Lovin' the Rogue Cargo Area and Utility

[kerrton]

I drive a lot of different vehicles for work, including a new Chevy Traverse crossover, a Chevy minivan, Ford Escape Hybrid, Dodge Nitro, Dodge Durango among others, and the Rogue tops them all for utility, and for my particular needs.

At times I've thought maybe I should've bought something a little bigger with a third row of seating such as the Traverse or a mini van, but after driving those I noticed that the third row is terrible (Traverse) with very little comfort, no leg room, and you almost kill yourself getting back there, and as a trade off you get a big bulky vehicle with NO CARGO SPACE as is the case with the Traverse and all the minivans that we have at work. Minivans are supposed to be the best in terms of utility, but none of them have a cargo area as large as the Rogue, and none are flat without a "lip" except the Rogue. My dog loves riding in the back of the Rogue and we love loading and unloading gear because of this. Not to mention that these other vehicles are large and very clumbsy to maneouver and park, and the Escape has absolutely no leg room compared to the Rogue. All of the Dodge competiors are just crap all around in comparison so I won't even mention any details.

Even though the Rogue has a relatively small outer package, it kicks butt over most other vehicles in its class and in larger classes in terms of practical utility, combine that with the awesome gas mileage and ease of driving and you can't top it! AND consider that it's much cheaper than a larger Traverse for example, and it is unbelievable value. The Traverse does haul *ss but gets terrible in town gas mileage, I think the Rogue hit the mark by balancing performance with efficiency too.

I just thought I'd post up something positive for a change, rather than just problems! Hooray for the Rogue!!

[ahhbeebee]

Hooray!

[kerrton]

Update: I just spent two full days on the road in a Chevy Traverse day 1, and Dodge Nitro Day 2.

Following these trips, the Rogue feels so nice in comparison. The Traverse is ok, but too big and feels cheap, and the Nitro is one of the most terrible vehicles I've ever driven or ridden in.

My '89 Dodge pickup and '79 Ford pickup both were more comfortable and felt more secure and responsive than this pile of junk, not to mention my body is still complaining from the horrible ergonomics of the Nitro. It's amazing to me that they would sell a single one of these, the sloppy steering alone makes it a real danger, not to mention everything is falling apart, cheap looking and rattling like crazy after only 1.5 years.

Anyway, bottom line is, if you drive the Rogue everyday and get used to it you may not realize how good it is. But I can tell you after driving and comparing to some of the competition the Rogue really is a good solid vehicle in this price range, with maximum usable space in a compact package.

[THawks]

I would have to agree. My brother came home from a deployment yesterday so I picked him and two of his buddies up at the airport to take back to their base. Had 3 overstuffed green duffels, 3 overstuffed A-bags, 4 large backpacks and us four guys in the Rogue. Not only were the rear passengers comfortable (especially after 20 hours on airplanes) but my car still rode comfortably and had plenty of get up and go for when I needed to pass vehicles on the back rroads of Delaware.

[DanTheMan]

I drove a KIA Sportage, for three days last week. While it wasn't cheep feeling, like I had anticipated, it didn't fare well compared to the Rogue IMHO. There is definitely more cargo room in the Rogue, the Rogue handles better and the drive train is simply better in the Rogue.

However, I prefer the KIA over the Traverse any day. The more I drive the Rogue, the more I really begin to like the CVT. I really appreciate the smoothness of it while going over rough terrain.

Cheers!

[philipa_240sx]

Speaking of cargo, I removed the rear seat cushion (simply lift up at the front corners to detach the clips) and stuffed a 46" plasma TV in it's box standing up! OK, rear visibility suffers but it's amazing I could fit it in there!

[casperfun]

The funny thing is that the Rogue has one of the lowest cargo space amongst the CUV's in its class. I'm still happy with the cargo room though.

[Briguy1027]

I think those numbers are just numbers. For some reason, usable space seems different. I can really put a lot of things into the rogue, and it has a really nice flat surface with the rear seats down. So I have to agree with Kerrton, I'm loving the cargo area and utility quite a bit as well. The pop up grocery bag organizer thingy is just a very nice added bonus as well!

[kerrton]

Agreed, there are crossovers with more space, but I don't think usable space is much less in the Rogue as these are volume numbers, not surface areas. I believe surface area would be very close. The reason volume is less in the Rogue is due to the sloping rear roof line that cuts into the height, and into the volume.