Preview: 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid e-Power Offers Fresh Take on Gas-Electric Tech

Nissan hasn’t had an easy time as it works to renew its portfolio with fully redesigned and refreshed products.

The company has suffered massive financial losses caused by tariffs, aggressive competition from Chinese automakers, a slow rollout of new electric vehicles (EVs), and an aging lineup that’s failing to resonate with consumers. To be fair, it’s not just Nissan that’s having these issues, but they seem to be hitting the Japanese automaker especially hard.

One strategy Nissan is employing is the rollout of its so-called e-Power hybrid technology to the North American market. Until now, Nissan’s North American hybrid options have been limited to short-lived versions of the Altima and Rogue, as well as the recently introduced Rogue Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) that’s a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander.

Redesigned Rogue

The first vehicle to get the e-Power system will be the redesigned fourth-generation Rogue. It’s a fresh take that uses the company’s new design language that incorporates geographic elements like the profile of Mount Fuji in the rear quarter panel. There are lots of new angles, hexagonal shapes, and sophisticated LED lighting that should help the Rogue stand out next to the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V.

The new Rogue is slightly larger than the outgoing version, with a cabin that feels airier thanks to the simplified dash layout. It also feels more upscale with great seats and more premium materials used throughout. Meanwhile, a large flat-panel display that combines the instrument cluster and centre touchscreen dominates the dashboard, but a full set of physical buttons for the climate controls represent a refreshing reversal of a worrying trend in interior design.

E-Power Explained

Drive power comes from dual electric motors producing a combined 225 hp, although there’s no official torque rating; “it’s complicated,” the company told us during a brief presentation. Under the hood there’s a turbocharged 1.5L three-cylinder gas engine that doesn’t power the wheels directly but functions solely as a generator. Nissan says it will be the most thermally efficient engine in North America and is different from what’s in the current Rogue, which also uses a turbocharged 1.5L.

E-Power isn’t a new technology and has been employed in other markets for more than a decade, having been initially designed for smaller vehicles in Japan. It’s a series hybrid system, which means the combustion engine’s only function is as a generator supplying power to the electric motors. In contrast is the parallel hybrid system that powers the likes of the ever-popular Toyota RAV4.

With one motor per axle, the new Rogue Hybrid has standard all-wheel drive. Since the engine has no physical connection to the wheels, the Rogue drives more like an EV, albeit one that never has to be plugged in.

A Familiar Foe

With a parallel hybrid system like the RAV4’s, either the electric motors, the gasoline engine, or a combination of both can power the wheels. It’s a very efficient setup that’s been proven over decades of use, but the downsides are noise and vibration, neither of which are present in the upcoming Rogue Hybrid.

To prove the difference, Nissan offered us a current RAV4 to drive after testing the 2027 Rogue on the same short but hilly loop. The RAV4 was great, but the engine noise and vibration, felt through the pedals and seats, stood out immediately. It wasn’t bad or intrusive, but there’s none of it in the Nissan, and the contrast is stark.

The company has gone to great lengths to ensure the engine is effectively muted, running silently in the background. There are other elements not offered in the RAV4, too, like one-pedal driving and a feature that releases braking pressure right before you come to a full stop for a smoother experience. It’s a feature shared with the likes of Rolls-Royce rather than Toyota or Honda.

Final Thoughts

This test was brief, and a longer drive might reveal moments where the engine is more audible, but it would be hard to convince someone they weren’t driving an EV with the way the 2027 Rogue performs.

While official fuel consumption ratings weren’t available as of this writing, Nissan said it expects a combined figure of around 6.2 L/100 km. That’s in the neighbourhood of both the Honda CR-V Hybrid and the RAV4 that’s hybrid-only, although the latter is rated as low as 5.5 L/100 km, depending on trim.

The redesigned 2027 Nissan Rogue Hybrid e-Power is due later this year, although the automaker didn’t provide a firm date and pricing wasn’t available as of this writing.