Hello, Im looking at the 4 cyl, FWD Rogues... Does anyone have any Pro's and cons for this version Rogue ?

Welcome to the forum!

There are no cons to the FWD really. IMHO, the simplier drivetrain and slightly better fuel economy are pluses.

The AWD can be useful if you live in an area with heavy snow or take dirt roads to the cottage for example. Even then I live in Canada and I have a FWD. For winter I slap on 4 snow tires and can go just about anywhere.

You american's are lucky. You get the option of loaded FWD models (2009 only) with leather and all the toys. We don't get that up here.

I live in a place where there is never snow, but a lot of rain. If you can afford it, I would suggest the AWD. The fuel economy advantage of a FWD is almost negligible, and it's always good to have a peace of mind (at least for me) that the AWD is there in case you need it (i.e. slippery conditions).

I'm not bashing FWD. That's just my preference. Good luck!

IMO, AWD vs. FWD really comes down to your own preference. If you don't have much experience driving in snow and live in an area with a lot, then you'd be better off with AWD. But if you've driven in snow before with a FWD, you'll be just fine with a good set of snow tires. (snow tires are still recommended for AWD too, it's not the going you're concerned with, but the stopping.)I wanted AWD just so I knew I could get out when I needed to on those days where we'd get 12+ inches dumped on us in a few hours. (pretty rare, but I still knew I didn't want to be stuck at school, work, or home)I really don't think AWD is needed for the rain, but that's just me, like I said, it all comes down to driver experience/preference. If you do have to go through muddy trails on a regular basis or something, then AWD is recommended.But as Phillipa said, FWD has less parts to go wrong (not that anyone here has had problems with their AWD that I'm aware of), and you will see a little bit of a MPG increase, but only by about 1 MPG for most people. I get just under 20 in town with my AWD with studded tires, and about 30-32 on the highway. And also as Phillipa said, he lives in an area with a lot of snow, but gets by just fine with FWD.

AWD requires maintenance of differential fluid. my old honda passport had problems with differential oil leaking on the rear axle. too much headache and too costly. FWD does not have differential gear and therefore one less maintenance item to worry.

I live in a hilly, rural area and am thankful I got the AWD. It hasn't snowed yet but we have had a lot of rain. I slid off in a ditch once with my FWD vehicle and am still skiddish. If nothing else the AWD is peace of mind.

As for the 4 cylinder. . . I don't know that I'd get it again. Because of my hilly terain it seem sluggish when accelerating up hills, especially from a stop. Maybe that's not normal. . .service department says it isn't a problem. I'd love to know for sure.

That's normal for any car to be sluggish when going uphill, especially a 4-cylinder compared to that of a 6-cyl or V8. It takes more work to go uphill since you are fighting gravity more. It depends a lot too on what gear you're in, which isn't always easy to control with an automatic. Due to the Rogue's CVT, it will sometimes mis-judge the ratio it needs to be in. If you have the paddle shifters though, you can always just downshift a gear or two.

I want to dispel one of the misconceptions of AWD:

AWD does not improve grip or traction.

The amount of grip is determined solely by the 4 contact patches on the road... the tires. If you want more grip, use the proper tires for the conditions: ie. Use snow tires during winter.

AWD just distributes the engine's power to 4 wheels instead of 2 so that the grip of all 4 tires is used to accelerate the vehicle... and you get less wheelspin. During cornering (when not applying the gas), and braking you are solely relying on the grip of the tires, not the AWD.

This is an important distinction as I have seen many AWD/4WD vehicles in the ditch. I feel the main cause is people are over confident thinking AWD will improve overall grip since they get less wheelspin. This is clearly wrong.

I don't dispute the benefits of AWD. In certain conditons (ie gravel, deep snow, dirt, mud), distributing power to all 4 wheels can help you climb hills and avoid getting stuck. So it's up to you as the buyer and your priorities.

Now, the Rogue also has 2 systems that help both AWD and FWD owners:

VDC - a.k.a Stability Control. When the vehicle starts to slide, the system uses steering angle and G (acceleration) sensors to determine which way you want the vehicle to go and applies the brakes are individually to help you regain control. This has become an important new safety feature and gov'ts in both the US and Canada are pushing to mandate it's use in every vehicle within the next few years.

TCS - Traction control. When a wheel slips while accelerating, the indiviual brake is applied to stop the spinning and allow the tire to regain traction. I've used it this past winter with the crappy OEM Continental tires. It made up for the lack of grip in my FWD Rogue. This year I have switched to winter tires.

indesign99 wrote:As for the 4 cylinder. . . I don't know that I'd get it again. Because of my hilly terain it seem sluggish when accelerating up hills, especially from a stop. Maybe that's not normal. . .service department says it isn't a problem. I'd love to know for sure.

Yes, V-6's are nice but in this day of high (and volatile) gas prices, I rather take the fuel economy benefits than winning sprints to 60mph. The Rogue gets best in class fuel economy (excluding hybrids) and best in class acceleration (excluding the Rav-4 V-6).

The 4cyl in the Rogue is actually very powerful for it's size. It compares to small V-6's from just a few years ago. I don't find it sluggish at all.

Note: I live in Canada and our gas prices are even higher than the US. With the strong CDN dollar this summer and peak gas prices we were paying the equivalent of over $5 USD a gallon!

Totally agree with you on the 4-cyl choice. I think the auto manufacturers have done a great job convincing people they need a 6-cyl engine, not surprising since in most models the V6 means a bump in price and options.

It's not that long ago (maybe 20 years) that many 6-cyl engines produced maybe half the horsepower of today's 4-cyl engines. And, we're not going any faster on today's roads in today's traffic.

philipa_240sx wrote:I want to dispel one of the misconceptions of AWD:

AWD does not improve grip or traction.

The amount of grip is determined solely by the 4 contact patches on the road... the tires. If you want more grip, use the proper tires for the conditions: ie. Use snow tires during winter.

Good post Phillipa, I agree completely. There is a big misconception regarding the capabilities of AWD. Its your driving habits that will put you in the ditch, AWD will not help bad judgment, it may help you get out of the ditch though once you are there. I too have been driving in Canadian winters for 30 years with FWD only (piece of cake!). I only once ended up in the ditch ... and it was when I stupidly relied on a 4WD rental after a snow storm (my car was in the shop). I learned quickly that AWD is not going to prevent you from going in the ditch. Fortunately there was no damage and I got myself out so no one was the wiser (except me).

Besides the Rogue is an urban vehicle, it is not an off road vehicle, Nissan make no bones about this. They wanted to design a nice urban crossover SUV and that is exactly what it is. AWD is not needed, but fits a marketing niche that many people convince themselves that they need.

Also regarding 4-cylinders ... I have no complaints, the 4-banger in the rogue cranks out a good amount of torque. It isn't a muscle car, but it handles all power needs of the average driver, better than many.

regards,tellurian
Modified by tellurian at 6:43 PM 11/7/2008

A wise friend once told me...

4WD will get you very far.... farther into the ditch and more stuck than anything else!