Post by
zakmartin »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/zakmartin-u136442.html
Tue Dec 09, 2014 4:34 pm
We're in Washington State, so we take our Rogue off road all the time. The car's never so much as flinched. We were in a wilderness area around the Methow Valley a couple years ago, driving on a trail toward a trout stream. The only other car that made it to the parking area next to the stream was a jacked-up Jeep Wrangler. There were a ton of other SUV's and CUV's in a lot about 1 mile up trail. The Rogue never skipped a beat. It's got tons of clearance and the AWD is actually quite smart.
On ski trips, we've been in situations where we were the only car making it through a pass. Heading out to Bend, Oregon a few years ago, there were about fifty cars parked on the side of the road in the chain-up area (though chains weren't required at the time). We made the 120 mile trip on the factory all season tires. The paddle shifters were great for controlling speed on downhills. I barely hit the brakes at all the entire time. I think it's a shame that they only included the paddle shifters on the '08 and '09 models. They make a BIG DIFFERENCE in the car's usability in bad weather.
We've used the Rogue to ford streams, drive over big rocks, drive up and down fire roads in every condition, and it gets tons of snow and ice time every winter. We've never had a complaint. I've seen AWD cars stuck in their parking spaces at ski resorts after 8 hours in the lot. We just hit the AWD button, and we're on our way in seconds.
I've never seen another Rogue in the mountains (I see tons of Jeeps, Toyotas & Fords). But I will absolutely attest that over the last 5 years, I've never been in a situation that the car couldn't get out of.
And yes, it's my wife's car. I have a 350Z that barely makes it over speed bumps.