2012 vs 2009

[Honva]

Just want to share my experience here for those looking at getting the 2012. Just traded my 2009 SL AWD for a 2012 SL AWD five days ago. So far, love the new car. Didn't expect much difference since it is the same generation but after the first 5 days' driving, I am quite happy with the "little" improvements Nissan put in the new model year.

First, the ride is a bit more solid and stable. Bumps are absorbed a bit better although subtle. Probably because of the bigger wheels (18" vs 17"). The biggest change is the transmission. There is no more peddle shift (which I didn't use at all in the last 3 years). Nissan added a sports mode instead and a more traditional "L" drive mode for steep down hills. In regular mode, the 2012 Rogue goes to even lower engine speed than the 2009 model. However, what surprised me is that the engine seems to have better torque that it doesn't shake like the 2009. The engine keeps up just fine even at this extremely low rpm. In the sports mode, the CVT keeps a lower ratio to keep the engine speed higher. The result is a noticeable feeling of better response. Overall, the 2009 was somewhere between the regular mode and the sports mode, more leaning towards the regular mode. Overall, the powertrain feels more smooth and refined over the 2009 Rogue. Fuel consumption also seems lower than the 2009.

One of the best feature I liked of the Nissan CVT was how "smart" it keeps the car at the same speed while going down hill by lowering the gear. Compared to the 2009, the 2012 is even better that it would response to even less slope. If you don't go off road, It is very rare that one would need to switch to the "L" mode.

Since I didn't have the Bose system in my 2009 SL(only 6 speaker system with CD changer), can't compare apple to apple but sound quality in the 2012 shows noticeable improvement.

The new around-view camera system is amazing. Honestly, it is not something really necessary but it is really handy to be able to see all around the car.

Overall, I am impressed with the improvements. I wasn't sure about the trade in even after I signed the agreement. However, after 5 days of driving, I can say that I am very happy with the upgrade.

[kerrton]

Those are some interesting notes, thanks for taking the time to write that up.

Manufacturer's will often apply small design tweaks along the way that aren't documented for the consumer so it's not surprising that you notice some improvements with your 2012. It could also be due to the fact that the 2012 is new, the suspension has no wear on it yet so it will feel a little different than a 3 year old car (not sure how many miles you had on your 09?). Powertrains can feel different from one identical car to another sometimes, this can be due to differences in the break-in process or just random chance due to quality control during manufacture etc. but these differences would be very subtle at best. The programming shouldn't be any different on your 2012 as far as I know, the CVT should behave the same but I could be wrong, perhaps there are some minor undocumented software tweaks for the 2012.

[Honva]

Yes, some of the differences could very well be individual sample variation. However, the CVT is certainly not identical. 2009 Rogue has manual shift but no sports mode or overdrive selection. The programmed gear ratio at different speed and condition is also clearly different. The old CVT behaved somewhere between the 2012's sports mode and regular mode. This could have explained why the 2012 has slightly better fuel economy in regular mode.

What I was pleasantly surprised is that the engine did not show the sign of shaky stress at the low rpm cruising. The 2009 Rogue when cruise at 50-55km/h (yes, Canada has long roads with limit at 50 and police waiting), the cvt would keep the engine speed at about 1300 and one could start to feel a very slight struggle of the engine to keep up. On the 2012, the engine would go even lower on rpm to about 1200 but still runs very smooth. I think Nissan have tuned the engine to have a bit better low end torque.

[ImStricken06]

The CVT is certainly not identical.

This is a newly developed(2010) compact CVT which features a unique sub-transmission. ratio coverage that surpasses 7-speed automatic transmission, as well as a significant efficiency improvement. It achieves small and light packaging and high fuel economy.
This has first been installed in Juke released in June 2010.

check this out:

[Rogue One]

Would this new CVT be on my 2011 as well?

[kerrton]

Nissan/Jatco did indeed release a next-generation CVT in 2010 with a wider range of gear ratios through the use of a planetary gear. This CVT made its first appearance in the Juke, but it did not make it's way into the Rogue....yet. The Rogue fuel ecomony numbers were tweaked by 1 mpg highway due to minor aerodynamic tweaks and the addition of an underbody shroud, I believe the city economy numbers were unchanged. When the Rogue receives the new CVT, and along with the improved QR25 engine in 2014 it should have significantly better fuel ecomony numbers over the already impressive rating.

[kerrton]

Correction, the Rogue was unchanged for 3 model years, 2008 to 2010. In 2011 it received some minor exterior upgrades, changes to trim levels and options packages with the addition of some new content including the around-view monitor and integrated Nav.

There have been no documented changes to the Rogue powertrain, and definately nothing as major as an entirely redesigned CVT. They did upgrade the ECU software since 2008, but this software has been applied as an update to all older models. Here is the press kit with all the Rogue details:

http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/ ... e8b15fca7b

[Qashqai]

Well it may sound silly, but I think my 2011 Rogue has Xtronic CVT

http://www.carpages.ca/blog/wp-content/ ... G_8968.jpg

(just a random picture from the internet. But mine has the same badge)

Are there any versions for Xtronic CVTs?

[kerrton]

All Nissan CVT's are referred to as "Xtronic" and have been for several years.

The key is the "new" CVT's are referred to as "Next Generation Xtronic" and always accompanied by details of the "addition of new planetary gear set with the widest gear ratio of 7.3.1 compared to 6.0:1 in previous models". The Rogue has a max gear ratio of 6.0:1.

Here is some light reading which still referes to the next gen CVT as a future release product:

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOL ... w_cvt.html

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOL ... t_cvt.html

[AnthemGems]

Honva, I agree with you completely, I went from an 08 to a 12 ( my 08 had 50,000 miles) and there is definitely a noticeable difference in the ride.( and I mean how the 08 rode when it was new)