough equipment to keep confident. Spacious too. | What Could Improve: Fuel economy takes a hit due to all-terrain tires and big roof rack. A skid plate would raise confidence even higher. | My Conclusion: The Rogue Rock Creek gives a reasonably priced option to get a bit more adventurous and still feel normal on the road. |
OVERVIEW
Nissan introduced a new trim to its compact crossover SUV, the 2025 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. It’s the fifth trim of the line-up and falls right in the middle, above the S and SV trims, but beneath the SL and Platinum. Pricing follows suit, it’s $36,810 base price (incl. $1390 dest.) lands more or less in the middle.
To aid off-road adventure, Nissan swapped out all-season tires for Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires, mounted on 17-inch wheels. You also get a healthy amount of sidewall; tire size is 235/65R17 at all four corners. Nissan also mounted a beefy tubular roof rack up top that can handle 220 pounds of dynamic load. To keep the feel similar to other Rogue’s, Nissan also retuned the steering assistance and shock absorbers, to compensate for the all-terrain tire. Oh, and all-wheel-drive is standard equipment.
Aside from a few styling tweaks inside and out, that’s it. Nothing major here. No skid plates, no change in ground clearance—it’s still 8.2 inches—or half an inch less than a standard Subaru Forester. It’s still, largely a standard Nissan Rogue.
Powertrain
Keeping the same engine since 2022, Nissan mounted a turbocharged 1.5-liter, inline-three-cylinder engine. It uses variable compression ratio technology, hence the VC-Turbo label on top of the valve cover. Considering its minute displacement, it makes a quite healthy 201 horsepower and 225 lb.-ft of torque. Plenty to move along this over 3700 lb. five-door, on- or off-road.
It also continues to mount to a Xtronic, continuously variable transmission. As CVT’s go, the Xtronic largely behaves itself and feels OK. Of course, I still prefer an automatic. But CVTs are nearly ubiquitous in this category of vehicle these days. On the plus side, as I mentioned, no front-wheel-drive options here, all Rock Creek’s send power to all four wheels.
With the large roof-rack and all-terrain tires, fuel economy suffers a bit, you get 27 miles per gallon in the city, 32 on the highway, 29 combined. Seems fine enough until you compare it to, say, an SV Rogue with all-wheel-drive, which gets 28 miles per gallon in the city, 35 on the highway, 31 combined.
Through my test drive on an off-road park, I experienced full throttle acceleration exactly zero times. But always felt plenty of torque even when ascending steep slopes and generally felt the powertrain had oodles of muscle in reserve. Generally speaking, the all-wheel-drive traction either held on, or quickly transferred torque where needed to keep tire slip minimal.
Chassis
The Falken Wildpeak tires worked well. We traveled over mud, loose sand, and a bit of rocky terrain and did not experience any significant loss of grip. To that end, the suspension tune managed the bumps of the terrain well. Nissan found a good compromise between normal feel and off-road prowess.
That said, I don’t mind that Nissan left the ride height alone, but do wish they added a skid plate to protect the oil pan and the rest. I did scrape the lower bumper and under belly on a couple of occasions. A skid plate would add piece of mind.
You do get an off-road drive mode, though. And that includes a set of cameras that automatically display on your 8-inch center display screen at speeds of 12 mph or less. The cameras give you a nice, detailed view of what lays immediately and on either side of you, which helps tremendously.
By the way, I later drove a Nissan Rogue Platinum on the road for a minute and it felt perfectly fine. Very similar to the Platinum I drove in 2021.
Details and Inside
Unique to the Rogue Rock Creek, Nissan upholstered the seats with a material called ballistic nylon. The material wicks water away, similar to athletic clothing and, theoretically at least, helps keep the Rogue dry and easier to clean, which comes in handy if you go off-road and get dirty. You also get orange stitching and various orange accents throughout.
Otherwise, you get a nice level of content for this class of SUV. Heated front seats come standard. As does an 8.0-inch center display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, though it requires a wired connection. The stereo includes six-speakers and I’m sure would play my favorite podcasts just fine.
For an additional $800 dollars, Nissan offers the Rock Creek Premium package, which includes a lot of goods: Heated steering wheel, Wireless charger, Motion Activated Liftgate, Interior accent lighting, 4-way power front-passenger’s seat, Driver’s seat memory, and more. Well worth the money in my book.
You also get plenty of cargo space for this size SUV. 32 cubic feet with both rows up. 74 cubic feet with the second row folded. Healthy!
in conclusion
Similar to the Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek, this new Rogue solidly goes beyond pure styling changes. But it also stops well short of what Honda is up to with Trailsport, and certainly the levels of a TRD Pro level Toyota. You lose a bit of fuel economy, but you also gain a bit of off-road prowess without the car feeling much different than a roadgoing version.
That combination may not win many arguments at the bar, but, truthfully, likely appeals to what most people actually need. It’s a compact, efficient, spacious, yet more capable compact crossover.
For even more detail, check out my review on Gear Junkie.
COMPETITORS
SPECIFICATIONS
2025 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek: 5-door, 5-seat, crossover SUV
Base price: $36,810 (includes $1390 destination charge)
Price as Tested: $38,035
Powertrain: turbocharged 1.5-liter I-3
Peak Power: 201 horsepower at 5600 rpm
Peak Torque: 225 lb.-ft between 2800-4000 rpm
Transmission: continuously variable transmission
Drive: all-wheel-drive
Fuel Economy in MPG and range
27 city
32 highway
29 combined
Driving range: 420 miles
Dimensions
Length: 183.0 inches
Width: 72.4 inches
Height: 66.5 inches
Wheelbase: 106.5 inches
Weights and Capacities
Curb weight: 3713 lbs.
Interior volume: 105 cu ft
Cargo volume (seats up/down): 32/74 cu ft
Calculated weight to power (lbs./HP): 18.5:1
Mfr’s claimed 0-60 mph: NA seconds
Mfr’s claimed Top Speed: NA mph
Government classified size: Small Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD
Options: Rock Creek Premium Package, $800; Baja storm metallic paint, $425
