New Rogue Owner - SL FWD Venetian Red

[Cristen]

Hey all! Got my Rogue last Thursday and I LOVE it. I previously had a 2003 Pontiac Vibe which I also loved. I have never owned a non-GM vehicle so this is a first for me.

I noticed that in the US, the name of the Red colour on the Rogue is Venom. In Canada its Venetian. I also qualify for the Canadian gov't eco rebate of $1000 and i got $1500 off my down payment as part of a Nissan Canada incentive.

Anyway here are some pics - yes she's dirty already. Its hard to keep a car clean in a Canadian winter.

Exterior shots

Cargo Area

Interior

[lozen13]

With the $1000 Eco rebate and $1500 Discount nice deal.

Congrats.

[Ticmxman]

Congrats on your new Rogue thats a very nice shade of Red. I've yet to see one in person thanks for the pics. Wow, all that snow brings back memories of my few months I spent working and skiing in Vail.
Modified by Ticmxman at 6:55 PM 12/19/2007

[Cristen]

Thats nothing - the day after I took those pics we got dumped on by a major storm - another 37 cm on top of that.

[Cristen]

Congrats on your new Rogue thats a very nice shade of Red. I've yet to see one in person thanks for the pics. Wow, all that snow brings back memories of my few months I spent working and skiing in Vail.

Modified by Ticmxman at 6:55 PM 12/19/2007

I look back at these pictures now and think "wow I wish thats all the snow I had" - we're closing in on 450 cm, and my hubby can get to the garage roof without a ladder.

By the way, where are all the other Red Roguers!?

[jsellberg]

why didnt you get the AWD? in weather like that i wouldn't go without it. then again i'm not used to driving in it. just to tahoe like 10 times a year and i refused to get anything but AWD

[Cristen]

Too expensive. And with snow tires its not really necessary for city driving.

[BrianV]

Too expensive. And with snow tires its not really necessary for city driving.

As a person who has only driven to snow and not live in it, I hear this a lot from people in snowy areas. However, whenever I drive to Tahoe or Colorado in the snow, snow tires and 2wd are worthless. When you say snow tires, do you mean M+S rated all terrain tires or stutted tires?

The only way I see 2WD with decent tires working in the snow is if there are no hills.

I'm with the poster above, AWD is a no brainer if you see snow regularly. You'd spend as much getting a second pair of snow tires anyways so why not just go AWD?

I'm really curious as I hear this sort of thing all the time. To me it's a nominal expense for a pretty useful feature. Again, if your area is totally FLAT then I can see 2wd being fine, but whenever I drive to the mountains I don't bother going in anything without AWD, been stuck WAY too many times.

[jsellberg]

^ they like to shut down the highway i take to tahoe (kirkwood ) if it even snows a little bit and won't let you through without chaining (on pretty much dry freaking pavement) unless you have AWD/4WD with m+s tires.

[BrianV]

^ they like to shut down the highway i take to tahoe (kirkwood ) if it even snows a little bit and won't let you through without chaining (on pretty much dry freaking pavement) unless you have AWD/4WD with m+s tires.

Small world, I just drove 50 to Heavenly three weeks ago in an Equinox AWD (which was a surprisingly nice vehicle). There was a cabin on fire so they shut the road down for four hours. When they opened it, they did a chain check about 5 miles before Sierra@Tahoe. It was barely covered with snow, but I suspect a 2wd with poor tires could've gotten stuck if it lost its momentum on one of those winding hills.

Caltrans is QUICK to do chain checks, but I've NEVER seen CAT3 where chains are required for all vehicles; they just shut the road down. In California, AWD is a must since they're so quick to require chains via CAT2.

Alternatively, Colorado which has steeper grades basically doesn't believe in chains except on big rigs. Cars are slipping and sliding everywhere, people are getting out and pushing cars up the interstate, etc. It's like a different world.

Regardless, my original quesiton remains in tact, even a FWD with M+S tires is not ideal in snow covered, hilly roads. The moment you lose momentum and try and start on a hill, it's game over.

[Cristen]

As a person who has only driven to snow and not live in it, I hear this a lot from people in snowy areas. However, whenever I drive to Tahoe or Colorado in the snow, snow tires and 2wd are worthless. When you say snow tires, do you mean M+S rated all terrain tires or stutted tires?

The only way I see 2WD with decent tires working in the snow is if there are no hills.

I'm with the poster above, AWD is a no brainer if you see snow regularly. You'd spend as much getting a second pair of snow tires anyways so why not just go AWD?

I'm really curious as I hear this sort of thing all the time. To me it's a nominal expense for a pretty useful feature. Again, if your area is totally FLAT then I can see 2wd being fine, but whenever I drive to the mountains I don't bother going in anything without AWD, been stuck WAY too many times.

They are SNOW tires, not M+S tires. Its like driving on dry pavement with them. And honestly Ontario ain't that hilly. An AWD Rogue up here can run you upwards of $36K. I paid $29K for mine... my snow tires weren't six grand. I've lived in Ontario and the winters here my entire 32 years, and in fact never even had snow tires until 2004, and never been in an accident. My parents also never (and still don't) have snow tires, and no AWD.
Modified by Cristen at 4:24 PM 3/20/2008

[BrianV]

They are SNOW tires, not M+S tires. Its like driving on dry pavement with them. And honestly Ontario ain't that hilly. An AWD Rogue up here can run you upwards of $36K. I paid $29K for mine... my snow tires weren't six grand. I've lived in Ontario and the winters here my entire 32 years, and in fact never even had snow tires until 2004, and never been in an accident. My parents also never (and still don't) have snow tires, and no AWD. But thanks for telling me what kind of car I need.

Cristen, thanks for the explanation. I didn't mean to come off as telling you what you need. Obviously there are differences between your needs and mine. Like I disclaimed, I have never lived in a snowy climate, but I've driven in snow A LOT. All of my snow driving has been on mountain roads so my requirements are more demanding than most's.

I was just personally curious because I hear of people in snowy areas of the country (South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio, etc.) buying 2wd and saying things very similar to you. It's never made sense to me as I would think most cities would have enough small hills to make AWD worthwhile.

I also claim 100% ignorance to the pricing of Nissan Rogues in Canada. In the US, it is not a $7k premium in price, I think apples-to-apples the price difference is somewhere in the $1,300 price range. Maybe in Canada they're trying to take advantage of people because there is more snow; who knows.

My original point was of the 2wd drivers in snow country that I've talked to, they've almost all invested money in some form of snow tires, whether it's studded or Blizzaks or something like that. By time you get cheap rims and four tires, it is basically a wash between the premium of getting AWD (this is with the $1-1.5k premium in the US).

Anyways, thanks for the response and I'm glad you're happy. Unfortunately, for my needs (similar to jsellberg's), 2wd anything without chains is a problem, and not necessarily because of traction capabilities, but because of laws.

-BrianV

[Cristen]

Yeah sorry, I just get touchy when someone sounds like they're telling me what to do - ie in my Vibe forum, there was a guy there who insisted that I MUST have winter tires. (this was before I got them)... he would actually lecture me. Oh it just drove me nuts! I just had flashbacks to those arguments when I read your post!

And I'm not sure its quite $7K, but I was talking getting the car I wanted, plus AWD would be around that much. Probably if you got a barebones AWD its closer to what I paid for my FWD SL Premium package. Guess I'd rather have the options on a FWD with snow tires, than no options on an AWD.

[BrianV]

Roger Dodger, you have more experience driving up there then I do so AWD most certainly isn't a requirement.

I dig your color though!

[jsellberg]

ditto the color is "very nice, high 5" (in borat style!)

i originally wanted black leather seats in mine but found out about the red. as a female im sure you understand how well red and purple go together. so i got gray instead.

[EddNog]

Welcome to the club! Love the red!

And btw your Vibe was your first non-GM vehicle.

-Ed

[philipa_240sx]

Nice color Cristen. Besides 'Venetian Red' Nissan has renamed some of the other colors for Canada:

Indigo Blue => Ultramarine BlueGotham Grey => Carbon SilverPhantom white => Glacier PearlSilver Ice => AirstreamWicked Black => EbonyVenom Red => Venetian Red

Re: tire chainsOntario is relatively flat and when the roads get really bad, they just close them. Studded tires and tire chains are illegal southern Ontario. Presumably because of the perceived damage they cause to the road. Lightweight studded tires (like those used in Europe) are permitted in northern Ontario during the winter.

Re: AWD vs. FWDAWD Rogues are a $2000-2500 premium over the FWD models here in Canada. However the net difference is even more as FWD Rogues qualify for an additional $1000 EcoAuto rebate from the Canadian Gov.

AWD will indeed help you accelerate as it uses the grip from all 4 tires. But this is a false sense of security since during cornering (at constant speed) or stopping, the grip is determined by the tire alone and not the drive system.

IMHO, a FWD vehicle equipped with proper snow tires... not M+S, but severe service tires with the 'snowflake in the mountain' logo... can out corner, out stop and get close to acceleration of an AWD vehicle equipped with all-season tires.

Personally, I got a FWD model as well. I felt the savings ($3500-4000 with the EcoAuto rebate) could easily cover the cost of 4 snow tires. And I get traction where it counts most... when trying to stop or avoid another car.

[Cristen]

Welcome to the club! Love the red!

And btw your Vibe was your first non-GM vehicle.

-Ed

Okay yes technically it is Toyota under the hood. But it still says Pontiac on the outside.

[Cristen]

Re: AWD vs. FWDAWD Rogues are a $2000-2500 premium over the FWD models here in Canada. However the net difference is even more as FWD Rogues qualify for an additional $1000 EcoAuto rebate from the Canadian Gov.

For this year only - the EcoAuto rebate is cancelled as of Dec 31, 2008.

Personally, I got a FWD model as well. I felt the savings ($3500-4000 with the EcoAuto rebate) could easily cover the cost of 4 snow tires. And I get traction where it counts most... when trying to stop or avoid another car.

That is exactly why I went with FWD. Bigger savings even with snow tires and steel wheels and not really any sacrifice on safety IMO. If you adjust your driving in the winter, then this shouldn't be an issue for any driver in Southern Ontario (or Eastern Ontario).

[marKram]

That is exactly why I went with FWD. Bigger savings even with snow tires and steel wheels and not really any sacrifice on safety IMO. If you adjust your driving in the winter, then this shouldn't be an issue for any driver in Southern Ontario (or Eastern Ontario).

I could not agree more with the statement about driving in Ontario winters. I also did not invest in the AWD Rogue. My wife has a CR/V and while I like the AWD, I've never been stuck or had problems in 20 years of driving with a FWD vehicle. At least in Ontario, you just have to learn not to drive like an idiot. I saw some moron this morning in Cambridge, ON wipe out his Ford Explorer (I think) and we just had a light dusting of snow.

[philipa_240sx]

I saw some moron this morning in Cambridge, ON wipe out his Ford Explorer (I think) and we just had a light dusting of snow.

A wise friend once told me:

The best feature about 4WD is being able to go further into the ditch (before getting stuck) than anyone else!

[Cristen]

Saw the only other Red Rogue I've seen so far today - and it was in the row behind me at work!! Someone else at work has a Red Rogue - I'm a trend setter!

[2cv]

i` ve seen only one so far and it is a very nice colour

[Cristen]

The Blue is really growing on me and I almost wish I had gotten it. But after having a robin's egg blue Cavalier (my first car in 2000 woot!), blue has been a scary colour for me.

[philipa_240sx]

I was trying for blue but the dealer could not find one with the options I wanted. The Iridium Graphite is growing on me though and it's a color I've never had before.

My favorite feature of the SL trim (Canadian models) is the heated cloth seats. I'm glad I sprung for the extra $$$. I'm sure you are making good use of them too Cristen.

[Cristen]

Yup every morning I'm using my heated seats, comes in handy on the 45 minute drive to work!